by Joe Wallace

One thing I like about doing Vinyl Road Rage–there are plenty of contrasts out there. Some indie record stores are massive, multi-story affairs that are mind-bendingly tough to sort through.

Then there are the smaller, scrappy indie record stores like Underground Sounds in Louisville Kentucky. They generally don’t take long to shop for a dedicated crate digger, but they do often yield plenty of rewards.

Underground Sounds, like many similarly-sized indie record stores, has an eclectic mix of old and new vinyl, and while

I didn’t find much in the way of soundtracks at all (one of my own obsessions) the jazz and soul lover doesn’t get left out

in the cold while the indie rock kids get all the attention. It’s a diverse collection. There is also a nice case crammed full of boxed sets, so collectors of these should definitely take a look.

Underground Sounds is cozy, well laid out, and easy to browse. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend here but thanks to an intelligent, customer-friendly layout I was able to get the gist of what they had fairly quickly–and that is a real bonus for short attention-span browsers, I’m here to tell you!

Of all the Louisville record stores I found on my trip, Underground Sounds was hands-down the best. Another place of similar size had nothing but grandpa rock and battered Linda Ronstadt albums, and larger spaces–while organized well–didn’t seem as fun to shop. Maybe I just like small, scrappy indies better?

Underground Sounds has my vote for Louisville Kentucky’s best indie record store for the overall experience. Nothing beats selection, organization and atmosphere combined. I’ll be back here.