At the end of June, I had a lot of new reference points for records that I wanted to buy. I also had good luck finding albums at great prices, which indicated that I should be more, ahem, uninhibited in my selections. For the price of a coffee, you can afford to be liberally selective, […]
Monthly Archives: June 2019
New Record Hauls
Sometimes you have to pay the piper, and if you want a record you’ll need to buy it new. If I want to play some of my favorite albums or introduce someone to an artist I appreciate, I would like to have these records. I visited Green Apple Books in the Richmond with a gift […]
Lower Haight Haul
I visited the Lower Haight to check out Jack’s Record Cellar, a record store only open one day a week with a great selection of 45s, 78s and old audio equipment. The place is cramped, some sections have only one entry and exit point and the records are priced to sell. I was able to […]
First Discogs Haul
Discogs is a fantastic online record store and vendors that often are record stores across the world, or collectors that buy and sell vast quantities of records. I also use it to track my collection, which helps when cataloguing which release I have and provides additional details about the pressing. I initially made a lot […]
Econo Jam Haul – Oakland
I visited Econo Jam Records in Oakland before going to the New Parkway Theater to attend a fun karaoke night and was impressed by it. The store is fairly small and sells a good selection of records, so if you are in the area I definitely recommend checking it out. I was able to find […]
June Vinyl Haul – Rasputin Music
The weekend after I got my record player (An audiotechnica AT-LP-60) I visited two record stores, Rasputin and Amoeba Music in the Haight. I couldn’t find anything at Amoeba, but I brought home nine records from Rasputin for $30, but had to return one.
I made some mistakes on some of these records, but I learned some lessons and can hopefully sell this album of Inner City remixes from Japan someday for what I paid for it. Overall it was a good haul for the money, and built out my collection with some great albums. Additionally, I bought a copy of Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic, but found later that the LP inside was Katy Lied, so I had to return it.
First Vinyl Haul – Bookmark Bookstore
I started collecting vinyl after recently staying at a friend’s place and experiencing the pleasure of playing records as the evening went on. I have been streaming music for years, mostly at work, or while making and eating dinner, and sometimes I choose it based on how little of a distraction it will be. It’s terrible. I knew that I would enjoy visiting record stores, thumbing through rows of overpriced records that inveterate diggers passed over, but I was reluctant to take up a needlessly expensive hobby. But the searching, the buying, and the playing on my home stereo has been so fun for me that I can’t resist. And I’d like to share what I’ve learned and the albums I’ve been able to find in the Bay Area.
My first purchases were made at the Bookmark Bookstore in Oakland, a non-profit bookstore that sends proceeds to the public library system. This was my first experience buying records, and while the selection wasn’t great, I thought that I found some great records. However, I now see the Pointer Sisters Break Out and 5th Dimension records at nearly every store I visit, so in retrospect it was an average haul. I think that it was a good start, and at the time I was excited by what I found.