Today my brother, Phil, and I took a journey to find the best record stores in Philadelphia, and we found some treasures. My generous co-worker, Catherine, gave me a base list, and we started off at A.K.A. Music (www.myspace.com/aka_music) on 2nd St. They have an extensive and well-organized selection of cds, and the staff is completely unpretentious and willing to answer questions. One of A.K.A.'s unique festures is that they educate you while you shop. The walls are lined with displays explaining different musical movements and the major influences behind them. I found an interesting early blues recordings cd. Their record selection was somewhat unimpressive, however, without many rarities.
On our way to South St we picked up two of our friends, Zack and Marissa, and formed a veritable musical pilgrimage group. Our next stop was Relapse Records (www.myspace.com/relapseretail) on 4th St. I was psyched to buy surcharge-free tickets to the Vampire Weekend (http://www.vampireweekend.com/) show at the First Unitarian Church on February 7th. They're XPN's artist to watch, and I love their sound. Just listen to "APunk" or "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to see what all the hype is about. Now, aside from my ticket purchases, Relapse was a disappointment. They're slection is limited to hard core and metal, which is not my scene.
Our next stop was Repo Records (http://www.reporecords.de/). They had a good collection of indie music, with lost of opportunities to listen to anything you wanted. There also was a basement filled with vinyl. Again, though there were more records than in A.K.A., the records were of a fairly common variety. The vinyl organization, too, was half-hazard, making searching through them almost overwhelming.
Spaceboy Music, a block away, was supposed to be next, but it apparently closed a few months ago. Its replacement - a linen store. Clearly, there is no justice.
We hiked over to Passyunk Ave next for a fulfilling conclusion to our journey. There we found two amazing vinyl stores that made the whole expedition worthwhile. Beautiful World Syndicate (http://www.myspace.com/beautifulworldsyndicate) is hands down the best vinyl store I've ever seen, inside or outside of Philadelphia. Records are the focus, and everything else is secondary. They have a great many rare finds available, and you can even listen to your selections on turntables before you buy them. My brother was thrilled to discover a rare Badfinger record there.
Across the street is Sweet Jane (http://www.myspace.com/ilovesweetjane) , a very unusal store that combines the sale of vintage records and clothing. They only carry vinyl, so this is a store for purists. The clothing contains many quirky pieces, as well. I picked up a red pinstriped ruffled blouse that was very unusual. This is a store I will surely revisit. The owner told me that they are having an event for First Friday in February. She'll have a professional DJ on the store's turntable and her friend will be selling vintage clothing that's usually only available online.
From my experiences today, I would recommend A.K.A. or Repo for cds, but if you're as hardcore as my brother is abut vinyl you should skip Old City and South St and head over to Passyunk. Beautiful World Syndicate and Sweet Jane both should not be missed.
On our way to South St we picked up two of our friends, Zack and Marissa, and formed a veritable musical pilgrimage group. Our next stop was Relapse Records (www.myspace.com/relapseretail) on 4th St. I was psyched to buy surcharge-free tickets to the Vampire Weekend (http://www.vampireweekend.com/) show at the First Unitarian Church on February 7th. They're XPN's artist to watch, and I love their sound. Just listen to "APunk" or "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" to see what all the hype is about. Now, aside from my ticket purchases, Relapse was a disappointment. They're slection is limited to hard core and metal, which is not my scene.
Our next stop was Repo Records (http://www.reporecords.de/). They had a good collection of indie music, with lost of opportunities to listen to anything you wanted. There also was a basement filled with vinyl. Again, though there were more records than in A.K.A., the records were of a fairly common variety. The vinyl organization, too, was half-hazard, making searching through them almost overwhelming.
Spaceboy Music, a block away, was supposed to be next, but it apparently closed a few months ago. Its replacement - a linen store. Clearly, there is no justice.
We hiked over to Passyunk Ave next for a fulfilling conclusion to our journey. There we found two amazing vinyl stores that made the whole expedition worthwhile. Beautiful World Syndicate (http://www.myspace.com/beautifulworldsyndicate) is hands down the best vinyl store I've ever seen, inside or outside of Philadelphia. Records are the focus, and everything else is secondary. They have a great many rare finds available, and you can even listen to your selections on turntables before you buy them. My brother was thrilled to discover a rare Badfinger record there.
Across the street is Sweet Jane (http://www.myspace.com/ilovesweetjane) , a very unusal store that combines the sale of vintage records and clothing. They only carry vinyl, so this is a store for purists. The clothing contains many quirky pieces, as well. I picked up a red pinstriped ruffled blouse that was very unusual. This is a store I will surely revisit. The owner told me that they are having an event for First Friday in February. She'll have a professional DJ on the store's turntable and her friend will be selling vintage clothing that's usually only available online.
From my experiences today, I would recommend A.K.A. or Repo for cds, but if you're as hardcore as my brother is abut vinyl you should skip Old City and South St and head over to Passyunk. Beautiful World Syndicate and Sweet Jane both should not be missed.
