Category Archives: Record Shops

…and We’re Back!

Record Shops, Vinyl Finds, , , ,

Was a great, sleep-deprived and vinyl-riffic road trip to Pittsburgh and back again. Loads of great vinyl finds and good times, and the two-day horror movie marathon and camp-out at the Riverside Drive-In was awesome fun. The normal Turntabling posting schedule (such as it is) resumes once more now that I’m off the road.

Learned a few interesting things about my own vinyl collecting habits while on the road. Maybe it’s just personal bias in favor of one system over another, but I find vinyl graded with terms other than the Goldmine standard (G, VG, VG+, NM, NM-, M) seem to be MUCH less than advertised when you inspect the records.

“Very Fine” and “Exceptionally Clean” seem to be much closer to bullshit in my opinion–“exceptionally clean” or “very fine” lead one to expect a record in at least VG+ or NM- condition. Instead what you get in many cases is an overpriced VG.

What’s the difference? I know a lot of people out there have a hard time with record grading, but my own criteria, fussy as it may be, is basically this: if a record has more than a couple of stray marks on it, it can’t possibly be better than VG+. If a record looks used, but well taken care of (shiny, without more than two glaring marks or scratches that don’t affect play) it’s probably VG or VG+. I think records in VG+ condition are great purchases, and many of the ones in my own collection are VG+.

I will buy a record that looks VG+ any day of the week. I love NM vinyl best of all the “pre-owned” grades, but sometimes you’ll pay more for them because they’re more sought after–a NM version of a rare title is a wonderful find. But VG+ is just fine for anyone who plans to play the record often.

Near mint is just that–a record that’s used but looks pretty damn close to when it came out of the shrink wrap with some leeway given for the age of the record. Mint is either just out of shrink wrap and played once or twice or still sealed. In my experience–and it’s all VERY subjective, naturally==I think people who collect are really into NM, but many of those who buy from me at shows like HorrorHound Weekend or Cinema Wasteland buy to play the albums often and are perfectly happy with VG+ or VG.

The records graded “Very Fine” or “Exceptionally clean”, I’m not too impressed with as the perception is (for a hardcore record buyer and seller of vinyl) that somebody’s trying to sidestep the condition issue. That’s not always the case, to be fair, but it was really glaring on this trip how untrustworthy grading systems can be. Always inspect your vinyl!

I’ll have to do a full post on this stuff a bit later on, methinks.

–Joe Wallace

Roots Records, Columbus Ohio

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Roots Records is one of those places I KNEW I had to hit on Vinyl Road Rage. Being a longtime fan of all things dub, stopping here was a no-brainer. But I wasn’t quite prepared for how awesome this shop would be.

Roots has a tough job, catering to an extremely specialized market in a place I personally wouldn’t have picked as having a following big enough to sustain a store devoted to such a small part of the larger music-buying public.

That just goes to show you what you get for making assumptions. Columbus Ohio seems very supportive of its music shops, Roots included. This shop seems to be thriving and doing well–and deservedly so.

How awesome is Roots? For a start, toss out any notions you might have about reggae being a “small” genre. There’s enough to stock an entire store and then some without that store feeling like it’s just…missing…something. The diversity of sounds and styles will keep you crate digging for ages.

And Roots is full of surprises. The people buying for this store don’t come off any music snob factor whatsoever–you’ll find plenty of related genres and groups influenced by reggae and dub, hence the presence of Massive Attack 12-inches and much more. I got the feeling a newcomer would walk out of Roots feeling like they’d just found the secret source.

Compare that with your typical “High Fidelity” indie rock snobbery and revel in the fresh air of Roots. No pretentions, no bullshit. Just people who seriously love this music. And tons of it, from the roots reggae and dub plates all the way to what I call Generation Next dub sounds of Ryan Moore and Twilight Circus Sound System, you can get your fix here easily.

