Paste Magazine // 17 Coolest Record Stores in America
I meant to post this back in July; better late than never. Paste Magazine did an excellent job compiling a list of the coolest record stores in the US. Amoeba Records is hands down the best record store in the world. The magazine choose the Hollywood location, but the San Francisco and Berkley stores are just as good. The staff can be bit snobby, but they know their stuff. I’ve spent countless hours in both locations. In San Francisco you walk out on Haight Street and in Los Angeles you walk out on Sunset Boulevard. Only negative, they are both surrounded by fast-food chains. Instead of going on those crappy Hollywood Movie Stars Home Tours head over to Amoeba.
Compiled by Paste Magazine:
1.) AMOEBA MUSIC LOS ANGELES
The Best Store in the World. Not Just Music. But Store. Including Target.
Tour posters climb the 50-foot walls, surrounding you as you join the skinny-jeans-wearing bass players and bespectacled screenwriters who listen to an in-store performance from The Bird and the Bee. You can then wander off in search of a red-vinyl Vince Guaraldi album or Tom Jones’ Live at Caesar’s or the latest posthumous Tupac release. Looks like L.A. doesn’t suck after all.
[6400 Sunset Blvd., Amoeba.com]
2.) CRIMINAL RECORDS ATLANTA
Most Likely to Get Arrested for Cramming Too Much Addictive Stuff Into Such a Small Space
Criminal makes the most of its tight square footage, snugly fitting loads of DVDs, books, comics, magazines, toys and stereo accessories, plus multiple listening stations and, of course, its impressive CD-and-vinyl selection—everything from classic Smiths to obscure noise rock. Bonus points for having helpful clerks (not jerks), amazingly diverse in-stores (both Japanese drone-metal band Boris and sweet-voiced gospel singer Charlie Louvin), and for being hugely supportive of the thriving Atlanta music scene. [466 Moreland Ave. NE]
3.) OTHER MUSIC NEW YORK CITY
Most Trusted One-Stop For New York Record Dorks
Named partly for the albums the massive Tower Records across the street didn’t carry, New York’s Other Music has now outlived its late, monolithic neighbor. With a staff that birthed Animal Collective, the adventurous buyers aren’t afraid to curate sections classified merely as “In” and “Out.”
[15 E. 4th St.]
4.) WATERLOO RECORDS AUSTIN, TEXAS
Best Record Store to Grow Up and Grow Old With
Austin’s Waterloo Records has not only grown up with the Texas college-town/cultural crux, but has also stayed weird over the years. Teens find cool indie-rock 7-inches; college kids pick up Vampire Weekend or Criterion Collection DVDs, while their parents can buy Willie Nelson boxed sets and vintage Stevie Ray Vaughan posters.
[600A North Lamar]
5.) AQUARIUS RECORDS SAN FRANCISCO
Best Place to Bankrupt Yourself on Limited-Edition Psychedelic Black Metal Imports
This San Francisco institution specializes in extreme and esoteric recordings—they’ve sold hundreds of copies of a 4-disc set on which wobbly shortwave-radio voices read lists of numbers. The store’s biweekly email blast features lengthy reviews of their latest Latvian black-metal CD-Rs and doom-improv LP reissues.
[1055 Valencia St.]
6.) CAT HEAD DELTA BLUES & FOLK ART CLARKSDALE, MISS.
[252 Delta Ave.]
7.) DUSTY GROOVE AMERICA CHICAGO
[1120 N. Ashland Ave.]
8.) ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP NASHVILLE
[417 Broadway, ETRecordShop.com]
9.) MUSIC MILLENNIUM PORTLAND, ORE.
[3158 E. Burnside]
10.) SHANGRI-LA RECORDS MEMPHIS, TENN.
[1916 Madison Ave.]
11.) EAR X-TACY LOUISVILLE, KY.
[1534 Bardstown Rd.]
12.) LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY NEW ORLEANS
[210 Decatur St.]
13.) NEWBURY COMICS BOSTON
[332 Newbury St.]
14.) TURNTABLE LAB NEW YORK
[120 E. 7th St.]
15.) GRIMEY’S NEW + PRE-LOVED MUSIC NASHVILLE
[1604 8th Ave. S.]
16.) THE ELECTRIC FETUS MINNEAPOLIS
[2000 4th Ave. S.]
17.) JERRY’S RECORDS PITTSBURGH
[2136 Murray Ave.]
Download:
MP3: The Black Lips – Lock & Key (Live At Amoeba Hollywood)
