Remembering Record Stores

[kfbkfb]

Another "record store" opened at Oak Park Mall in June or July of this year, seems to be a Vintage Stock store using another name - IIRC, Entertainment Mart.

Oak Park Mall also has an F Y E where I've purchased a few new and used CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays.

I'll have to head over there soon and see if they have the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie I'm looking for on Blu-ray.


Kirk Bayne

 

[Tres Discrete]

Ahhh…I remember The Princeton Record Exchange…I haven’t been there since…the day before yesterday when I went haywire & bought all this stuff
Bless them for still being in business
The really good news is that the place was PACKED…mainly with younger people buying…Vinyl
Who’da thunk?!

 

[marpow]

For me, probably started at Sears, when I was a kid, then graduated to a record store in Daly City, Skyline Plaza Shopping Center, forget the name, two hippies owned it. They taught me and turned me onto different music.
Than when the car came it was Tower Records, Columbus and Bay in SF, than CD's emerged and was either Costco or Best Buy, now Amazon and others.
There is one a few blocks from my house in San Mateo, stop in occasionally.
https://www.vinylsolutionrecords.us/

 

[mandrix]

I was late, late coming to CD's. I would go with my buddy to Spec's music and flip through the LP's while he hunted through the newfangled CD's. That was decades ago.
I sold all my Quad stuff, moved to North FL, got remarried eventually. Had a small stereo system and a few LP's and always talked about my old Quad system to my wife and how much I missed it.
Came home from work one day and there sat a brand new Sony 5.1 AVR, a CD deck, a dual cassette deck (I still had a bunch of cassettes I had made from LP's) 5 speakers and a sub, a new turntable.
Nothing top of the line, you understand, but I loved her for it. Got me back into surround sound, and the rest as they say, is history.
No record stores around this area, but I started ordering LP's and DTS-CD's where I could find them. Bought some up at yard sales and such back then.

 

[quicksrt]

I remember in 1979 I drove around the Tampa / St. Pete area stopping at several record stores at several malls, and a stand alone Peaches store in Clearwater. These stores still had a quadraphonic LP bin. I grabbed Best of The Doors, Toys in the Attic, and Wish You Were Here, and Aqualung. They all had been sitting in the LP bins for a while.

At Tampa Bay Mall there was Record Bar and Musicland, Westside Plaza had Camelot Music, down east on Kennedy Blvd was Budget Records and Tapes which had amazing import bin. Got the BBA "Live in Japan" there.

All of these stores had great import bins which is what I was mainly into. There were even import cutouts, where you could find marked down imports that did not have cuts or holes in the covers. I got the Canadian pressing of The Runaways Live in Japan for $3.99 or close to it when the Japan import was running $25.

Got the Jimi Hendrix French Barclay 4LP box, and that Stones cloth bound 5LP box with the glitter cover and t-shirt included on French Decca, remember that one?

Interesting to me, I still have these records and they are nearly all in NM condition. This was around the time I learned about outer ploy sleeves to prevent ring wear and corner edge wear.

I got all of the Apple / EMI / Parlaphone Beatles albums that appeared on UK colored vinyl.

Rolling Stones too, every album that got a colored vinyl pressing was for me a must have.

And any major act with a rare B-Side on 45 I had to have the Japanese pressing like “Silver Springs” and “Hey Hey What Can I Do” and also the German pressing of The Beatles German language “She Loves You” single.

Considering how I disliked the Tampa area which I lived in from 1975 to 1984, the record stores were pretty damn great.

From 1984 on it was Los Angeles area record shopping which is or was best in the world. The used bins jam packed with new condition promos and even imports.

Speaking of imports, I was seeing in the late 80s and early 90s at Tower on Sunset some amazing low prices on new stuff, UK Electric Ladyland 2LP set with nude cover on Polydor for $8.99, and Santana SQ quad Lotus 3LP with all the trimmings for $18.99, grabbed them both at these prices and still have them in Mint condition.

 

[barfle]

Several bases in Germany closed, including the one in Bremerhaven
I was stationed at.

I know the tiny post I was at (Pruem) is closed. I’ve looked at the site on Google Earth, and it seems abandoned. I recognize a few concrete/asphalt patches where buildings were, but it’s pretty much a big vacant lot.

 

[mandrix]

I remember in 1979 I drove around the Tampa / St. Pete area stopping at several record stores at several malls, and a stand alone Peaches store in Clearwater. These stores still had a quadraphonic LP bin. I grabbed Best of The Doors, Toys in the Attic, and Wish You Were Here, and Aqualung. They all had been sitting in the LP bins for a while.

At Tampa Bay Mall there was Record Bar and Musicland, Westside Plaza had Camelot Music, down east on Kennedy Blvd was Budget Records and Tapes which had amazing import bin. Got the BBA "Live in Japan" there.

All of these stores had great import bins which is what I was mainly into. There were even import cutouts, where you could find marked down imports that did not have cuts or holes in the covers. I got the Canadian pressing of The Runaways Live in Japan for $3.99 or close to it when the Japan import was running $25.

