Tag Archives: pittsburgh record stores

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Record Stores: Jerry’s Records

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , ,

I have been looking forward to this particular post ever since I walked in the door of Jerry’s Records–the Pennsylvania record store that wins hands down for size, selection and overall coolness. And I mean that literally as well as figuratively–Jerry says his air conditioning bills are $1300 a month for this staggering collection of vinyl.

As you can see, when you get to Jerry’s, at 2136 Murray Avenue
in Pittsburgh PA, you’re in for quite a treat. The 78s section advertised on the door is sure to draw out the obsessives in that part of the vinyl junkie kingdom, but I thought the main store was more than plenty to keep me going–no need for me to obsess over a whole new undiscovered country yet.

A newcomer to the store really cannot prepare themselves for the volume of vinyl here. If you’re into post-punk, 80s new wave and related sounds you will spend all of your money and all the money you’re GOING to make in the next year at Jerry’s. No contest.

And the prices are extremely reasonable, I might add.

Soundtracks were a bit frustrating to wade through as there was a filing system at work there that completely escaped me. I was looking for the horror stuff, naturally, but found so much broadway mixed in with the other titles that it made things quite difficult. The soundtracks section was full of the old standbys and in the short time I was able to spend back there (in a labyrinth all its own) I couldn’t locate anything I didn’t already have–the curse of the collector rather than an indictment of Jerry’s, really.

Don’t go into Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh for the first time if you aren’t able to spend at least 90 minutes. Seriously. You WILL be late for whatever appointment, rendezvous, tryst or meeting you’ve set up for the day. There is too much, too too much here to skim over or simply glance at.

What I loved best about Jerry’s, aside from an excessively fussy classification system that lists MANY bands by name (even obscure ones that might be better in the general alphabet sections) is the attention to one of my favorite genres—weirdness on wax.

Jerry’s breaks down the weirdness into subdivisions I’ve never found in any other record store–I was soooo grateful to find the strange vinyl handled as lovingly as all the other genres—no short shrift given to THESE records just cuz nobody but me wants to buy them. I mean, really–they listed all the weird records with ANIMAL COVERS.

Jerry’s Records was one of my absolute favorite record stores on the entire Vinyl Road Rage 2 trip. I say you’ll be hard-pressed to find another shop that is as large, exhaustively stocked, and fussed over. Jerry himself is on duty at the store, which tells you something about how he likes to run things…and he told us he’s got a whole warehouse of vinyl that hasn’t even made it into the shop yet, so you know this place isn’t running out of the good stuff anytime soon.

I highly recommend Jerry’s, in case you couldn’t tell from all the breathless hype. I will be back there and soon, I hope.

–Joe Wallace



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Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Record Stores: Eide’s Entertainment

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , ,

The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania record store Eide’s Entertainment is an institution. The shop, at 1121 Penn Avenue in the downtown part of Pittsburgh, got its start in 1972 as a comic book shop. Today it’s a massive storehouse of albums, memorabilia, DVDs, books, and the comics that gave the store its start back in the day.

Newcomers might overlook the stairs which lead up to the vinyl paradise…but once you know you have to go to the second floor to find the good stuff, don’t make the mistake of bypassing the first floor where the CDs are located–there is a nice collection of music-related books and mags that is definitely worth a look. Yes, there are more books on the second floor, but make sure you see that collection of titles on the first level–very cool indeed.

Yes, those are Re/Search titles you spotted in that not-so sharp photo above. Nice selection! But once you get upstairs, the real challenge begins.

Eides does have an emphasis on the collectibles, it’s true. In fact, it’s totally obvious that the people who make buying decisions for the store know their stuff and love the music. It’s unfortunate that some of the staff isn’t as well-rounded.

Queries about Robyn Hitchcock titles were met with a blank stare…I don’t expect everyone in the whole world to love or even pay attention to Hitchcock, the Soft Boys or the Egyptians, but anybody who works in a record store might be tempted to learn a LITTLE something about recent music history…or is that my inner curmudgeon manifesting itself? No matter–don’t go into the shop with questions, just do your crate digging and brace yourself for the total. There’s a LOT here to help you part ways with your hard earned cash, especially serious collectors.

Regardless, Eide’s is a worthy stop on any vinyl hunt, and cinema buffs will have plenty to distract them from the stacks as there’s a massive collection of DVDs for sale across a variety of genres.


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