Well put. It's horrible, I agree. I can put up with the common inner city ice grill, but I have the feeling these chicks are instructed to be dickheads, that's why I am so angry about it. And I have proof that it's not only a spoiled tourist thing. I asked my Czeck grandmother once, who lives a block away from that store, to pick up some records over there and she did. She said: "Here are your records, but how creepy are those girls?!"
Dissing an old Czeck baboeska =
that's true, if I think about it again, it feels that way, they made all efforts to not be nice. Could be due to instruction, but i think they just think you are a looser if you still buy vinyl and how fucked up is that? Generally, working in a record store and having an attitude is so 1990! Who can still do so without going out of business? And dissing your grannie, sheesh, these girls need to be put on headphones with prasky viber on full blast for 24 hrs
btw...i'll be in prague again on april 24th, spinning at radost fx, if you're in the area, drop by...and i will check those girls in the store again and let you know...damn, I wish my czech was better, so I could deal with them in a better way and ice grill them back with appropriate vocabulary...
ahhh.i know.steve iverson.how long ago was this?he works at streetlight now.doing the ebay thing.
streetlight can be up and down, but this is everywhere.
True, but I always find interesting records and good stuff for the shop, I think yall are spoiled, there's no record store like that in NYC at all.
i think it's liks everywhere, it's just a matter of how much you go out.also,things slip all the time.buyers looking for the beatles butcher cover,misfits 7's ,etc.
Rhino BITD used to be the shit. Now it is not. They are having money problems and the flagship store in Westwood closed. The budget crunch is showing.
Yeah, you were saying this when I was at your crib. What I don't understand though is that I could've given that dude cake that same day. For instance, I have/had a copy of the Boogie Boys record on Mike & Dave, slated for ebay but a good buyer of mine came in just now so instead of putting it on ebay and maybe making $50 extra I sold it for an even $200, cash-in-hand. Why not? I make a customer happy, I have the money now rather than later, and cash versus paypal. No shipping, no chargeback, no customer to chase for feedback or delivery confirmation.
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people and find themselves in a situation where they don't know how to make money with what they have, other than to just use ebay - "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks".
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people
These dudes aren't thorough and can't tell you the "going value" of anything, let alone don't study what elements of their businesses are successful and failures. Genres, fair pricing, and the factor of money in hand vs "future" money are considerations that many record store owners are not weighing enough these days.
And dissing your grannie, sheesh, these girls need to be put on headphones with prasky viber on full blast for 24 hrs
btw...i'll be in prague again on april 24th, spinning at radost fx, if you're in the area, drop by...and i will check those girls in the store again and let you know...damn, I wish my czech was better, so I could deal with them in a better way and ice grill them back with appropriate vocabulary...
Ha! I'll be near Prague between april 9th and 16th and will take the train over there to see the family and check out some concert. My Czeck sucks too, but I understand enough to hear what these girls have to say, but not to icegrill them back. Anyway, if I feel inspired, I'll PM you a plan to confuse them with a practical joke. There'll be one or two weeks between our visits... Hm, let me think, something non-violent but fun...
Please PM me any nice night spot I should check out. Things move so fast over there. I usually end up in Lucerna. I enjoyed their campy communist cheese parties alot with crazy VJ material with old adds for Skodas and such. Carl Gott gots beats! And they have crazy big names that play there (as you know...).
as far as rhino in new paltz goes, i checked it out once. i thought it was overrated, but i managed to find some things there. i wondered why the store looked so small, yet from the outside it looked that they had a much bigger space. i too inquired about the unpriced records underneath some shelves, and there they had the typical ebay suspects--ie: anything og blue note related. it made me a bit irritated, but i guess i'm glad i didn't drop too much in there anyways.
and as far as the store GOLD MILLIONS goes, someone told me they thought it was decent, but being a person without that sort of suburban philly mainline wealth--it would probably be best i never visit it.
ahhh.i know.steve iverson.how long ago was this?he works at streetlight now.doing the ebay thing.
streetlight can be up and down, but this is everywhere.
True, but I always find interesting records and good stuff for the shop, I think yall are spoiled, there's no record store like that in NYC at all.
i think it's liks everywhere, it's just a matter of how much you go out.also,things slip all the time.buyers looking for the beatles butcher cover,misfits 7's ,etc.
Yeah the south bay kinda sucks for records
it has it's up's and downs, but it does not suck.
peace and much respect: adrian
This was back when i lived there, sooo.... 01-03?
