Tag Archives: vinyl records

Allentown Pennsylvania Record Stores: Double Decker Records

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Double Decker Records in Allentown Pennsylvania is a crate-digger paradise. The selections are excellent–once more the big winners are fans of post-punk, new wave and metal. But the vinyl weirdness category is also a strength of Double Decker Records…I walked out of this shop a very happy vinyl junkie.

Double Decker is another shop where the people working don’t mind telling a brother where to find more vinyl goodness–I got the down low on several other good indie record stores along the Vinyl Road Rage 2 route and it’s so great to encounter down-to-earth people willing to chat about other shops and all things vinyl. Double Decker, I WILL return!

There are plenty of rarities on the walls, as it should be in every good record store…and the collector-friendly selection includes the old left-of-center favorites:

The classics…

To the utterly reprehensible…

Double Decker Records, like many of the shops on my journey, had at least one section that was quite literally a disaster area of vinyl—in other words a cluttery hodgepodge certain to yield at least one irreplaceable treasure, usually of sentimental value rather than collector cash cow cred.

What a great shop! Comfortable and easy on the knees–no bending and stooping to get to the weirdo vinyl titles usually relegated to a crate on the floor or under a table someplace…everything is easy to access, with plenty of surprises. Bravo!

Youngstown Ohio Record Stores: Indiewax Records

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Indiewax Records, at 6961 Market Street in Youngstown, Ohio, has a collection of hard-to-find vinyl titles (see the albums on the wall first if you’re looking for the collector’s stuff) and a giant pile of for-cheap sale vinyl.

Collectors of punk and post-punk 45s should be pleased, and there’s a selection of the usual used vinyl titles alongside the new releases. Indiewax also has gear, so a new collector could do some one-stop shopping here. They sell Audio-Technica turntables, cartridges and preamps, along with the usual slipmats and cleaning gear.

I’m not a seven-inch collector, but looking at the Indiewax selection it’s easy to see why people get lured into it. There are new seven inches coming out left and right, and the old stuff seems just as fun to seek and find as full length albums.

The sale bin is probably the most important spot for the noob collector, and there’s a doozy here at Indiewax. Youngstown Ohio doesn’t know what its got in the “five for a buck” bin…this is priceless for some of us crate-digging mashup artists who like to mix and match on the fly with the turntables.

Indiewax Records is friendly, fun, and I’d definitely come back. I say that practically anytime I have a pleasant experience in an indie record shop, but I really mean it–especially in light of the store’s support of local and regional artists.

Did I mention that any fan of The Dwarves should have a look in here? Behold this selection of Dwarves seven inches:


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Vinyl Road Rage: The Trip So Far

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I’m writing this update from Newark, New Jersey. Vinyl Road Rage 2 has been one hell of a crazy trip. How crazy? Try 17 record stores in five days between Chicago and NYC. And it’s not quite done yet.

I am still writing record store reviews on the Cleveland stop alone–there are many more reviews to come for wonderful indie record stores from Akron, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and Greenwich Village. I have purchased more than 45 titles on this trip and am afraid that the total will be much higher before it’s all said and done.

Highlights of the journey so far: the crew behind the counter at Music Saves in Cleveland telling me about the record shops I didn’t know about there and helping me round out the list somewhat. Ditto for the gentleman working at Allentown’s delicious Double Decker Records, which had some of my favorite finds of the entire trip. Double Decker is a crazy mish-mash of old and new and you’ll find plenty to surprise you there. Do NOT pass by this store. More on that in my full review, complete with lots of pics.

Favorite goofy moments of the trip so far–a guy at Bleeker Bob’s Records in NYC asking me in a seemingly nervous way if the images I was taking were “for publication”. Not to worry, Bleeker Bob, no images I take with my iPhone are being used in a book or magazine. Ditto for the guy behind the counter of Rebel Rebel who confronted me about leaving Turntabling business cards behind. “WHAT are those CARDS?” It was funny to hear his reply to me telling him about Turntabling. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t one of those carpet cleaning guys.” No worries, matey.

I keep seeing the same album covers on the walls of some of the stores. It’s funny to be haunted by Wendy O. Williams, but even funnier was the posters I saw side by side of Madonna and Henry Rollins. For once, Madonna’s nipples were covered, while Henry Rollins’s were exposed. What a reversal!

I’ll have much more on Vinyl Road Rage 2, Chicago to NYC over the remainder of the trip and beyond. Tomorrow is another day of vinyl record shopping and obsessing in New York City.
Continue reading Vinyl Road Rage: The Trip So Far →

Mishawaka, Indiana Record Stores: Michiana Used Music and Media

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Mishawaka, Indiana is a good place to stop on the way out of Chicago. Just two hours out of the city, you can stretch your legs, top off, buy an Indiana lottery ticket and keep your fingers crossed.

But don’t cross your fingers over finding gigantic piles of rare vinyl at Michiana Used Music and Media. Sadly, the picture below shows the sum total of all the vinyl you can sift through here–two bins with some above and some below.

It wouldn’t be so disappointing for a hardcore vinyl junkie–or even a newbie collector–except there was not much here except for the usual pile of vinyl cast offs from every collection in the world. The requisite AC/DC albums, all the Joe Walsh records you didn’t want alongside the couple you already have. Show tunes nobody listens to. And isn’t there ALWAYS a Fleetwood Mac record in there?

I really wasn’t expecting too much from this first stop on the vinyl road rage trip as the shop doesn’t present itself very well online–an afterthought really, but I WAS amused by a couple of things here. You may not be able to locate that copy of Danny Elfman’s Nightbreed soundtrack here, but if Barry Manilow makes you shriek in ecstasy, you have DEFINITELY found your new home away from home:

And I WAS amused/horrified to find this reissue of the Blind Faith album with one of the most crass and possibly illegal covers in recorded music history. At least tone-deaf Satan Metal bands like Witchfinder General have the decency to put topless women of LEGAL AGE on their covers. Not so with Clapton and company. Those at work should probably NOT click “read more” now. Continue reading Mishawaka, Indiana Record Stores: Michiana Used Music and Media →