Spin Mag: America's 15 Best Indie Record Stores
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Spin Mag: America's 15 Best Indie Record Stores Real shocker on their #1
In honor of the second annual Record Store Day on April 18, we talked to SPIN contributors and trusted friends around the country to come up with the best general-interest music shops that America has to offer. Because, let's be honest, spending too many hours on the Internet fizzes your brain and dims your eyesight. But devoting hours to a great record store rejuvenates. Ask the opinion of the right people (they???re right there behind the counter), and you can come out enlightened, possibly with new friends, carrying a record you???ve never heard of that might blow your mind, with a big f*cking smile on your face. And who doesn't want that?NOTE: We tried to narrow our list to a Top 10, but were pleasantly surprised to find 15 stores we loved -- plus a group of 15 more worthy of honorable mention. (To keep our list manageable, we excluded stores that specialize in specific genres like jazz and blues.) Read on for the countdown of our Top 15 picks -- plus, testimonials from fans who frequent them.15. RECORD EXCHANGE1105 W. Idaho Street, Boise, IdahoWhy It Rocks: Like other large, local institutions in less-populated states, Boise's Record Exchange sells a wide selection of tchotchkes alongside its enormous selection of music and DVDs. The one-stop-shop vibe can make intimacy harder to foster, but when you can buy your sister a birthday present and pick up a few hard-to-find releases without going near the mall, you know that an indie record shop is earning its keep.Fans Say: "The first time I stopped into the Record Exchange, I was on tour with a band who shall remain nameless, I and fell in love a little bit. They have those wonderful bits of vinyl that you don't realize you absolutely NEED until you hold it in your hand (I picked up In a Priest Driven Ambulance by the Flaming Lips and The Return of Bruno by Bruce Willis), amazing action figures (I got a Biggie toy), and just good vibes in general. The store was wide open so it breathed a lot, and the staff was superfriendly (as most people are the further you get from the Northeast). We were all like kids in candy stores, it was amazing. I was then challenged to eat seven foot-long hot dogs from the cart outside. It was not amazing." -- Michael Venutolo-Mantovani (Matador Direct)14. TRUE VINE3544 Hickory Avenue, Baltimore, MarylandWhy It Rocks: Beyond being Baltimore's favorite (and hippest) spot to buy vinyl, True Vine stands out as one of the most staunch champions of the truly unusual, unexpected listening experience. The owners of the small, relatively young shop take great care to keep the 7,000 titles on the floor rich with obscure, avant-garde, and international releases (along with the latest Animal Collective, of course). But don't let that scare you, the place is intimate enough that questions about records are actually less awkward than keeping to yourself.Fans Say: "What makes this store a major destination spot is its own ethnographic CD-R series of international recordings. Let's face it, the legions of Harry Smiths have pretty much picked through every attic from West Virginia through New Orleans; the 'old weird America' has been discovered and rediscovered. True Vine covers the rest of the globe???quietly putting out nondescript burners of rural folk music from Brazil, Vietnamese percussion jams, traditional acoustic pickings from Sub-Saharan African dating back to the '60s, and so on and on. No fancy packaging or box-set prices. You'd never find this stuff unless you went here. The store's main compiler, Ian Nagoski, who released Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics on Dust-to-Digital (2007), has left the store, so the CD-R production has become more sporadic. But the CDs are still there. Just ask." -- Jason Cherkis (senior writer, Washington City Paper)13. ELECTRIC FETUS2000 4th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MinnesotaWhy It Rocks: Imagine a corporate big-box retailer, the kind with snazzy touch-screen listening stations and a big corner of non-music gifty trappings, but instead of padding their huge racks with dozens of copies of the same Lenny Kravitz CD, they stock them with thousands of LPs and seven-inches, and in-depth jazz, world, and local-music sections. Then add 40 years of experience, a burn-your-own-mix-CD station, and a large staff of devoted employees who would like nothing more than to see your face when you encounter Fela Kuti for the first time. You're looking at the inside of Minneapolis's Electric Fetus.Fans Say: "I keep coming back to the Fetus because of all the stuff I've discovered there that I never would have