Wow so streetlight sells on ebay. I have found interesting stuff there and in the SF location but nothing to write home about. Best find evar was Marley Scratch 12" for like $3 or something a number of years ago.
Yeah not hating on the south bay for records... if you live there, and you go hard, you will undoubtedly come up. I had a hommie out there that had sick records, he would generally get them off friends, family, etc
As far as shops go though, I don't know. Maybe if I was there and hit them shits daily. But that goes for most stores I'm sure (including my own).
Worst record store i've been to has to be this one up in wilkes-barre, pa. near the cafe metropolis. they have outrageously priced lps there, and usually pull the 'you can't look through those stacks that have been sitting there waiting to be priced for the last 4 years' finally, when i went there last--they didn't even allow people to go into the main lp room, said they prefer it for ebay.
but that's cool--the only things i've ever purchased there were from the 10 cent bins they have. found two fahey lps in excellent shape, some funk/soul lps, a last poets lp and a awesome private press kids xian psych/folk record from trinidad where they cover serge gainsbourg's 'je taime'
I probably need to cosign Rasputins being the worst record store. You can find things in there ocassionally, and there are definitely much worse stores as far as selection. But the thing is that place has so much potential to be good and yet it is so bad. For all the time I spend in Amoeba and Rasputins I very rarely find anything I need for my personal collection.
True, but I always find interesting records and good stuff for the shop, I think yall are spoiled, there's no record store like that in NYC at all.
The SF and Pleasant Hill one has always sucked but they redid the vinyl section in the Berkeley store within the last six months. Much better than it was before. If you visit fequently enough they'll leave the new bins lying around before they sort them into the general record collection.
but a good buyer of mine came in just now so instead of putting it on ebay and maybe making $50 extra I sold it for an even $200, cash-in-hand. Why not? I make a customer happy, I have the money now rather than later, and cash versus paypal. No shipping, no chargeback, no customer to chase for feedback or delivery confirmation.
this is the way I look at it too. I much prefer selling directly to folks rather then Egay. The only things worth putting on Ebay are things that COULD go off... but when something is constantly fluctuating between 50-80$ just sell it to a dude who's there right there and then for 40$ and call it a fucking day. I.E. don't be a fucking greedy stingy bitch about this record shit!!
are any of these really worse than the record collector on melrose? i mean c'mon, rasputins?? ok the service sucks, but the records are all priced (reasonably at that), and i've come up on gems up there (even as recently as a year ago).
are any of these really worse than the record collector on melrose? i mean c'mon, rasputins?? ok the service sucks, but the records are all priced (reasonably at that), and i've come up on gems up there (even as recently as a year ago).
For one thing, alot of people haven't had the oppurtunity to shop in places all over the country/world. When you've only been record shopping in California, or specifically the Bay, maybe Rasputins sucks. As a dude coming in randomly, its a great shop, they have a new arrival section, large selection, etc. Definitly shouldn't be mentioned in the worst record store EVAR post. Maybe you have no luck there, but no reason do diss the biz.
My vote for worst record store EVAR is AMAZING RECORDS in GREEN BAY. Dude has an invisible line going thru half of the store of records that are off limits.
There are worse record stores in MA... Boston alone has such a selection of shitty stores it's hard to know where to start. Skippy white's and Cheapos have had their day. It used to be pretty dope, even 5 years ago before places like record hog started going out of business. I can only imagine what it was like in the 80s.
But I fucking DARE you in 2006 to go to looney tunes on mass ave in cambridge. They make serious coin off of alston and harvard square teens spending $ on ironic purchases. Vinyl, man! The one near berkeley in boston has huge back stock, but it's the shittiest you've ever seen. EZ listening LPs and soca 45s for days. You will feel physically ill. A runner up is in your ear in harvard. Shifty longhaired clerk dude (not the strutter who used to work there) who won't admit something is a repress and sits there all day eating chips, looking shit up on on ebay and not making eye contact gets the bozack.
That said, I did find something unusual there last time I was in town, but it was a freak occurance. Previous to that point I can't remember the last time I bought something, anything, there. Probably five years ago.
Gotta disagree about Cheapo's. Looney Tunes in Harvard is a tough spot to come up in, but like I say on here all the time, if you are hitting any of the Boston places constantly, you can come up. I have pulled plenty of good albums out of LT Cambridge in the past year, but the refresh rate is way too slow - if they have good records, they're cheap, too. Cheapo's has good records constantly coming through the door, so the new arrivals bin is always going to have some shit in there you want. Prices have been going up in there, though, just the past few months. $40 for the Litter "Emerge" is not bright - you should compete with eBay for a common but desirable record like that, not charge double the going rate. Still, R*b at Cheapo's keeps it pretty damn real.
