Cool and unusual music and audio stores!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Rudy

¡Que siga la fiesta!
Staff member
Site Admin
Collectors like us tend to visit a few stores in our travels, and also come across some on the Internet.

If you have any to share, feel free to do so here! I will start off with a couple in my next post.

Music store--we'll be a bit lenient here in asking for not only vinyl, tape and CD stores, but also musical instrument shops as well. It's just two different sides of the same pastime!

As for audio stores, that is a personal interest of mine. They give us the means to listen to music. But at the same time, many of these stores also stock more of the recently produced records and SACDs, so they are a good inclusion here as well. Some stores also have memorabilia, and those little side trips are a nostalgia rush for many of us.

I'm not looking for online stores--we can all punch in a URL and visit. Postings of physical "brick and mortar" stores, however, are what we're after. Describe it if you like, but better yet, if you can paste in a picture or two, feel free. Add a little background if you know it, or give us your personal impressions of the store. If not, we'll just enjoy the photos. If you do use a photo, please give credit.
 
I'll start with a local establishment. Encore Records is a must-visit destination in southeast Michigan for vinyl, CD and other musical items. It was formerly owned by Peter Dale, who was also well known for founding Car City Classics back in the 1970s. Dale used to love packing every square centimeter of his store with product--empty space does not make money. Encore is no exception. While it is now employee-owned, Dale's influence is felt in the "packed to the rafters" experience of browsing the narrow aisleways. They are very selective about purchasing inventory--if they already have it, they likely won't buy it. So this is not a store you will find 35 copies of Eagles Greatest Hits at.

Cool Cleveland caught up with Analog Planet blogger Michael Fremer when he visited Ann Arbor in November of 2015. Here's a snapshot of the inside of the store. You can sort of get a feel for how tightly things are packed, and the inventory that will take hours to browser properly. It may not look as big in the photo, but there is a lot of stock here. On the left you will see a sign saying "New LPs" on a bin of records. Note that there are drawers beneath the bins. Every scrap of space is put to use. All CD jewel cases are empty in the store--the discs and trays are behind the counter (to the right, behind Fremer).

upload_2016-3-31_0-14-27.png

Parking is rough on the street (it's very busy, and spots are limited), but there is a parking garage nearby.

upload_2016-3-31_0-18-4.png
 
Wow these photos bring back a lot of memories. Here in Moscow Idaho we have a Hastings store which sells books. video. And music New and Used vinyl as well as CDs new and used. We have a locally owned store called "Paradise Ridge CDs". and they also sell vinyl. Its amazing how much vinyl is availiable in these stores. It appears to have made a huge comeback (at least for now) i dont know the name of the owner but i have made a few successful special orders with paradise ridge and i also occasionally do buisness with amazon. And another internet retail service that sells vinyl and makes a needledrop copy of it its their primary buisiness i don't know if i should name the buisiness here. But i thought i would chime in with my experiences. And we have several thrift stores that sell used records and cds ( more vinyl than cds in the thrift stores.) On one final note in spokane washington back in the 80s there were two record stores i used to shop at when me and a few friends would visit spokane ( which is over 90 miles northwest from where i currently live) they were "Little Nells Records" and Mirage Records. Which both no longer exist. But fond memories and i still have the music to remember them by.
 
Last edited:
I go to Ann Arbor's Encore on Sundays, just to park for free--I can't stand (or use) those new Robo-Meters, guess a ticket for me then, and I'm sure a lotta others... Still gotta park blocks away, or it's the nosebleed level in the parking structure using the entrance/exit on Division Street--get my morning exercise on the long staircase that way... (Though often it's been used as a vertical smoking lounge...) Just what does everybody do and where do they go before Noon there, anyway?!

Recently discovered P.J.'s and had to have gotten a rare-find, or two, in the form of a hard-to-get various artists set, or a better copy of this 'n' that, of which I may already have, but have worn out... (Verb and adjective used there...)


-- Dave
 
Here is one I came across this evening: Sound Gallery » (Sound Gallery Austin). The Captain might have heard of this one. :wink: It is a store that sells music, but also specializes in restored audio equipment.

