Is Your Favorite Music Store Extinct?

Wenzels Music in Downey on Lakewood Blvd. Huge inventory of 45's from the Fifties and Sixties. And of special interest to tikiphiles because it was just a block or two away from the Tahitian Village Motel. The Surfaris recorded some stuff there. It was a favorite place to shop for Dave and Phil Alvin of the Blasters.

It disappeared sometime in the 90's.

I don't know if anybody mentioned either Canterbury Records, and Cliffs Books on Colorado in Pasadena. Cliffs has been closed for a little while, apparently some sort of strucural problem with the building.
And Canterbury has a pretty decent selection.

TG

My favorite store is extinct! It's Rare Records in Glendale, California on Broadway (two blocks over from Colorado Blvd.) It was owned by Ray Avery, one of the famous jazz photographers. It had an amazing collection of vinyl! I used to ride my bike over there after high school and blow my allowance almost every week. I went home to visit the parents a couple years ago and it was gone ... bummer!

On 2005-01-25 20:44, CruzinTiki wrote:
My favorite store is extinct! It's Rare Records in Glendale, California on Broadway (two blocks over from Colorado Blvd.) It was owned by Ray Avery, one of the famous jazz photographers. It had an amazing collection of vinyl! I used to ride my bike over there after high school and blow my allowance almost every week. I went home to visit the parents a couple years ago and it was gone ... bummer!

Great story CT. Never heard of the place.
I can only imagine the record stores in Santa Cruz from the 60's to the 80's, :)
Welcome back!

Thanks Unga Bunga! It looks like you've been busy!

Streetlight Records in Santa Cruz actually has a pretty eclectic mix of music ... if you're willing to dig you can find some treasures.

Do any San Diegans (or ex-San Diegans) remember Encore Records on El Cajon Blvd. near San Diego State? I used to take the bus there in the 70s before I could drive. They only stocked 45s and they had thousands of them, all for 35 cents each! (Except for a small amount of rarer records behind the counter.) I blew my allowance several times on stacks of 45s, which were the start of my record collection.

Just revisiting this to add my friends record store's address

Don's Music
4873 Eagle Rock Blvd
Just two or so blocks south of Colorado in Eagle Rock.

Per square foot, hes got one of the best selections in town.

Hopefully he'll post some of his auctions soon.
TG

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but Beggar's Banquet in Anaheim was THE record store when I was a kid. Man, I always regret not getting that Dickies white vinyl that was up on the wall....

Ben, you gotta remember this place?!?!?!

Tiki Mugs, Vintage, Tiki Bars, Carved Tiki Poles, Apparel and more!
Everything Tiki at: http://www.bartiki.com

[ Edited by: Tiki Matt on 2005-04-14 05:34 ]

On 2005-01-22 14:01, The Sperm Whale wrote:
I grew up in Cerritos CA. And I got my first record at a store called Best Records wich later turned into Tempo Records. Then there was always Middle Earth in Downey!!! I will never forget those stores because my dad would take me once a week to pick out any record I wanted for doing my chores. When I became a teenager I would always find myself at Zed's in Long Beach and Arrons in Hollywood!!!! I really miss all the Independant record stores in my old Neighborhood!!! Now I buy most of my music at Ameoba. I think the internet and the downloading Music has really screwed up the Record Store experience. And I'll be the first to admit that I am as much to blame for it as everybody else.
Later,
Spermy

[ Edited by: The Sperm Whale on 2005-01-22 14:02 ]

Middle Earth was great! I bought my first Bad Brains album there. Is it still around? Zed's will be missed, it just recently closed...

