You walk into a record store, you shake your head - they've got it all wrong...

That's Vintage Vinyl in Woodbridge NJ.

It's not a horrible idea, but the place is disorganized and badly stocked as it is so this just messes things up.

As someone working at a radio station that just had to make sure the library was correctly alphabetized, I can say with authority that this is the worst fucking thing you can do.

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Also, stores that overcategorize & put "rock" in one section and "indie" in another and "punk", "hardcore", "local", "math-rock", "new wave" .. so I have to figure out which fucking type of music it is? Just alphabetize, you fucks.

plus why do they have to always have like 30 employees milling around all the time eating chinese food and looking aimless? i love that store, but why?

YES! And then when they start randomly taking the most popular bands out of their genre and file them additionally in "pop" as well...

For Instence: Abba would be at the bottem and it will lead up to Aerosmith which is at the top.

I Hate That!

I.E. Once you pick a plane on which to file, stick with it until you reach the end of that plane.

Secondly, Just have one fucking tier.

if he doesn't recognize the merit of your selections, and would presumably feel more more kinship with you if you picked some microhouse or Arcade Fire or somesuch Pitchford-iana, than he is indeed a dickwad. Why should you care if this loser doesn't approve?

...but then have these huge completely uncategorized sections of like "electronic" and "world".

This is (bafflingly) standard practice mostly everywhere isn't it?

Cramming as many CDs into a display rack making it impossible to flick through them is stupid too.

Standard practice for way too many second-hand stores. I just end up picking up 5-7 at a time withe the pincer hand movement, scanning the spines then putting them back. I've never dropped any (yet).

A-Z sections that span (and make me walk) the whole length of the rack(s) and back 5 times are kind of irritating.

Stores with posters, fliers, snacks etc covering every inch of surface...
Stores that smell (mostly 2nd hand, for some reason)
Stores that offer to put music on "over the system" and watch for your reaction / or control the skip-through function.
***Stores that use stickers that can't be peeled off clean***

Heh, had to laugh about the Other Music thing - seriously, I think I've counted 9 staff members at once - anywhere else this size would have 3, tops.

(OK, I was just joking with that one.)

I generally don't find problems with the genre-pigeonholing because record stores aren't exactly geared to ILX type people.. believe it or not, there are people out there who will only look at an "indie" section, but not "pop/rock/soul". Record store clientele are pigeonholers in general (and i stress "general"), so stores have to abide by their pigeonholing habits. (That said, I don't see how record stores with a grand all encompassing A-Z scheme fair worse, but anyway.)

Same deal with alphabetizing: putting "Alice Cooper" under "C". Technically, that's an "A", but you file bands where you think the customers will look. So I won't complain about that.

My biggest complaint -- and this is directly referencing JACKPOT RECORDS IN PORTLAND -- don't make CD browsing cause you eye strain.

JACKPOT RECORDS IN PORTLAND, in order to minimize shelf space, took on removing CDs from the relatively space-wasting jewel cases, and put them in small longer paper/cardboard sleeves... Fine, no problem with that. but WHY PUT THEM IN THE MOST GAWDY EYESORES OF A PAPER SLEEVES POSSIBLE??? Each sleeve is white paper with the word "NEW" in bright red repeated all over, and the used CDS are white paper sleeves with the word "USED" in dark green repeated all over. It hurts my eyes literally to browse through the CDs. See ya!

I won't comment on snotty/non-snotty clerks at all. That's a relative thing... but that's rarely a problem in the Pac NW record store scene.

Rough Trade to thread. **** me, I don't even know what some of the categories are, never mind which one I'll find the Isolee album in.

and i know exactly who you're talking about and he's a goddamn nightmare to look at. let alone his crap musical taste.

every i time i go there they're playing new order or placebo remixes at ear-shattering volume, though. i like the store other than that.

They jam all the pop/rock/R&B together. Then there is hip hop, world music, reggae, and a Latina section that is 50% of the store. But, the best part of all is the hilarious "local music" section that doesn't have a single local musician. Many of them aren't even from this country.

In many sections, they can't tell the difference between an artist and the name of a compilation album. The reggae section is the WORST! There's dividers for

HOT REGGAE TRACKS
TOP REGGAE TRACKS 2004
REGGAE REGGAE REGGAE
BLAZIN' DANCE HALL

etc.

hehehehe... i also can't stand the weekly update. every single review is like:

"Brooklyn-based psych outfit _______ breaks the mold with this utterly essential psychedelic masterpiece. Highly reccomended"

Is it just a coincidence that every album they get is the indispensable? It seems so wrong for retailers to even pretend that they're writing unbiased reviews of their merchandise... ah well. i still blow half my paycheck there.

And I go there because it's the only bookstore near work, so hush your whining.