I've heard of it but never been there. It's in waaaay South Austin, which is a traffic nightmare (I'm in extreme NW Austin). I might venture out there in a couple of weeks when I take a week off.
 
Well, this is the best I could do to "toot someone's horn" as in one my first (Mom drove me to & from before I learned to drive, but when I was first into record collecting & needed a place other than Sam's Jams--long-gone!--to go to) favorite, nearest (see "first") and most-frequented (see "nearest")--and that's Solo:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x8824c61bbc1d01f3:0x5854e2e9138c5e4f!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttp://detroit.cityvoter.com/solo-records-and-tapes/biz/50115!5sSolo+Records+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e1!2shttp://vp.cdn.cityvoterinc.com/GetImage.ashx?img=00/00/00/13/49/43/134943-407307.jpg&ar=maintain&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVjr-uiOvLAhVLk4MKHRaDDZUQoioIczAK

A creative name and might I add a play-on-words by the now-retired owner, Dan--"So LOW!", is his motto--and when WAS the last time you'd ever bought a record for only ONE DOLLAR and it was in such deserving condition (Heck, did you know your Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other type of second-hand store/resale outlets have raised the prices on their vinyl--and in addition to it being disorganized (Alphabetizing, anyone?) several grades below Garage Sale Quality?!) Yes, THREE-DOLLARS, for LP's and Fifty-Cents for '45's? --Now THOSE are One-Dollar...!

Although I plead Guilty: My chazerai goes to those places, too!

Getting back to Solo, that store has a history of locations, such as a shopping center in Oak Park--and all this time when I'd first been in a record store, I had NO IDEA that it would be THAT record store, as it was the first place I went to, when we were just at the shoe store next door, and the supermarket down the block, there--before my big-time collecting had begun...

Then the best location afterwards was the little green building on Woodward in Birmingham--and my favorite location as well as the first one I'd regularly journeyed to and from, often being the first to arrive at opening, and the last to leave at closing time--though never on the same visit! (Said former owner Dan: "Believe it or not, THIS used to be the Birmingham Dog Pound...")

Now, for the past thirteen-years, it has successfully held this new & current location, now in Royal Oak, on Woodward, North of Twelve (12 Mile Rd.)...

--And I do mean, SUCCESSFULLY...!


-- Dave
 
One of my pals owns a place out in Portland OR called Crossroads Music. It is set up like a consignment shop in a way, as individual sellers get their own bins. I think he has over 30 different sellers selling product there. It's kind of a neat idea, since someone with a larger collection with a lot of turnover could take up a bin or two and move some of it via retail, vs. listing it and shipping it online. He also does light repairs on some audio equipment. If you pop in, tell him Rudy says "Hey!" :wink:

A few shots, courtesy of Google Maps. Hmm, the first photo has a record I've seen before... :laugh:

upload_2016-3-31_22-58-34.png


upload_2016-3-31_22-59-55.png

upload_2016-3-31_23-1-37.png
 
I've heard of it but never been there. It's in waaaay South Austin, which is a traffic nightmare (I'm in extreme NW Austin). I might venture out there in a couple of weeks when I take a week off.
Isn't there a huge record show out there also? I've never been to one. Can't say ours locally are of epic proportions like those I've seen elsewhere.
 
Not sure if I posted this elsewhere, but here is one of the auditioning rooms at Paragon Sight & Sound, Ann Arbor, MI. My buddy and I used to visit stores like this one all the time, taking the drive up Woodward and stopping at all the audio stores in a Saturday afternoon. Equipment has changed since then. So have the prices! And a couple of favorite stores are long gone now. Surprisingly though, even though these stores carry a lot of gear I could only dream of, most have very affordable entry-level systems that will sound good without breaking the bank.

