Boston Diggin Spots?
coldcuts
388 Posts
So I'm heading up to Boston next weekend and I was wondering if anyone has some spots I should check out while I'm up there. What else do I need to check out while I'm up there?Thanks
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Nothing to see here...move along, move along...[/b]
haha just kiddin'...I've had such a good weekend I can't even sweat any tourist competition.
Local spots that come through the most:
Cheapo's - Central Sq, Cambridge. Records everywhere. New arrivals has heavy turnover. One of the only used stores around that gets obscure soul on a regular basis. Also lots of sealed LP's that have been around forever, although the "new" and used are conveniently separate. Also massive wall of unplayed 45's, butyou have to go through a binder that lists everything they once had, and ask them to look, and it is not a fun process, since they won't have most of it. I'll recommend right now the Jery Washington 45's they have on Excello, I know they have multiples of those, funky early 70's tracks, and if you like 60's gritty soul I know they have Johnny Sayles on Mar-V-Lus still on that wall. If you find they have stock of anything ill, PM me when you get back!
In Your Ear - Comm Ave, Allston - there are two of these, but the Allston one has it over the Cambridge one big time. Even more overstuffed with records, and they have a 16 box collection of soul 45's you can go through, although it has been picked (still some gems tho), and I know he just bought a bunch more, he keeps stuff fresh for the most part, so you'll probably find some goodies. Piles of new arrivals, and a wall of fifty cent 45's in the back where I pulled stock Little Beavers and such. Tell Reid Mark said hi and sent you, if you're buying a pile he'll probably give a discount, he is realz headz.
Looney Tunes - Boston, Boylston St. (near Fenway Park) This store has a Boston & Cambridge chapter, too, and the Boston one wins again...a bit pricey, but lots of records, and Pat has bought a couple of huge soul LP collections lately, and has been slowly dropping them in, so you may hit some fresh gems not picked over yet. Like most pricey stores, you'll prolly find one absurdly cheap LP, don't ask, just take the music and run...
also, there is a record fair next weekend in Dedham at the Holiday Inn, around a 20 minute drive from town, I'll be going but I honestly don't recommend it too highly, I just get free passes and have one 45 guy I deal with there, for the most part it is the same expensive & useless records every time, and the ultimate "bootleg DVD's sell more than LP's" record show. New flea market opening in my neighborhood in Jamaica Plain next Sunday, I can't say what it will be like since it's the first one, but I'll be up early trying to keep the wolves away from any heat that may be lurking.
Any other ??? like directions or where the hoes at
Bout to raid some old ladies storage unit after work in Edison, NJ.
ewwwwwww
they also require driving time. like an hour minimum.
deptford,nj
To clarify, for Boston.
otherwise, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the shops in boston. Fuck cheapo's (i think)... where you can't actually browse the 45's but have to look through their catalogue.
There were two In Your Ear shops in town... can't remember which one was the better of the two, but I scored some pretty decent stuff for $1 - $4... must've walked out with 40 or so stock copies of solid soul/funk 45's. worth the stop.
Co-sign that it would be nice, sometimes I wish stores would just bring the heat and let me pay, but I do pretty damn well around here...those stores I mentioned all have high turnover and seem to have fresh records whenever I go in, and I hit those stores at LEAST once a week. Unfortunately, I just don't think that kind of store would do too well, unless they found a spot with minimal rent but high traffic...the collector scene around here is rabid but small...the closest shop I can think of to that style, Mars Records, went under pretty quick, trying to operate on hi-rent Newbury Street...stores have been going out left and right around here...
rather true, prolly my favorite spot in the whole state is the S***m R**ord Ex****ge, although I think the Mystery Train on the North Shore is over-rated...the Western Mass stores supposedly have some heat, but I never get out that way. That record show I went to in Providence RI yesterday had more good records for cheap than I have seen in Boston in years, although shows are always an exception...
True, if you know 45's that are worth $50+, it may be worth diving into that massive wall, but don't bother pulling anything slightly common, because he will try to charge you $10 for Atlantic Solomon Burke 45's, etc...he basically forces you to screw him over, lest ye be screwed...I stormed out of that place one day after beefing over 45 prices with him, and have yet to go back, although now my game is tighter, I might try again...
Co-sign on the 45 wall hassle, but sleep on Cheapo's at your own loss...I constantly pull better LP's out of their new arrivals bin for "cheapo" than anywhere in town, and they specialize in soul, which is a major plus in my book...
there is a map that someone made with every record store
yeah skippy white was the place
if you spend 2 hours youll find something there for sure
i must add that it was a woman running the counter and she just charged me 5 a pop for whatever i got.
i dont remember exactly what i got but syl johnson and paul humprhey were 2 of them