heard otherwise. But the most telling thing about them is that they have 12 employees who have been with the store for 25 years or longer. If that doesn't say loyalty and affection, I don't know what does." -- Peter S. Scholtes (writer, City Pages) 12. GONER2152 Young Avenue, Memphis, TennesseeWhy It Rocks: A terrific local record store, Goner merits special distinction for the plucky punk label that it also runs out of the shop, which has put out releases by Reigning Sound, longtime local punk icon Ross Johnson, and Quintron (to name only a few), with more on the way from Box Elders and Tyvek. They showcase talent galore at their yearly, four-day Gonerfest. And as far as reps go, these guys have earned one about ten times the size of their tiny shop.Fans Say: "Goner is an ever-strengthening force as a label, BBS, and mail-order outlet on the national level as well, with such minor masterstrokes as the introduction of Eddy Current Suppression Ring to the rest of the world, serving as the launching pad for Jay Reatard, and causing a lot of scuttlebutt via the incendiary/informative/hilarious/maddening Goner Bulletin Board (careful, you were warned!) When you enter the store these days, it's almost as if the economy wasn't on the fritz, the music biz was in good shape, and you've just stepped into the pre-Internet record store environment. People congregate, talk shop, crack jokes, and do whatever networking there is to be done in a town like Memphis." -- Andrew Earles (SPIN contributing writer and artist, Earles and Jensen Present...Just Farr a Laugh Vol. 1 & 2 (The Greatest Prank Phone Calls Ever!))11. RECKLESS3161 N. Broadway, 1532 N Milwaukee Avenue, and 26 E Madison, Chicago, Illinois.Click To Enlarge. / Photo by Sarah-JiWhy It Rocks: Chicago is home to a strange, wonderful modern phenomenon known as Reckless Records. Laughing into the wind of Internet-driven changes in music purchasing, they've expanded their operation to three locations in the city. The Wicker Park branch, in particular, draws the young, hip, and dusty-nosed used vinyl crowds, but the selection and staff album reviews can be relied upon at all three spots. In a time when so many shops are shuttering, Reckless proves that there's still a way for record stores to get even bigger if they provide an exciting service you can't get anywhere else.Fans Say: "Reckless in Wicker Park is my standby. Their used section is great, they carry vinyl, CDs, new stuff, DVDs, and magazines. They have a knowledgable staff that includes musicians (industrial legend Chris Connelly and avant electronic rocker Magas both work there) and DJs and folks whose recommendations you can trust. They are a geniunely hip hold-out in a neighborhood that has been run over in the process of gentrification. It's the axis of indie rock for the town." -- Jessica Hopper (SPIN contributing writer and editor of Hit It or Quit It)10. WUXTRY197 E. Clayton Street, Athens, GeorgiaWhy It Rocks: As much as some record stores help foster their town's music community, none has done so as prominently as Wuxtry in Athens, Georgia, whic
h, if you believe the stories, has employed members of every prominent local band since the scene exploded in the '80s. But the shop's reputation rests just as much on what it provides to visitors, apart from a great selection. Devotees tell stories of hanging around Wuxtry as young'uns and being included in discussions or encouraged to "record your own damn songs, already!" Plus, the upstairs eccentric comics zone Bizarro Wuxtry is a legend unto itself.Fans Say: "You know how you're always hearing stories about kids who got schooled on cool music by their older siblings who had awesome record collections and you got pissed because your older siblings, if you even had them, liked f*cking Foreigner or Kajagoogoo or Deep Banana Blackout? Well, the thing about the original, bedroom-sized Wuxtry (on the corner of College Avenue and East Clayton) was that it was like you suddenly got to hang out with all those older siblings -- specifically owner Dan Wall and whoever happened to be working or blissfully killing off endless afternoons (R.E.M.'s Peter Buck was a particularly opinionated participant once upon a time, most likely hammering on about the New York Dolls or whatever used rock bio he'd just picked up). I distinctly remember somebody there insisting that I stop dicking around and buy the Cramps' Songs the Lord Taught Us and loving it so much that I went back and got Psychedelic Jungle ('Goo Goo Muck' was me and my college roommates' virtual theme song for two years). Then came Bizarro Wuxtry, which got included in an issue of Peter Bagge's Hate as 'the FUNKIEST business establishment I've ever seen!' and the larger storefront space next door, and eventually, Wall even