Want to fill in the holes in your Blood and Fire catalog? Check. Need to turn some unsuspecting future fan on to I Roy or grab yourself some Super Ape action? Done. My own biases are on display here–there was plenty of new-to-me stuff there, too. I just need to go back with a large bankroll and a Santa Claus-sized sack.

Roots is efficiently laid out, fun to browse, and the source of my favorite WTF moment of the entire Vinyl Road Rage journey, the random visual shock of THIS little gem hanging on the wall for all to see:

Yes, Roots didn’t need to win me over at this point, but seeing a Black Sabbath disc on the wall of this awesomely stocked reggae record store surely cemented Roots in my mind as one of the coolest places on earth. Hands down, one of the best stops on Vinyl Road Rage. Columbus has plenty of amazing record stores, but Roots has a special place all its own on the scene. DO. NOT. MISS.

–-Joe Wallace

Omega Music, Dayton Ohio

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , , ,

Vinyl Road Rage made a quick trip over to Dayton, Ohio to find Omega Music, a big record shop in a town apparently once known for a much richer selection of indie shops but–I’m told–having suffered through the lousy economy since the insanity of 2008, it’s a lucky thing the survivors are still around.

Omega Music has size going for it–there is a large collection of vinyl to dig through here and you’ll be rewarded for persistence. Plenty of grandpa rock, to be sure, but lots of other fun stuff to dig through including a selection of vintage gear like this:

I had a couple of pretty nice finds in the soundtrack section, and there’s jazz and R&B out the wazoo here, so an aspiring jazz collector should definitely have a look. A new vinyl junkie would do well to sift through the bargains and try out new things on for size–Omega Music has plenty of cheaps to look over and a nice selection of collector-riffic titles on display, too.

Dayton is a nice pit stop for a record buying trip between Cincinnati and Columbus, and there’s a few very conveniently placed restaurants nearby to make the stop additionally tempting. On this trip, the stop was literally just long enough to get into Omega and get out, so I’ve promised myself another look around the area when I return.

For the hardcore, jaded collector, this is a great pit stop. For the new collector, get your browse on and don’t be in a hurry–there’s plenty of crates to dig through!

Everybody’s Records, Pleasant Ridge Ohio

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

An outsider might not be able to tell the difference between Cincinnati proper and Pleasant Ridge, Ohio but one thing’s for sure–if you’re at Everybody’s Records looking for vinyl, you won’t care WHERE it’s at as long as you’re there.

Everybody’s Records has a nice collection of vinyl that looks like a typical pile of titles–at first glance. But look closer. There are plenty of the usual suspects lurking in the stacks–a dedicated crate digger will likely note the Alice Cooper new wave record “Flush The Fashion”, the occasional Gary Myrick and the Figures album, Our Daughter’s Wedding, and other fun titles. But look further still.

On my visit to this shop, I scored not one, but THREE albums by The Legendary Pink Dots. These titles are sought after by a certain rabid type of collector and are not what you’d call readily available simply lurking in the record shop stacks. But there they were, waiting just for me, it seems.

All this stuff was hiding in, if memory serves, the “Rock” section–one reason why it’s important to give those bins a closer look. “Rock” to me says AC/DC, Aerosmith, and a lot of other crap I don’t have much interest in. It’s a real stretch to call Skinny Puppy or Coil “rock”, but more often than not, they get lumped in to that category.

I can’t REALLY blame the shop for this–who wants to spend endless hours creating new categories to fit all these bands?

“Bands That Sound Like Erasure But Who Worship Satan” won’t fit on a category card unless you write REALLY SMALL, and there are only a handful of groups that would fit into “Electronic Performers Who Enjoy Semi-Consensual Buggery In Public Places But Only While Wearing Goat Horns” or “The Ghost of Brian Eno Eats Peanut Butter”.

Back to Everybody’s Records–they also have a healthy collection of oddball titles–one of my favorite sections in any record store–and some REALLY tasty finds in the soundtrack bins. I wound up dropping a nice chunk of change at this Ohio record store.  Final verdict? No trip to Ohio is complete without dropping by Everybody’s Records. Recommended.