Looney Tunes in Boston has been killin' it this year! They seem to be doing more buying than any local store. One of the old-school dudes that works there has bit the bullet and is selling thousands of his records to the store. P*t was saying he's paid dude $6,000 so far and it's only half the collection. They have new records every damn day in that spot. They are pushing it with prices, too, but like so many stores they charge $25 for $8 records, but then charge $25 for $75 records. The dudes that work there are mad cool, too. De**is is always there, and is mad legit with the discounts and sneak previews.
and yeah mr paycheck, it really does depend on how hard you go out.how are you referring tgo here in the south bay w/ the great records?
Well I've never really done much out there, other than a cursory sweep around the shops, I tried running the fleas one day but really didn't find anything. I'm really more of an east bay dude and I didn't even really hit SF as hard as I should have.
Although there could be thousands of shops worthy of the title I'm gonna go ahead and nominate Rhino Records in New Paltz NY. Allegedly had "lots of records" which in reality = about half the size of my shop (which is pretty small itself). Most tags were pretty high, with one or two rare exceptions, the soul section was not even a full bin, but here's the kicker: loads of records unpriced underneith the bins; the owner told me and Aleit "feel free to go through them" and when we were done he proceeded to look up EVERYFUCKINGTHING on popsike. Not ebay, not Gemm, just popsike. Then he put little post-its with the price range... so like "$78-$103" based on two popsike listings for what is most of the time a $50 record. And that was just on the records he was willing to price - about half the stack was "not for sale" and we seemed to have "stumbled onto his ebay stock". Ebay stock = Blue Notes with mold damage. After all of this, he invited us to root around the back room, and being fiends we accepted... of course, everything we pulled was not for sale. We were begging for the dude to at least name some prices, I mean shit we were there to BUY. I had a cold G stack burning a hole in my pocket. Aleit pulled a Heath Bros and the guy says, "this is a pretty expensive record... $75-125... the least I could do i $60..." which I would have done and so would've anyone. Then of course he reneged and said "you know what, I can't sell this, but here's my ebay handle, check my auctions because sometimes stuff goes on there really cheap." WTF? So you want me to check your auctions and get a record for cheap but you won't name a price in YOUR shop? People like this need to get the hell out of the record game because they don't know shit about shit and are more of a bitch than a bitch or at the very least close their shop and sell strictly on ebay.
i say "ay ay" and will agree with you. on a side note, theres a girl i wanted to get with...we were cool until i went on a rant about how that store sucks....apparently, she is friends with the owner. who, might i add, is a cocksucker. i gave the place a few chances. found a Clifford Jordan on Vortex once, but it was resealed and stuffed in his shitty ass "collectors vinyl" bin....what the fuck makes it "collectors vinyl"...might as well name it "overpriced and resealed shit no one will ever buy"
but ill go ahead and nominate Mooncurser Records as well..City Island in the Bronx...when i first started going there years ago i was impressed cuz the place was so fucking big...but not only is it full of bullshit, but everything was overpriced and non-negotiable. you have Roger (who was like 95 yrs old...) who basically just had his fat piece of shit smelly right hand man Steve price it all by the book. Roger died last year and some guy bought it out...who also is an ebay seller....
i went there recently and found 5 crates in the back of hip hop 12's and LPs...good stuff...but not in good condition...some titles included
OC-Word...Life LP Lord Finesse-Strictly For The Ladies
im talking dope early 90s stuff that can go for loot IF...i repeat IF good condition...thee ones had ripped covers and scratched records....so what does this fuckhead do? ebay....looked up everything on ebay...at this point im pissed and about to have an anxiety attack....the one record i want really bad...being "Word Life" wasnt being auctioned...he couldnt find a listing...SO you guessed it...he wouldnt sell it...i feel like kicking dudes door down and robbing him...
i think im done with this bullshit...it makes me hate people
are any of these really worse than the record collector on melrose? i mean c'mon, rasputins?? ok the service sucks, but the records are all priced (reasonably at that), and i've come up on gems up there (even as recently as a year ago).
For one thing, alot of people haven't had the oppurtunity to shop in places all over the country/world. When you've only been record shopping in California, or specifically the Bay, maybe Rasputins sucks. As a dude coming in randomly, its a great shop, they have a new arrival section, large selection, etc. Definitly shouldn't be mentioned in the worst record store EVAR post. Maybe you have no luck there, but no reason do diss the biz.
