[4000days]

Hi everyone, I haven't posted here yet but have been lurking since the forum started. I am (unsurprisingly) a vinyl nerd and am leaving for a 3 week cross-country trek next week. I'll be in some major US cities that I have never been record shopping in before, and figured it wouldn't hurt to see if anyone here knows of some must visit shops.
I'll be with my girlfriend the entire time, and her patience wears thin after the first couple in a given city so I'm trying to streamline my visits now. I'll be in Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Nashville, and Memphis and a lot of places in between.
Any suggestions?

[antimax]

Well, Amoeba is pretty amazing. Very large. There's one in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Berkeley.

[hncreature]

SAN DIEGO


Record City - Big store...tons of used vinyl with some new...solid

Thirsty Moon Records - Small but cool store...and across the street from Record City

M-Theory Music - Not gigantic but lots of new vinyl with a solid used variety...had all of DW's Record Store Day stuff and Mondo's Poltergeist



Enjoy the trip!

[Dollarhyde]

Hi 4000days, I've just come back from a california road trip. LA and san fran amoebas are well worth visiting, the one in san fran has a very nice coffee shop nearby to leave inpatient other halves in .
Not on your road trip but I found some great cheap records in a "dimple"? record store just outside sacramento, all the vinyl was like 1 or 2 dollars a piece, is dimple a US chain?
All the thrift stores around this area were great too. The UK charity shops which I'm used to pale in comparison

[4000days]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Dollarhyde - I've never heard of "dimple" (and I'm from the US), but will check them out as we are going to be in Sacramento as well. And I am actually most excited about hitting the thrift stores across the States while we travel - I have found some amazing, rare records while sifting through piles of total crap in stores like the Goodwill and Salvation Army. Oh - and thanks for the tip on the coffee shop.

With both you and Antimax mentioning Amoeba, I suppose I owe it to myself to check them out.I actually managed a small shop just outside of NYC for about 10 years, and Amoeba was always the one shop that customers would rave about the most when coming back from the west coast. I've gotta see what the hype is about.

And thanks to hncreature for the San Diego breakdown - we're planning on being there for a few days, and my girlfriend has some old friends in the area - there's a good chance I'll be able to get some "alone time" in the shops there - and it's frequently the tiny shops that get me the most excited.
I'm allowing myself one box to fill on the trip, can't wait to see what I come back with.

Thanks again everyone!

[Purplemule74]

4000days,

For Phoenix, check on Zia Records. They have a decent record collection and sometimes you can score some decent stuff; I'd suggest the location on Thunderbird Road off of the I-17.

FYI, they also have about 6 Death Waltz Records Co. records for sale right now; Donnie D., The Devil's Business, Murders at the..., etc.

Have fun!

[4000days]

Thanks! Hopefully I'll still have some money and space in the car after California. We had zero plans for Phoenix.....until now.

[Purplemule74]

Hey 4000days,

This isn't vinyl related, but if you are going through Phoenix & then to Albuquerque than I suggest staying at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ:

http://www.laposada.org/

Beautiful restored railroad hotel (not many left) that is wonderful to check out. Bonus is they have an excellent hotel restaurant.

Extra bonus is you'll have your girlfriend with you... (hint hint)

Enjoy!

[4000days]

Awesome - I'll check it out right now, we've been planning our trip all night and just booked our way across from East to West, gonna try to solidify plans for the return trip tomorrow night.

AND I'm actually taking(unbeknownst to her) an engagement ring with me and popping the question whenever I feel the time is right over the few weeks we'll be on the road. So I certainly appreciate the tip.

Thanks so much!

[4000days]

We just looked - it's right on our route and looks amazing(and looks like a great place for the price). Thanks again, we probably never would have found it otherwise - gonna book tomorrow night.

[waxworkrecords]

If you happen to make it as far down as New Orleans, you need to visit Domino Sound Record Shack. It's hands down the best record shop in New Orleans. Everything in there is a gem. No filler. If you venture down here, hit us up. We can show you around.

Read about Domino Sound at the link below. The owner went to high school with the Light In The Attic guys.

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/ ... ino-sound/

[4000days]

That place looks amazing!

We are still unsure about our return trip after Texas - I used to go to New Orleans for the Jazz Festival every year in the late 90's. For some reason, I've stayed away from the city since I got sober a few years ago, despite the fact that I love both the culture and music scene. I'm overdue to experience the city with a clean head.

And I've got a soft spot for shops with some good reggae and dub titles. Thank You - I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten in this thread - so cool.

[Purplemule74]

Hey 4000days,

Glad to hear La Posada looks good to you; it is one of my favorite discoveries since moving here (my last stop was Seattle).

Sounds like a special trip. I sincerely hope you enjoy.

[hncreature]

San Diego update...

COW Records - Ocean Beach...just go if you can...parking can be a bitch but be patient

Lou's Records - More North County in Encinitas - Some of everything and a SD institution - My bad...they halved in size and I didn't think they did what they used to do - I was up there yesterday and they are still Lou's...that's a good thing

Off The Record - North / South Park area - Got smaller when they moved to new location...haven't been there in awhile





How about some sensory overload...I apologize...to you AND your wife...remember that these are just the advertisers

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/viewe ... 4FzzxSjNLA

[4000days]

Not that anyone really cares, but I just wanted to follow up.

We traveled 8265 miles across 20 US States over 22 days, and came back engaged. Saw SO MUCH amazing shit, but I'll stick to what we're all here for - LP's.

I brought one standard cardboard box to fill with records and did - I came back with somewhere around 100 LP's (mostly soundtracks as that's kind of been my focus lately). Thanks again to everyone's input - the Amoeba stores (I went to Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood) blew my mind. Ended up at Cow Records(and a couple of other spots mentioned in San Diego too) - literally was just down at the beach that day and walked right past it - I don't know if I've ever seen so many quality LP's priced at $1 each. Ended up in so many record stores in so many places though. It was definitely on of the coolest things I've ever done - I'll upload some pics of what I bought soon.

And we stayed at La Posada on your recommendation Purplemule, it was a much needed break from the Days Inn's and Motel 6's we had been staying in. Wonderful place and wonderful people there.

[thedeepness]

CONGRATS on the engagement!!! I read the thread a while back and was glad to see an update. Sounds like a great trip

[Purplemule74]

Hey 4000days,

Congratulations on the engagement!

Glad to hear you had such a great trip. I'm also happy La Posada worked out - pretty amazing place.

If your down this way again drop me a line and I'll get you and the future wife a beer. Enjoy!

[4000days]

Thanks to you both on the congrats, and I will totally let you know if we head back that way. We really enjoyed both northern Texas and San Diego, and Arizona is pretty much smack dab between the 2, so you never know.

We probably would have spent more time in Phoenix, except it was well over 100 degrees the day we stopped in the city. I was blown away with the climate differences within Arizona. I think in one day we experienced temps ranging from 105 to 70 - with just a couple hundred miles apart. Crazy stuff.

[Purplemule74]

Hey 4000days,

I'm originally from Oregon, so I know what you mean. Phoenix is kind of a pit, but the rest of the state has its own kind of beauty.

[hncreature]

CONGRATS!!! Glad it was a success all around!