In my opinion what obviously "did-in" the great record stores was the damn CD... don't get me wrong I like CDs but I absolutely love vinyl! When it comes to reggae, my favorite of all music genres, the LP, 7" and 12" were and in a lot of cases continue to be the primary medium for selling this music to the masses. A lot of great reggae was originally pressed on plastic and will never see the light of day on CD... there is just too much of a backlog of music and clearly not a large enough interest or financial reward to re-release albums. It's odd but I've noticed that a lot of Jamaicans really have no regard to their musical legacy and if it isn't the latest single, on the latest riddim, with the newest DJ du jour then it isn't worth listening to. I've heard horror stories of when songs had reached their "expiration date" people would just toss them in the trash. I've even heard of people taking their old records, minus their sleeves (cardboard once was a hot commodity in Jamaica and they recycled everything to make album cover - I even have an older LP whose cover was a laundry detergent box) and stacking them in a leaky out-building on their property and letting the heat and humidity do their number on god knows how many forgotten classics. I think older/vintage reggae would be extinct if it wasn't for the British who always enjoyed and respected the music more than Americans did and who held onto these records as the treasures they are. Damn I've gotten way off topic....

Anyway my friends and I would take a trip to Philadelphia every spring and fall to buy reggae vinyl. They had the closest Tower Records, when they still sold records, and another small store called 3rd Street Jazz. I remember when we first stopped at 3rd Street and I got out of the car thinking, "this place isn't gonna have anything." Oh...my...god! I had died and gone to heaven! They had a massive, I mean MASSIVE, reggae section - a good 8-10 bins wide and the coolest thing was the majority of it was used and dirt cheap! I remember leaving after the first trip with, I'm not exaggerating, 50 records... at the time it was the largest check I'd ever written to pay for it all but it was one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life! Well we quickly abandoned South Street's Tower and drove directly to 3rd Street on every trip! I had started noticing an influx of CDs and to make a long story a little less longer than it already is... one of the last times we went the reggae vinyl was clearly picked over and everything that remained was marked down. The last time we set foot in 3rd Street Jazz the only vinyl that remained was their namesake... paradise was lost. Sure they had a decent CD selection but who wanted to pay $12.00 for an album you could have gotten on vinyl for $4.00? I miss that place!

Anybody remember the "Field of Za'ad" record store in Santa Monica, circa 1970-75? Pico Blvd, just east of Lincoln (11th St.??) 20 bonus points if you do! Great used section! Much of my allowance was spent there, and countless hours pouring through the stacks of wax. I think my vinyl copy of Surrealistic Pillow came from there, used, for $1.00.

I assume Scotty's in Madison, NJ is extinct, but haven't been there in quite a while. I do know that I borrowed my friend's older brother's Surrealistic Pillow, bought when the album first came out and still in mint condition, and left it my the car in August, causing it to warp into a shape that would have been funny if, well, if it weren't an unmitigated disaster. This caused some discomfort between us for quite some time. I tried to play the clueless airhead ("bummer, man! I had no idea!...") but it didn't help matters.

While there is nothing nostalgic about it, I miss the Blockbuster music store we used to have in South Florida. They used to let you pick any cd in the store and they would open it up and let you listen to it as long as you wanted at a listening station. That was pretty cool.

[ Edited by: BaronV 2005-07-19 17:27 ]

Almost all music stores are extinct now. Here is the story of one in Long Beach, CA

The Zed Records (Long Beach, CA) Story

Wow, you dug up a dinosaur thread! LOL It got me to thinking about the only record store in my town, Novak & Adkins. By the time I was in 6th grade (1970) Mr Adkins was supplementing his record store earnings by teaching full time. Found this article online from 1961, apparently the store opened in 1918! Although it has since changed owners and location, the business is still open as a music store but the records are long gone.

Some of my fondest memories growing up were shopping in used record stores and going to record conventions. One of my first jobs was at a place in South Florida called Sid's Records. It was massive and chock full of every imaginable title I could possibly want in multitude, plus they had tons of rare bootlegs and import pressings with crazy covers. Boy if I knew then what I know now about rare punk and garage singles.. but I digress. As soon as I had a license to drive I started going in once or twice a week, pestering them for a job until finally one of their employees moved to Cali and they gave me a shot. It turned out to be a short lived gig but the experience had a profound impact on the rest of my life. Since then I worked in several other record stores, ran a distro, a record label, and even had my own shop for a couple years. Ultimately my wide-eyed fascination with tantalizing record covers and the music dug into those groves dictated the trajectory of my life and made me who I am today.