My vote for worst record store EVAR is AMAZING RECORDS in GREEN BAY. Dude has an invisible line going thru half of the store of records that are off limits.
With regards to Rasputins, like I said, there are lots of worse record stores. I went into the Melrose place once and that guy made Redwood City hairy nutjob dude look like a stand-up dude. My point was when you calculate the place's potential vs. the reality of what it is then it is the worst in my book. We're talking about a chain that has stores all around the bay area - a metropolitan area with millions of people. They may actually be the largest independent record store chain in the country. If they were running things correctly they would be taking in at least a few great records every day, from all corners of the area. (maybe they are and the employees take home all the good stuff) And yet what actually makes its way out onto the sales floor is incredibly tepid. In my opinion it is generally overpriced as well. Almost always above ebay prices for anything remotely quality. And I don't think its a question of me having bad luck there. I've been checking there pretty regularly for about three years and can't think of more than a couple records that I was actually excited about. In terms of other record stores in the Bay Area, I rank them dead last, even behind the Record Gallery in Alameda, which generally sucks but every once in a blue moon produces some heat. A higher quantity of decent records trades hands in one morning at one of Justin's garage sales than in an entire year at all the Rasputin's locations combined.
dude... I mean, it's not earth shattering or anything, but:
Ike Turner - $8 Harlem River Drive - $50 (I mean, that's a bit pricey but still decent considering) Roy Lee Johnson - $15 Joe Pass Guitar Interludes $4 America Eats Its Young (NM w poster) $15 Leon Spencer Sneak Preview $15 Black Heat S/T $10 Gil Scott Heron "Pieces Of A Man" $10-15 (I seem to pull one of these every time I am there)
and that's just off the top of my head, and all within the last 5 years. Nothing insane, but those are definitely not overpriced. That place is decent man. Sure, it could be even more killer, but there's constantly good stuff circulating, I ALWAYS buy something.
Please PM me any nice night spot I should check out.
dude, two words:
Jeep Bar
that prague spot had probably the worst dollar bin ever (and a photocopied OST covers bin ). I advice everyone to stay clear and just get your tourist on.
Forget dollarbins... the minimum price on an lp in this place is $12.00! So if you're looking for a mint copy of Carribean Queen, pick one of the 15 in stock for 12-14 dollars. Absolutely ridiculous.
gotta agree with kidinquisitive, i dropped in and there and found Dark Side of the Moon in the dollar bin. then i bounced. not the worst, but it was .
Manfuckthat, I'm riding for Rasputins! This is bullshit.
Bwahahaha. Now we know your weak spot. But seriously, things change. I feel confident to say that place keeps getting progressively worse. You won't be finding Ike Turner for $8 again, I'd wager. If it goes under it won't make a lick of difference to me. Now if they shut down the Ashby Flea to build some yuppie "transit village" on the site (this is in the works) I will be fucking pissed.
gotta agree with kidinquisitive, i dropped in and there and found Dark Side of the Moon in the dollar bin. then i bounced. not the worst, but it was .
Manfuckthat, I'm riding for Rasputins! This is bullshit.
Bwahahaha. Now we know your weak spot. But seriously, things change. I feel confident to say that place keeps getting progressively worse. You won't be finding Ike Turner for $8 again, I'd wager. If it goes under it won't make a lick of difference to me. Now if they shut down the Ashby Flea to build some yuppie "transit village" on the site (this is in the works) I will be fucking pissed.
I don't know man, when I was out there in Aug/Sept I was pulling heat... that Ike Turner score was back when I lived there (and could hit it every day or so) but still... I know that harlem river drive was there when I was out last and I passed on it, I really shouldn't have...
RASPUTINS MOTHERBATCHES!
Amoeba on the other hand, haven't found much worthwhile there in a minute.
Night Owl Records Easthampton MA. I got a couple great records when they first opened, last time in it was extremely depressing, prices MORE expensive than NYC in small town Mass??? Condition was an issue on almost everything. Only good record in the place was "Do I Do" 12" marked up to high heavens with "INSANELY RARE" on the sticker. Seems like a nice fellow running it so I kind of feel guilty posting about it but the consigned collection is way too wack. If you're reading this tell the guy who consigned it to come back to earth! I will come buy more shit if it's not VG-- special for $15.
There are worse record stores in MA... Boston alone has such a selection of shitty stores it's hard to know where to start. Skippy white's and Cheapos have had their day. It used to be pretty dope, even 5 years ago before places like record hog started going out of business. I can only imagine what it was like in the 80s.