opened the small, adjacent memorabilia-crammed Athens Music Museum. It's mind-boggling to me that for more than 30 years, and after thousands of other great stores have faded or bitten the dust, Wuxtry has actually gotten better." -- Charles Aaron (SPIN music editor)9. MUSIC MILLENNIUM3158 & 3144 E. Burnside, Portland, OregonWhy It Rocks: A 1969 opening date makes Music Millennium the oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest, and they've proven their wisdom over the years with an inventory (now including sizable selections of DVDs and other non-music ephemera) that has grown almost as fast as their importance as a community staple. The original house where the shop was founded has expanded into an adjacent wing with a Classical Annex, making it one of the few stores that's both charmingly ramshackle and agreeably freshfaced.Fans Say: "Holy moly, I love Music Millenium! It's the way a record store should be: It's wonderfully curated, and the Burnside location is seasoned, cozy, with a modest but inviting and comprehensive vinyl collection (you have to climb up a shitty, narrow stairwell to get where the vinyl is, but who cares?) and a superbonkers CD selection. It's an essential part of the PDX music community, for sure." -- Joan Hiller (publicist, Riot Act Media) 8. GRIMEY'S1604 8th Avenue S., Nashville, TennesseeWhy It Rocks: Five years ago, Grimey's Records outgrew their space and moved into its current stylized, three-pedimented building, which it shares with Thirty Tigers music marketing and distribution upstairs and popular venue the Basement downstairs. Grimey's is definitely the meat of this sandwich, with an amazingly broad selection (for its size), very affordable prices, and history as a stalwart of indie cool in a town that's known for a very different kind of music scene.Fans Say: "Best store in Nashville (that doesn't deal exclusively in country music). They've got a real good selection of new/used vinyl, indie and import CDs, DVDs, and books. And they probably do some of the best in-stores anywhere. Pound for pound, it's one of the best in the country." -- Bob Mehr (music writer, The Commercial Appeal)7. AQUARIUS1055 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaClick To Enlarge. / Photo by Emily HoyerWhy It Rocks: San Francisco institution Aquarius Records has been around for almost four decades, but there's nothing settled or complacent about this small Mission district shop. They get as many obscure releases per week as most stores get per month (particularly of metal and other extreme genres), and it seems like every last one gets a lengthy and consistently well-written review on the Aquarius website. Just walking around, staring at the blurbs taped up everywhere, feels like an education. Get a friendly clerk talking, and you're on your way.Fans Say: "There's a lack of venues in San Francisco to sustain a music scene, so Aquarius is kind of an establishing factor; it really helps hold the community together. When I was younger, I would go there with my best friend and just read everything to keep up with what's going on. It's one of those record stores where you can go in and say, ???Got anything that sounds like this?' and they'll go ???Yeah!' and pull something out of the back." -- Jenn Su (contributor, GOOD magazine)6. EAR X-TACY1534 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KentuckyWhy It Rocks: Ear X-tacy's huge selection???rivaled by only a few stores in the country -- and commitment to "keeping Louisville weird" has earned it praise from devoted music fans (or weirdos, obsessive-compulsives, music critics, whatever) that echo all the way to the coasts. From its early adoption of online ordering, to its impressive selection of non-music indie media, to a supportive focus on local music, the shop works hard at keeping itself and the values it represents relevant. If any one store can keep a whole city weird, it's ear X-tacy.Fans Say: "It's the ultimate hometown store. One that you can walk into and feel like you've just stepped into your favorite bar, where your favorite drink is already waiting for you. In this case, it's the music (in the end, its always the music). I know that when I go in, I'll find exactly what I'm looking for, and right off the bat, more times than not." -- Kyle Meredith (host, WFPK???s The Weekly Feed)5. SONIC BOOM2209 NW Market Street and 514 15th Avenue E., Seattle, WashingtonClick To Enlarge. / Photo by Tom DobrowolskyWhy It Rocks: In a town with a music scene as established as Seattle's, Sonic Boom is a welcoming hub for all the "types" floating around. Its Ballard flagship and smaller Capitol Hill location (the Fremont branch closed in February of last year) have employed half the music-industry folks in the city at one point or