A lot of people blame the digital age for the death of vinyl and the record store since music became virtually free and more accessible in various other formats. Record Store Day was a valiant effort to restore people's perception of records as a valuable commodity, but unfortunately for me, RSD and ebay have completely diminished the fun and ultimately the reason why I enjoyed collecting records.

For one, the thrill of the hunt is completely gone. The days of getting up super early and going to a garage sale or thrift store to score a rare gem are over. The likelihood of spotting anything worthwhile at a record store for less than it's "worth" is completely diminished since everyone can look up "values" on ebay. There's no more slip ups from an unknowledgeable owner or employee. And the vast majority of shops instantly put their rare records on ebay for the highest bid rather than offering them locally. I travel a lot and would always ask for the "rare box" behind the counter. That doesn't even exist anymore cuz that stuff is locked away in their ebay room. In recent years when I stop in a new town, I don't even bother going to the local record store cuz 99% of the time I don't find anything and leave disenchanted.

Then you have the advent of instant rarity which drives me bonkers. Bands who sell millions of records will have a RSD release limited to 50 or 100 or 500 copies and only certain stores will get one or two of them so people camp out for hours or even overnight to be first in line to get it, and then atleast 50% of the people who end up with them immediately flip 'em on ebay so people who really want it then have to pay an inflated premium. It's stupid. It's like scalping tickets in the old days. Or what's happening with limited edition tiki mugs nowadays which makes collecting those unfun for me as well.

The rare records I have in my collection and the ones I still seek are pricey because they fell on deaf ears when they were released 40, 50, 60 years ago, sold very few copies back then, and only later on through compilations and technology did people discover their greatness, so the demand now far outweighs the supply. So there's a certain joy and fulfillment that goes along with discovering and owning records like that, whereas these limited record store day releases, fetching $500+ for a brand new record just makes absolutely no sense to me.

Oh, and don't get me started on sound quality! A lot of new pressings of old releases are sourced from digital masters, not analog, so the records don't sound remotely as good as they used to, and often the originals could be found for less money than the absurd $25+ sticker tag of new releases. When I ran my reissue record label we always went to the best source, be it original master tape or in worst case scenario if that was lost or deteriorated, a physical vinyl copy. NEVER digital. The finished product will sound as good if not better than the original with proper mastering. But these major labels (with few exceptions) are just churning out the cheapest, crappiest quality records imaginable, and the masses are unwittingly buying 'em up. It's infuriating to me.

Anyway, to answer the question of this particular thread, yes, my favorite record stores of yesteryear are long gone.

[ Edited by: mikehooker 2017-10-12 14:37 ]

I am sure that I am a minority on this site as far as music goes. I agree with Mike on many things, but I also enjoy new music. I like to get all my music on vinyl if possible. I do have like 50 GBs of music on my phone currently and have Spotify (which I wouldn't pay for but my friend gifted me an account) BUT I would always rather listen to vinyl. I am a rare breed that enjoys new music but I still like to listen to albums straight through. Playlists are not my thing, even though people have me make them on a regular basis, they are no for me.

Since I still purchase new vinyl from my local record store, I don't have the issues of finding older music. I worked in the industry for many years and "basically" got all the older music that I really wanted. Now, instead of preordering the SLTD blue marble vinyl of the bands new album on the internet, I go to my local store and ask if they can get me a copy. People ask me often if the reason why I don't order online is because of the wait. I tell them no, it is the whole going online to buy it part. I am not a fan of Amazon taking over the retail market and I want local stores to be in business. If there weren't record stores, I wouldn't buy as much music.

In conclusion, my favorite record store (M-Theory) is still alive and well. In Minneapolis, Electric Fetus is still alive and doing great. Digital music won't kill record stores. I hope that the internet won't either.

A great place to get the first Fugs album when you are in Long Beach, CA

The voice in this ad sounds familiar

YouTube: Platterpuss Records Advertisement

[ Edited by: King Bushwich the 33rd 2018-09-23 18:16 ]