But I fucking DARE you in 2006 to go to looney tunes on mass ave in cambridge. They make serious coin off of alston and harvard square teens spending $ on ironic purchases. Vinyl, man! The one near berkeley in boston has huge back stock, but it's the shittiest you've ever seen. EZ listening LPs and soca 45s for days. You will feel physically ill. A runner up is in your ear in harvard. Shifty longhaired clerk dude (not the strutter who used to work there) who won't admit something is a repress and sits there all day eating chips, looking shit up on on ebay and not making eye contact gets the bozack.
That said, I did find something unusual there last time I was in town, but it was a freak occurance. Previous to that point I can't remember the last time I bought something, anything, there. Probably five years ago.
eh, i gotta disagree.
i pulled the Juicy 12" w/ "Dreams" on it, mint, out of In Your Ear (harvard location) for 10 bucks...
Cheapo's has def. not had it's day... every time i go there i walk out w/ something...
also, the jazz stock at Looney Tunes near Berkeley has been consistantly decent ever since i started going there (1991)... and the bulk of my soul collection essentials (60's atlanitc stuff, stax volt, etc) i bought there in high school....
i gotta say, everyone hating on sellers looking stuff up on Ebay is kinda lame... b/c you know if they didn't look it up and just sold you something for a fiver, you all would be on here bragging about how you pulled a fast one on him... listen, eventually dudes like that will learn after they pay a few hundred bucks on ebay reserve fees for items that don't sell...
honestly, in my experience, it's not the greasy ponytail and cigar smoking bridgade who do that shit, but the beatdigging stores... like, the only time i've had someone refuse to sell me a nice piece i wanted that was unpriced was when A-1 got a big hardcore punk collection in...
oh, and for the dude blasting mooncruiser on City Island, my boy got "live convention vol 1" there for like 100 bucks and then flipped it for credit somewhere for 5or 6X that... as well as a superrare Paul C test press that he traded to Shadow for some good stuff...
my nomination goes to Rare Records on Carmine St.. eeeeeek!
don't be a fucking greedy stingy bitch about this record shit!!
some people need to have this tattoed with quick jabs into the side of their neck.
i gotta roll with johnny about rasputins. everytime i went in there i found at least 5 dollars worth of good dollar joints. animated egg for 12 was a nice price too. caugh more in there than i did at amoeba.
i dont want to hear another murmur about ashby flea getting threatened. kill that noise. that would be a tragedy
worst stores... cheapos- they pulled some bullshit on me with 45s. the dude there who found those stark reality 45s like four years ago wouldnt let me look back at hte stacks.i had to tell him everyone i wanted. fair enough. we found 3-4 hits and instead of pricing them for me, he listens to them (cause he didnt know them) and then wouldnt sell me any. plus, i was begging all of them to sell me the coffey stk empty sleeve they had in the stairwell and they werent having it. a shop in seattle had one in the window and just gave it to me.
bleeker bobs- has anyone ever bought a record there?
some LA store north of venice beach, i had to pull a switcheroo on them cause i wasnt going to leave without a record that they were being all fucking clingy and scared about.
jim russel in nola got some things to buy, but dudes son is a fuck
Although there could be thousands of shops worthy of the title I'm gonna go ahead and nominate Rhino Records in New Paltz NY.
Man, you had it all wrong. New Paltz isn't about records. It's about beer and the Gunks. Don't climb? Ok, you're a nancy boy, but there's still endless, beautiful hiking on what is surely one of the world's great crags. And yeah, Rhino sucks. Whenever I'm there, I go in after four or five days of camping and climbing and stink the place up (and not just with my BO, also my disgust at a poorly managed, lousy record store).
jim russel in nola got some things to buy, but dudes son is a fuck
You just need to know how to match your visit with the tides and ancient magick they use to determine the prices of records.
I got boogaloo jones "sweetback" for 10 (because the lady was sure that was what the last one they sold was price... hey I don't argue), purdie "shaft" for a few dollah, and a rare dub LP for 15 or so. A good day.
Comments
that's true, if I think about it again, it feels that way, they made all efforts to not be nice. Could be due to instruction, but i think they just think you are a looser if you still buy vinyl and how fucked up is that? Generally, working in a record store and having an attitude is so 1990! Who can still do so without going out of business?