another, and its consistently great in-store performances often turn into impromptu family reunions. But this place isn't coasting on its rep; the selection is wide, well-organized, and surrounded with the kind of seriously pleasant atmosphere that could only be created and maintained by people who know that a great record store is about a lot more than just the music.Fans Say: "Sonic Boom is beyond ridiculously f*cking important to not only the Seattle music universe/community, but to those same people all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. If Sonic Boom was ever, ever in trouble, the community would rush to save it. I have zero question about that. Zero." -- Joan Hiller (publicist, Riot Act Media) 4. WAX 'N FACTS432 Moreland Avenue NE, Atlanta, GeorgiaWhy It Rocks: Atlanta's Wax 'N Facts has a pretty crappy website, and until recently, they refused to use their phone. But the dusty old joint inspires some powerfully loving words from loyal Atlantans who would enjoy nothing more than to spend an entire afternoon poking around its piles of used vinyl for the rare finds that always end up revealing themselves. And with its hidden corners, a staff who doesn't mind if you loiter forever, and always democratic pricing, the place couldn't be better-suited for a good, long treasure hunt.Fans Say: "I feel almost a little wild in my devotion to Wax 'N Facts. It represents something that's almost dead, which is this ju
nk shop, American gothic thing. It's not pretty or flashy or designy; its crates filled with records on tables and random posters on the wall. It's not the kind of place you go when you're looking for something; it's the kind of place you go to just explore." -- Bradford Cox (musician, Deerhunter and Atlas Sound)3. OTHER MUSIC15 E. 4th Street, New York, New YorkWhy It Rocks: Other Music is too small. In fact, it has one of the smallest inventories on this list, with only about 10,000 titles in stock at a time. With dinosaur Tower Records no longer across the street, the location on East 4th Street in Manhattan feels almost random (in addition to their name losing its referent), and, between the quietly poised staffers and lack of dark corners to hide in, the place can be intimidating. But there's a reason that, despite all this, Other Music is one of the best-known shops in the country???to the point of being lampooned in a Human Giant sketch. The employees at this Manhattan shop are not only cute and hip, they know the ins and outs of any genre you can imagine, from minimal Argentinian techno to Algerian Rai to the hottest young thing the blogs won't hype for another three months. What OM lacks in floor space, it makes up for in overwhelming knowledge and a unwavering passion for undiscovered gems.Fans Say: "On a number of occasions, I've walked into Other Music intending merely to look around, heard an album playing over the store's stereo, and promptly plunked down some cash. I can't say that about any other record store. Also, I once spent a solid half-hour there internally debating whether to buy a collection of the film music Mihaly Vig composed for Hungarian director Bela Tarr. I eventually put it down, figuring I'd come back and get the music another time. They've never had it since. Neither has anywhere else I've ever been to. But Other Music had it once, which is what counts." -- David Marchese (SPIN assistant editor)2. WATERLOO600A. N. Lamar, Austin, TexasClick To Enlarge. / Photo by Gideon TsangWhy It Rocks: Though it may not produce the most nationally recognized bands, Austin, Texas, takes serious pride in its self-proclaimed and well-earned reputation as the "Live Music Capital of the World." So it's fitting that it should boast one of the most comprehensive, enthusiastic, and all-around good-natured record shops in the country. Not only can you find just about anything, you can then listen to it in the store and even return it if you change your mind (if, for some inexplicable reason, you realize that Trout Mask Replica just won't ever do it for you). And yeah, their in-stores are legendary, what else would you expect?Fans Say: "Waterloo is the big kahuna. They get a full complement of mainstream stuff, a full compliment of indie stuff. They are just pros; they know what they're doing. The only reason they don't own the city is because of downloading and video games. If those two things didn't exist, the owner would probably be mayor of Austin." -- Joe Gross (pop-music critic, the Austin American-Statesman)1. AMOEBA6400 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 1855 Haight Street in San Francisco, and 2455 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, CaliforniaClick To Enlarge. / Photo by Barry YanowitzWhy It Rocks: Amoeba Records, with locations in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood, isn't just the "World's Largest Independently Owned Record Store" as their topflight website proudly declares, it represents a sort of music lovers' heavenly refuge. Their vast, bright warehouse spaces house massive, constantly shifting new and used stock (more than 100,000 titles per store), painstakingly curated into ultra-specific, world-spanning genre sections. Factor in a mind-blowing history of in-stores (browse their online video gallery for a taste), and it's no surprise that a majority of people, when asked about great record stores in the U.S., respond with "Oh, like Amoeba?"Fans Say: "There's something really soothing about rows and rows (and rows) of vinyl, just waiting to be flipped through, and when you hear that satisfying flip-flip-chunk sound of diggers, it's almost like hearing a great minimalist electronica record or something. Add to that the clattering of those plastic CD protector things, and it's like a little symphony. Amoeba feels like church, if church was fun." -- Josh Modell (managing editor, The Onion AV Club and SPIN contributing writer)"I went to Amoeba for the first time when I was 15 and I almost passed out. I could have spent $200, and I didn't have $200." -- Joe Gross (pop-music critic, the Austin American-Statesman) HONORABLE MENTIONS:Criminal, Atlanta Owner Eric Levin was the force behind Record Store Day, and he deserves huge recognition for that alone. Plus, his shop is a community staple.Permanent Records, Chicago "A hub for some of Chicago's more disparate 'outsider' scenes, in an environment where everyone is welcome." -- David HalsteadDusty Groove, Chicago "Hands down the best store in the U.S. for R&B, soul, funk, jazz, etc." -- Bob MehrVintage Vinyl, St. Louis The Amoeba of the Midwest.Harvest, Asheville, North Carolina A savvy selection to rival any big-city shop, in a comfortably sleepy mountain town.Landlocked Music, Bloomington, Indiana "A fixture of the Bloomington music community, the epitome of what big-box stores and online shopping can't offer." -- Abe MorrisAboveground, Edgartown, Massachusetts An oasis of truly great taste on an island that isn't exactly known for it.Treehouse, Minneapolis "Mostly vinyl, and a saving grace for many a Minneopolis teen." -- Jessica HopperM-Theory, San Diego One of Southern California's best, with an incredible history of in-stores.Shangri La, Memphis "Memphis' first independent record store that catered to the modern era of savvy record buyers" -- Andrew EarlesDouble Decker, Allentown, Pennsylvania A revered road trip destination for New York collectors.Academy Annex, Brooklyn, New York Where the New York collectors go when they don't have a car.Albums on the Hill, Boulder, Colorado "Like a slice of High Fidelity with everything such a scene implies." -- David MenconiJackpot, Portland "I'm pretty sure my husband is physically unable to leave there empty-handed." -- Joan HillerThe Record Collector, Bordentown, New Jersey Smartly stocked, good-hearted joint in a converted bowling alley, with in-stores ranging from the Meatmen to the 1910 Fruitgum Company (!)
Comments
I hit True Vine a couple years ago with a friend and we both left grips under our arms. Southern University Jazz Band and Gary Wilson LPs amongst other things. Not to mention, the guy DID turn us on to some crazy shit we didn't know about. Sorry to hear it's gone of track.
Before you even look at this list you know it's gonna end with Amoeba and Waterloo somewhere nearby. Waterloo, damn nice for CDs, has a decent selection of new vinyl but their used vinyl bins are more barren than Bea Arthur.
Oh, no doubt - I had been going there for years. Not sure what happened, but they moved around the corner, one or maybe more of the owners left, and when I went to the new spot there were only two browsers of vinyl, about half full. It had been going downhill before that but I was shocked at the change.
as an ex-employee, i can tell you with certainty that this was predicated on a space issue. also the mgmt for a while really didn't want to become the flea market of austin folks trying to sell off soft-rock turds in large quantities. the owner was happy to ship that business to cheapos down the street.
needless to say, while the store has been championed by indie music for the quality of CD music, record dealers/diggers since the mid 90's have always had a laugh at the store.
Nice enough people, but um
I should just shut up. They're a nice local "record" store in my neighborhood, shouldn't hate on that...
I wonder who they know to get on this list, is all I'm saying, I guess.
Groove Merchant is the best record store I've ever been to. ...in which I've ever been. ...at.
Like in other cities, the availability of LPs is exploding!