by Joe Wallace
There are plain old boring record stores, and then there are indie record stores that simply define the business. Landlocked Music is one of those stores that, for me at least, define what a record store should be all about. Landlocked isn’t too big, it’s not too small. It’s in a space that is absolutely perfect for the volume of records and the variety of merch they carry.
I tend to gush a bit when I find a store I truly love and Bloomington has not one, but TWO great shops. Landlocked is the first.
The store has a great selection of both new and used vinyl, nicely categorized and with price ranges that serve budget-minded crate diggers and collectors who know what their titles should be worth and are willing to pay accordingly.
The thing I was most impressed with is that the store tends to fill out my favorite genres rather well. There is a good selection of electronic, experimental, obscure funk, off-the-beaten-path stuff for slightly jaded record store addicts like me. A good effort has been put into least a decent showing across the genres outside the usual R-n-B, grandpa rock, new indie, and punk sections.
I found an Emo Phillips live performance record here, as well as Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, so I’m probably a bit biased in this department. I love obscurity on vinyl, general weirdness, and any of late 80s/early 90s alt/indie/WTF projects so I had a very happy experience with Landlocked Music.
On top of that, the shop is friendly, well-organized, and above all FUN TO BROWSE. There are plenty of record stores where the atmosphere is non-existent, the shopping is clumsy and painful (you only have one set of knees, after all) or the records are jammed in so tightly that you can’t look through them easily.
Landlocked gets major points on all fronts. I will be returning here again all the way from Chicago for another visit or three. I recommend Landlocked to anyone within driving distance as it’s not only a great place to find the vinyl, it’s also situated near plenty of great restaurants and other fun.
Or, to put it more succinctly:
Shop. This. Store.