Anyway, here's the first room. Didn't notice before but they carry the turntable I use (top right, wood base, thick platter). The real jewels, though, are on the bottom of the pair of racks (which the turntables are on). They're McIntosh MC75 tube monoblocks, 75 watts each. You already know the pricing on the items in this room--"If you have to ask, you can't afford it." :laugh:

upload_2016-3-31_23-23-28.png

Here is the same room, wall to the immediate left. All McIntosh...can't miss the black, chrome, and blue meters and displays.

upload_2016-3-31_23-27-32.png


The home theater demo room. The white speakers, and the similarly shaped speakers on the far left I think are Wilson Audio. It is common to put your power amp(s) in front, on amp stands, very near the speakers.

upload_2016-3-31_23-15-9.png


Here's an uber-high-end room. Huge Wilson Audio speakers, and I believe those are the companion subwoofers in the corner. I'll take any one (or two) of those amps, please. :wink:

upload_2016-3-31_23-18-23.png

On the wall to the left in this same room is an impressive array of electronics. The components with the rack handles on the left are Audio Research. (Great gear, primarily tube driven...but I'm more a Conrad-Johnson type of guy. :wink: ) The similar looking silver components on the rack toward the right I can't think of the name of, but they are all part of a single disc/media playing system. Those flat brownish-black panels I believe are room treatments (to absorb reflected sound). Far left is a record vacuum system. Can't make out the turntable.

upload_2016-3-31_23-20-15.png
 
I think Paragon is one of the larger dealers in the area. There are a handful of others closer to me: Almas, Audio Dimensions, Pecar's (which is more of a home-theater-only store now), and a couple others I'm forgetting. And there is Overture in Ann Arbor as well.

I'll be seeing a lot of this type of thing at AXPONA in two weeks. I'll have pics up on our A&M Corner Instagram account throughout the days I'm there, plus I'll eventually post a few in Off-Topic once I get back home. I don't really want to lug my DSLR to the show, but my Nexus 6 has a camera with great low-light performance, so it will work nicely there. I am also taking a couple of side-trips that may be of interest... :wink:
 
Im enjoying your pics and posts and your adventures. Thanks for letting us tag along with you via this thread. It may be time for me to plan a trip of my own i havent had a vacation since 2002. So im overdue. I think you inspired me Rudy. But its a good thing though.
 
In about a week I will have a few more to share. Some will be posted on our Instagram account at @a.m.corner (and cross-posted to Twitter).
 
Spent the afternoon hanging around Pop's Resale. Scored a nice Baja Marimba Band Four Sider. They had a vintage 1962 Fisher amp freshly refurbed. Pretty! Those tubes just give you a nice warm feeling. I figure it's better to hang around the used record store than the pool hall. :cool:
 
Spent the afternoon hanging around Pop's Resale. Scored a nice Baja Marimba Band Four Sider. They had a vintage 1962 Fisher amp freshly refurbed. Pretty! Those tubes just give you a nice warm feeling. I figure it's better to hang around the used record store than the pool hall. :cool:

That Baja comp is a good one. Just watch out for this: Side Two lists "Brasilia" as the second track on both the jacket and the label, but the audio is actually "Summer Samba".
 
They had a vintage 1962 Fisher amp freshly refurbed. Pretty! Those tubes just give you a nice warm feeling.
Those refurbed Fishers can fetch a pretty penny, especially if it is one of the sought-after models. (Sticker shock, indeed. :D ) I've heard that they sound really nice, especially if they have some decent tubes in them.
 
Those refurbed Fishers can fetch a pretty penny, especially if it is one of the sought-after models. (Sticker shock, indeed. :D ) I've heard that they sound really nice, especially if they have some decent tubes in them.
I think this was an x-101-b. They were asking $895.
 
Those Foursiders were generally some pretty good compilations. :agree: A good place to get a wide selection of cuts across the artists' entire catalogs at the time.
I couldn't agree more. In addition to Herb. Sergio and BMB foursiders there was also one for Liza minnelli and one for The Sandpipers. ( the Liza foursider was out of print by the time i found out about it however the collectors choice release of " Complete A&M recordings" set filled that void and then some.)
 
The Fishers (and the H.H. Scotts, too...for that matter) don't get the RESPECT that the Macs and the (NYC) Marantzes do; for some reason?
However, stuff like: a HEATHKIT AA-121 is, basically, a "poor man's Marantz 8b" (and a little bigger than a Dynaco ST70).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom