Los Angeles has come a long ways since a certain Wal-Mart-sized record store opened its doors in 2001, single-handedly managing to rapidly crush and close down virtually every other record store in the city. But hey, can you blame them? Or worse yet, can you blame us vinyl addicts??
The store, of course, was Amoeba. And when they opened, they had EVERYTHING. And, for those first couple of glory years, had it all CHEAPER. Until all those other great L.A. record stores crumbled: Aron’s, Rhino, No Life, Vinyl Fetish, Melrose Music…
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Then, with the competition out of the way, Amoeba’s prices slowly began to rise…and have continued to do so every year. It’s the classic business model, I suppose: eliminate the competition, then raise yer prices. Because hey, who’s gonna stop you??
Only a couple stores managed to survive the almost total indievinylcide: Rockaway Records in Silver Lake and Freakbeat in Sherman Oaks. But in the last couple years, with the booming vinyl revival, a strange and wondrous thing has occurred: the small, indie record store has returned to L.A. And with a vengeance.
In 2015, there are a dozen ace record shops in the L.A. area worth hitting, starting with these:
2395 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039 / (323) 664-3232
13616 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 / (818) 995-7603
5116 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042 / (323) 739-6141
1805 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 / (323) 928-2475
5906 1/2 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042 / (323) 474-6649
5810 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042 / (323) 550-1878
These are the stores that have risen from the dust and ruins and traditions of LA’s great, lost, truly independent record stores in recent years. Each one is small, and run by passionate music fans. They underprice Amoeba on EVERYTHING. Hell, you can even talk to them about cutting you a deal (for a bundle, or when paying with cash).
Looking for something new that they don’t have? Just ASK. And they’ll special order it for you.
This is classic old-school record store stuff. The way it should be. Record stores by and for record lovers.
So give THEM yer business. They deserve it.
Michael Stock is probably best known as the DJ of the critically acclaimed PART TIME PUNKS radio show on KXLU 88.9FM in Los Angeles (every Thursday 3-6pm PST since 2006), and the DJ/promoter of the long-running club night of the same name (held every Sunday at noted Echo Park venue, The Echo, since 2005). But during the daylight hours, he writes comic books. His first comic, PENNY DORA & THE WISHING BOX, is being published by Image Comics right now.