Got the Jimi Hendrix French Barclay 4LP box, and that Stones cloth bound 5LP box with the glitter cover and t-shirt included on French Decca, remember that one?

Interesting to me, I still have these records and they are nearly all in NM condition. This was around the time I learned about outer ploy sleeves to prevent ring wear and corner edge wear.

I got all of the Apple / EMI / Parlaphone Beatles albums that appeared on UK colored vinyl.

Rolling Stones too, every album that got a colored vinyl pressing was for me a must have.

And any major act with a rare B-Side on 45 I had to have the Japanese pressing like “Silver Springs” and “Hey Hey What Can I Do” and also the German pressing of The Beatles German language “She Loves You” single.

Considering how I disliked the Tampa area which I lived in from 1975 to 1984, the record stores were pretty damn great.

From 1984 on it was Los Angeles area record shopping which is or was best in the world. The used bins jam packed with new condition promos and even imports.

Speaking of imports, I was seeing in the late 80s and early 90s at Tower on Sunset some amazing low prices on new stuff, UK Electric Ladyland 2LP set with nude cover on Polydor for $8.99, and Santana SQ quad Lotus 3LP with all the trimmings for $18.99, grabbed them both at these prices and still have them in Mint condition.

Wow that brings back some memories. I remember Peaches and Camelot music. Budget Records sounds familiar as well. I moved from C Florida in the early 80's, although I lived in the Lakeland area and usually only went to Tampa to party. But I made it to a few record stores in the bay area now and then. There used to be a little shop down off Cass in Tampa I think that had a lot of imports.
I grew up driving around Tampa, it is, or was, not so bad to me but like all big cities there's always a suck factor that keeps me living in the boonies.

 

[kfbkfb]

I remember in 1979 I drove around the Tampa / St. Pete area stopping at several record stores at several malls, and a stand alone Peaches store in Clearwater. These stores still had a quadraphonic LP bin

Yes, I visited the Peaches record store in Overland Park KS in 1981-03 for the first time, they still had a Quad record bin - a few Columbia SQ albums.

I didn't get back there until 1984-07 when I became frequent visitor (most Saturdays - bought many CDs and some LDs and many VHS & Beta prerecorded tapes [HiFi music videos - compilations & concerts]) and a Pioneer LD player (which still works).

Although a big record store opened on the MO side in 1994, I still visited the OP KS store often until it closed in 2003-03.


Kirk Bayne

 

[quicksrt]

Wow that brings back some memories. I remember Peaches and Camelot music. Budget Records sounds familiar as well. I moved from C Florida in the early 80's, although I lived in the Lakeland area and usually only went to Tampa to party. But I made it to a few record stores in the bay area now and then. There used to be a little shop down off Cass in Tampa I think that had a lot of imports.
I grew up driving around Tampa, it is, or was, not so bad to me but like all big cities there's always a suck factor that keeps me living in the boonies.

Budget Records was on Kennedy just west of Del Mabry, a really good independent store. I stared to get hooked on imports at age 13 when Made in Japan by Deep Purple came out as a UK only release. The US Warner label declined to issue it due to the new studio album was coming within 60 days and they didn't want some best of rehash to mess with their marketing launch. So I got the UK Purple live and Ten Year After "Rock and Roll Music to the World" album on a UK pressing as well. High glossy covers, thicker LP pressing, you knew even at 13 and 14 it was something special.

So I have always craved the unique, precious, rare, and unusual which includes Quad, Imports, Bootlegs, Radio Shows, Colored Vinyl, Picture Discs, Promotional Only, and Audiophile records, 45s with rare B-Sides. I'm still like that, I want the special items and don't mind paying slightly more to get them.

PS I saw a lot of concerts at the Lakeland Civic Center from 1976 to 1982ish

 

[mandrix]

Budget Records was on Kennedy just west of Del Mabry, a really good independent store. I stared to get hooked on imports at age 13 when Made in Japan by Deep Purple came out as a UK only release. The US Warner label declined to issue it due to the new studio album was coming within 60 days and they didn't want some best of rehash to mess with their marketing launch. So I gor the UK Purple live and Ten Year After "Rock and Roll Music to the World" album on a UK pressing as well. High glossy covers, thicker LP pressing, you knew even at 13 and 14 it was something special.

So I have always craved the unique, precious, rare, and unusual which includes Quad, Imports, Bootlegs, Radio Shows, Colored Vinyl, Picture Discs, Promotional Only, and Audiophile records, 45s with rare B-Sides. I'm still like that, I want the special items and don't mind paying slightly more to get them.

PS I saw a lot of concerts at the Lakeland Civic Center from 1976 to 1982ish

Yeah for sure lots of concerts at the Civic Center. My Buddy's Sister In Law worked there and tickets were pretty easy to get...no waiting. lol. Springsteen, CDB, Starship, too many to think of. I think CDB (Charlie Daniels Band) was one of the best. Had another friend that worked lights at the CC..he said the most demanding show was Kenny Rogers (as of about 1983).