And dissing your grannie, sheesh, these girls need to be put on headphones with prasky viber on full blast for 24 hrs
btw...i'll be in prague again on april 24th, spinning at radost fx, if you're in the area, drop by...and i will check those girls in the store again and let you know...damn, I wish my czech was better, so I could deal with them in a better way and ice grill them back with appropriate vocabulary...
ahhh.i know.steve iverson.how long ago was this?he works at streetlight now.doing the ebay thing.
streetlight can be up and down, but this is everywhere.
i think it's liks everywhere, it's just a matter of how much you go out.also,things slip all the time.buyers looking for the beatles butcher cover,misfits 7's ,etc.
it has it's up's and downs, but it does not suck.
peace and much respect:
adrian
Yeah, you were saying this when I was at your crib. What I don't understand though is that I could've given that dude cake that same day. For instance, I have/had a copy of the Boogie Boys record on Mike & Dave, slated for ebay but a good buyer of mine came in just now so instead of putting it on ebay and maybe making $50 extra I sold it for an even $200, cash-in-hand. Why not? I make a customer happy, I have the money now rather than later, and cash versus paypal. No shipping, no chargeback, no customer to chase for feedback or delivery confirmation.
I think a lot of these guys just are not very good business people and find themselves in a situation where they don't know how to make money with what they have, other than to just use ebay - "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks".
These dudes aren't thorough and can't tell you the "going value" of anything, let alone don't study what elements of their businesses are successful and failures. Genres, fair pricing, and the factor of money in hand vs "future" money are considerations that many record store owners are not weighing enough these days.
Ha! I'll be near Prague between april 9th and 16th and will take the train over there to see the family and check out some concert. My Czeck sucks too, but I understand enough to hear what these girls have to say, but not to icegrill them back. Anyway, if I feel inspired, I'll PM you a plan to confuse them with a practical joke. There'll be one or two weeks between our visits... Hm, let me think, something non-violent but fun...
Please PM me any nice night spot I should check out. Things move so fast over there. I usually end up in Lucerna. I enjoyed their campy communist cheese parties alot with crazy VJ material with old adds for Skodas and such. Carl Gott gots beats! And they have crazy big names that play there (as you know...).
i thought it was overrated, but i managed to find some things there. i wondered why the store looked so small, yet from the outside it looked that they had a much bigger space.
i too inquired about the unpriced records underneath some shelves, and there they had the typical ebay suspects--ie: anything og blue note related. it made me a bit irritated, but i guess i'm glad i didn't drop too much in there anyways.
and as far as the store GOLD MILLIONS goes, someone told me they thought it was decent, but being a person without that sort of suburban philly mainline wealth--it would probably be best i never visit it.
This was back when i lived there, sooo.... 01-03?
Wow so streetlight sells on ebay. I have found interesting stuff there and in the SF location but nothing to write home about. Best find evar was Marley Scratch 12" for like $3 or something a number of years ago.
Yeah not hating on the south bay for records... if you live there, and you go hard, you will undoubtedly come up. I had a hommie out there that had sick records, he would generally get them off friends, family, etc
As far as shops go though, I don't know. Maybe if I was there and hit them shits daily. But that goes for most stores I'm sure (including my own).
finally, when i went there last--they didn't even allow people to go into the main lp room, said they prefer it for ebay.
but that's cool--the only things i've ever purchased there were from the 10 cent bins they have. found two fahey lps in excellent shape, some funk/soul lps, a last poets lp and a awesome private press kids xian psych/folk record from trinidad where they cover serge gainsbourg's 'je taime'
The SF and Pleasant Hill one has always sucked but they redid the vinyl section in the Berkeley store within the last six months. Much better than it was before. If you visit fequently enough they'll leave the new bins lying around before they sort them into the general record collection.
this is the way I look at it too. I much prefer selling directly to folks rather then Egay. The only things worth putting on Ebay are things that COULD go off... but when something is constantly fluctuating between 50-80$ just sell it to a dude who's there right there and then for 40$ and call it a fucking day. I.E. don't be a fucking greedy stingy bitch about this record shit!!
For one thing, alot of people haven't had the oppurtunity to shop in places all over the country/world. When you've only been record shopping in California, or specifically the Bay, maybe Rasputins sucks. As a dude coming in randomly, its a great shop, they have a new arrival section, large selection, etc. Definitly shouldn't be mentioned in the worst record store EVAR post. Maybe you have no luck there, but no reason do diss the biz.
My vote for worst record store EVAR is AMAZING RECORDS in GREEN BAY. Dude has an invisible line going thru half of the store of records that are off limits.
