I recently spent a week in Baltimore, dealing with family stuff, desperate for sanctuary. Instead of turning to booze or crab cakes, I drove to Fells Point, on the harbor, and took solace at the Sound Garden, one of my fave record stores.
The place is a madhouse of vinyl, CDs, DVDs; your head will spin for the first 10 minutes inside. But it’s also absolute geeked-out nirvana, a cacophonous cocoon of music and Day-Glo price tags, of posters and album art. Charm City businessmen and tourists mingle with the inked and tattooed, and music, the great equalizer, is the only topic of talk. (If you’re wondering, I bought Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline on vinyl. $9.99. A bargain.)
Anyway, that trip got me thinking about other safe havens around the U.S.A. So here’s a quick list of my favorite record shops.
* Amoeba Music, Los Angeles A slice of heaven in West Hollywood, this is your best chance to buy rare vinyl records next to Ben Stiller or Dave Grohl.
* Bananas Music, St. Petersburg One of the biggest record stores in the world — and yet most folks here have no idea how to get there. Give yourself a day to get lost in the stacks.
* Princeton Record Exchange, New Jersey I spent an hour in this mecca, then drove around the ivy-kissed campus listening to a used copy of Bob Dylan’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid soundtrack.
* Daddy Kool, St. Petersburg A block from the St. Pete Times building, I’ve burned many a lunch break — and paycheck — in this small but satisfying store.
* Melody Record Shop, Washington D.C. I spent nine ink-stained years at the Washington City Paper. It feels like I spent just as much time in this Dupont Circle staple.
* Generation Records, New York City I bought Dylan, ahem, "live recordings" in this Greenwich Village shop. You’ll never catch me, coppers!
* Shangri-La Records, Memphis, Tenn. There’s nothing like touring the soul-kissed Stax museum, then filling up a big bag with Otis Redding 45s. Bliss.
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