 

[barfle]

Was that the air base that closed some years ago?

The air base is closed, but the Bitburger brewery is going strong! It’s what I was weaned on, and it’s still the best brew on aearth.

 

[Quad Linda]

Back in the 70's, I bought Schwann's monthly edition once every few months. Bought the supplimental issues (listing older and specialized titles) at least once a year.

Usually, I bought them at Korvettes or Rose Records. Rose's flagship store on Wabash Ave. in Chicago was arranged by LP label and catalog #!! They would often have OOP LP's (not cutouts) for many years after the label deleted the title. Schwann's had a symbol denoting titles about to go OOP.

Most of my Quads came from Korvettes, Rose, or hi-fi store I managed. Bought mostly Q8's. Q8's & Q vinyl in my collection amassed several hundred before the Quad era was over. Korvettes stocked most Quad titles and had at least a dozen copies each of best selling Q LP's.

Barfle, I've had Bittburger many times: "bit ein Bitt" (slogan)

I miss those days...

https://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-schwann-record-tape-guide.html

 

[gene_stl]

I bought a bunch of early (to me) audio gear at Korvettes. Most notably my first good spikkers AR 2ax. Circa 1970 or so. A friend of mine became the audio dept manager so we got some very good deals too. I bought an Empire turntable their too and when I got it home and examined the way it was made I took it back there and insisted on a return. (this was before my friend was the manager.) The tonearm was too massive and I didn't like the way the castings were finished. Notwithstanding the gold plating.

 

[tonyE]

Ah, the good old days. When I was in High School in 70 to 1973, ...

OK... give it up... what Marantz is that? I didn't know they made any quad with the all chrome face... my quad marantz is the 4215, with the SQ1 and the external RM400 too.

And... that's Caranvanserai LP. ;-)

I got a pair of NOS Panasonic quad headphones and a rather used pair of KOSS Pro4 ( forget the name ) but those have an issue in one of the drivers ( quad phone) so that needs to get fixed (the factory won't touch it.).

Do you remember how there was -almost- always a head shop next to the Wherehouse stores?

 

[gene_stl]

Just heard a story on NPR while out doing errands. Record Revolution in Cleveland Ohio is having their big Going Out of Bidness sale.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertain...tion-on-coventry-to-close-after-55-years.html
https://www.yelp.com/biz/record-revolution-cleveland-heights

 

[Tres Discrete]

I just had a flashback, which is somewhat humorous in hindsight:
I grew up in a town called Millburn, and the local record shop was called (either cleverly or predictably) The Record Mill.
Already a hard rock fan, I rode my bike down there one day after Jr. High (probably wearing one of my many Aerosmith t-shirts), strode up to the front desk, and said “Give me the heaviest thing you’ve got” (imagine the naïveté/hubris!)
The chubby, buzz cut owner (probably more interested in whatever was “alternative” at the time) looked me up & down as if sizing up what I could handle…
After a pregnant pause, he reached under his counter & said “Well…this just came in…”
It was the 12” vinyl single of “Motörhead” by Motörhead.
Needless to say, that single changed my life…I have worshipped at the altar of Lemmy ever since…
Dunno if that guy is still alive, but I owe him a debt of gratitude!!!

 

[Clement]

I first discovered The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, MN about 15 years ago. Every time We have returned to the Twin Cities, a visit is on the agenda

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Rather Ripped Records, Berkeley, California. 1978.

Found this about 3 years ago or so on FB. One of the longtime record clerks posted it, and we were able to talk about the store. It’s Blondie before they become famous in about the spring of 1978, with their 2nd album. They were playing, if I remember right, a small club in San Francisco later that night. I wanted to go to this, but I had to work. The crazy thing is, unless you were one of the few people into punk or new wave at the time (and could even find these type of records), most people walking by the store wouldn’t have recognized or even known about the band.

Before I saw these photos, I had to rely on memories. It remains for me at least, the best record store at the time. That’s why after visiting the record stores on University Avenue, you had to drive to the opposite side of UC Berkeley to find the most rarest of records and collector items. Anyway, Rather Ripped Records. And yes, they had one hell of a Quadraphonic section. It was the only place that had the UK import of the SQ “Dark Side of the Moon.” Until I went to the store, I didn’t know it even existed. The store area was relatively small, but they had a large stock in the back. The people who worked there were highly knowledgeable and dedicated to music of all kinds.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Here’s another photo from RRR around the same time. It looks like this is from a different event. Not too sure who’s in the picture. Although, there’s a bunch of records from “The Police” first album on the wall.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Greg Kihn in front of Rather Ripped Records. From his first album cover. 1976.

From Wikipedia:

“The cover photo portrays Kihn as a working-class man and was shot in front of Rather Ripped Records in Berkeley where he worked at the time, with future Greg Kihn Band Keyboard player Gary Phillips.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Kihn_(album)