Gotta disagree about Cheapo's. Looney Tunes in Harvard is a tough spot
to come up in, but like I say on here all the time, if you are hitting
any of the Boston places constantly, you can come up.
I have pulled plenty of good albums out of LT Cambridge in the past year,
but the refresh rate is way too slow - if they have good records, they're cheap, too.
Cheapo's has good records constantly coming through the door, so the new arrivals bin is always
going to have some shit in there you want. Prices have been going up in
there, though, just the past few months. $40 for the Litter "Emerge" is not
bright - you should compete with eBay for a common but desirable
record like that, not charge double the going rate. Still, R*b at Cheapo's
keeps it pretty damn real.
Looney Tunes in Boston has been killin' it this year!
They seem to be doing more buying than any local store. One of the old-school
dudes that works there has bit the bullet and is selling thousands of his
records to the store. P*t was saying he's paid dude $6,000 so far and it's
only half the collection. They have new records every damn day in that spot.
They are pushing it with prices, too, but like so many stores they charge
$25 for $8 records, but then charge $25 for $75 records. The dudes that work
there are mad cool, too. De**is is always there, and is mad legit with
the discounts and sneak previews.
i was just going off about service.
i do pretty good at all thoses locations.(well,some of the time)
and yeah mr paycheck, it really does depend on how hard you go out.how are you referring tgo here in the south bay w/ the great records?
i think we all(for the most part have are up's and downs w/ records)but that is another story.
this is a pretty fun topic.
Well I've never really done much out there, other than a cursory sweep around the shops, I tried running the fleas one day but really didn't find anything. I'm really more of an east bay dude and I didn't even really hit SF as hard as I should have.
i say "ay ay" and will agree with you. on a side note, theres a girl i wanted to get with...we were cool until i went on a rant about how that store sucks....apparently, she is friends with the owner. who, might i add, is a cocksucker. i gave the place a few chances. found a Clifford Jordan on Vortex once, but it was resealed and stuffed in his shitty ass "collectors vinyl" bin....what the fuck makes it "collectors vinyl"...might as well name it "overpriced and resealed shit no one will ever buy"
but ill go ahead and nominate Mooncurser Records as well..City Island in the Bronx...when i first started going there years ago i was impressed cuz the place was so fucking big...but not only is it full of bullshit, but everything was overpriced and non-negotiable. you have Roger (who was like 95 yrs old...) who basically just had his fat piece of shit smelly right hand man Steve price it all by the book. Roger died last year and some guy bought it out...who also is an ebay seller....
i went there recently and found 5 crates in the back of hip hop 12's and LPs...good stuff...but not in good condition...some titles included
OC-Word...Life LP
Lord Finesse-Strictly For The Ladies
im talking dope early 90s stuff that can go for loot IF...i repeat IF good condition...thee ones had ripped covers and scratched records....so what does this fuckhead do? ebay....looked up everything on ebay...at this point im pissed and about to have an anxiety attack....the one record i want really bad...being "Word Life" wasnt being auctioned...he couldnt find a listing...SO you guessed it...he wouldnt sell it...i feel like kicking dudes door down and robbing him...
i think im done with this bullshit...it makes me hate people
With regards to Rasputins, like I said, there are lots of worse record stores. I went into the Melrose place once and that guy made Redwood City hairy nutjob dude look like a stand-up dude. My point was when you calculate the place's potential vs. the reality of what it is then it is the worst in my book.
We're talking about a chain that has stores all around the bay area - a metropolitan area with millions of people. They may actually be the largest independent record store chain in the country. If they were running things correctly they would be taking in at least a few great records every day, from all corners of the area. (maybe they are and the employees take home all the good stuff) And yet what actually makes its way out onto the sales floor is incredibly tepid. In my opinion it is generally overpriced as well. Almost always above ebay prices for anything remotely quality. And I don't think its a question of me having bad luck there. I've been checking there pretty regularly for about three years and can't think of more than a couple records that I was actually excited about. In terms of other record stores in the Bay Area, I rank them dead last, even behind the Record Gallery in Alameda, which generally sucks but every once in a blue moon produces some heat. A higher quantity of decent records trades hands in one morning at one of Justin's garage sales than in an entire year at all the Rasputin's locations combined.
Ike Turner - $8
Harlem River Drive - $50 (I mean, that's a bit pricey but still decent considering)
Roy Lee Johnson - $15
Joe Pass Guitar Interludes $4
America Eats Its Young (NM w poster) $15
Leon Spencer Sneak Preview $15
Black Heat S/T $10
Gil Scott Heron "Pieces Of A Man" $10-15 (I seem to pull one of these every time I am there)
and that's just off the top of my head, and all within the last 5 years. Nothing insane, but those are definitely not overpriced. That place is decent man. Sure, it could be even more killer, but there's constantly good stuff circulating, I ALWAYS buy something.
dude, two words:
Jeep Bar
that prague spot had probably the worst dollar bin ever (and a photocopied OST covers bin
Manfuckthat, I'm riding for Rasputins! This is bullshit.
Memory Lane[/b] in Tempe, AZ
Forget dollarbins... the minimum price on an lp in this place is $12.00! So if you're looking for a mint copy of Carribean Queen, pick one of the 15 in stock for 12-14 dollars. Absolutely ridiculous.
Bwahahaha. Now we know your weak spot. But seriously, things change. I feel confident to say that place keeps getting progressively worse. You won't be finding Ike Turner for $8 again, I'd wager. If it goes under it won't make a lick of difference to me. Now if they shut down the Ashby Flea to build some yuppie "transit village" on the site (this is in the works) I will be fucking pissed.
I don't know man, when I was out there in Aug/Sept I was pulling heat... that Ike Turner score was back when I lived there (and could hit it every day or so) but still... I know that harlem river drive was there when I was out last and I passed on it, I really shouldn't have...
RASPUTINS MOTHERBATCHES!
Amoeba on the other hand, haven't found much worthwhile there in a minute.
eh, i gotta disagree.
i pulled the Juicy 12" w/ "Dreams" on it, mint, out of In Your Ear (harvard location) for 10 bucks...
Cheapo's has def. not had it's day... every time i go there i walk out w/ something...
also, the jazz stock at Looney Tunes near Berkeley has been consistantly decent ever since i started going there (1991)... and the bulk of my soul collection essentials (60's atlanitc stuff, stax volt, etc) i bought there in high school....
i gotta say, everyone hating on sellers looking stuff up on Ebay is kinda lame... b/c you know if they didn't look it up and just sold you something for a fiver, you all would be on here bragging about how you pulled a fast one on him... listen, eventually dudes like that will learn after they pay a few hundred bucks on ebay reserve fees for items that don't sell...
honestly, in my experience, it's not the greasy ponytail and cigar smoking bridgade who do that shit, but the beatdigging stores... like, the only time i've had someone refuse to sell me a nice piece i wanted that was unpriced was when A-1 got a big hardcore punk collection in...
oh, and for the dude blasting mooncruiser on City Island, my boy got "live convention vol 1" there for like 100 bucks and then flipped it for credit somewhere for 5or 6X that... as well as a superrare Paul C test press that he traded to Shadow for some good stuff...
my nomination goes to Rare Records on Carmine St.. eeeeeek!
some people need to have this tattoed with quick jabs into the side of their neck.
i gotta roll with johnny about rasputins. everytime i went in there i found at least 5 dollars worth of good dollar joints. animated egg for 12 was a nice price too. caugh more in there than i did at amoeba.
i dont want to hear another murmur about ashby flea getting threatened. kill that noise. that would be a tragedy
worst stores...
cheapos- they pulled some bullshit on me with 45s. the dude there who found those stark reality 45s like four years ago wouldnt let me look back at hte stacks.i had to tell him everyone i wanted. fair enough. we found 3-4 hits and instead of pricing them for me, he listens to them (cause he didnt know them) and then wouldnt sell me any. plus, i was begging all of them to sell me the coffey stk empty sleeve they had in the stairwell and they werent having it. a shop in seattle had one in the window and just gave it to me.
bleeker bobs- has anyone ever bought a record there?
some LA store north of venice beach, i had to pull a switcheroo on them cause i wasnt going to leave without a record that they were being all fucking clingy and scared about.
jim russel in nola got some things to buy, but dudes son is a fuck
pittsburgh-all
Man, you had it all wrong. New Paltz isn't about records. It's about beer and the Gunks. Don't climb? Ok, you're a nancy boy, but there's still endless, beautiful hiking on what is surely one of the world's great crags. And yeah, Rhino sucks. Whenever I'm there, I go in after four or five days of camping and climbing and stink the place up (and not just with my BO, also my disgust at a poorly managed, lousy record store).
You just need to know how to match your visit with the tides and ancient magick they use to determine the prices of records.
I got boogaloo jones "sweetback" for 10 (because the lady was sure that was what the last one they sold was price... hey I don't argue), purdie "shaft" for a few dollah, and a rare dub LP for 15 or so. A good day.