RECKLESS RECORDS HIGH FIDELITY FREE

Case in point: Vinyl Tap in Nashville is part beer bar (the tap part) and part record store. In this day and age, it’s hard for a business to be one thing, which is why it’s nice when a business combines two or more things. Just like Forrest Gump with his box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. They also offer an exclusive coffee and vinyl subscription: Each month, a vinyl record and a bag of coffee are sent to you (or held to be picked up in-store). They feature roasters from all over the world-including Norway, London, Colorado, and New York City-and serve specially lattes or pour overs alongside selling new and old vinyl in the store. The Wicker Park shop fuses craft coffee and vinyl, but in an atypical way. The name Purple Llama should be enough to get you to go. Somehow getting jacked up on caffeine enhances the record-shopping experience. The menu consists of vegan pastries and fun specialty drinks like the Unicorn Love Bomb (a double shot of espresso topped with vegan marshmallows) and the Devastator (four shots of espresso from local roaster Panther Coffee). Inside, Sweat Records sells records in one section and runs a small café by the entrance. To find the store, just look for its exterior “ Wall of Idolatry” mural, which showcases a panoply of musicians, from MF Doom to the Gorillaz’ Noodle and Murdoc to Billie Holiday to Notorious B.I.G. Besides selling records, they also house a small coffee shop and a ticketed music venue, which books local and international acts. They sell new music with an emphasis on UK imports, and the mezzanine sells a wide variety of books. Topping out at 15,000 square feet, it not only became the biggest record store in New York-but also Rough Trade’s biggest store. In 1976, the UK-based record label Rough Trade opened its first record store in 2013, the first Rough Trade in the U.S.

Today, the space acts as a music school, with paraphernalia from famed musicians on display. People can tour the upstairs, where all the magic happened in the 1940s and '50s. In 2015, the historical spot opened as Herzog Music, selling a small selection of used vinyl, instruments, books, and hosting in-store performances. recorded now-classics like Hank Williams's “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” Herzog, along with King Records, established Cincinnati as a recording destination, not just a radio town. Herzog Music // Cincinnatiįrom 1945 to 1955, in downtown Cincy, the E.T. (Though it was just announced that its Lakeview location will be moving after 30 years in the same spot.) 3. As head music buyer Matt Jencik said, “We take pride in stocking everything from, say, the new Beyoncé CD to a cassette by an up-and-coming local artist to a reissue of a mostly unknown African psychedelic rock band or an obscure techno 12-inch.” And even selling a rare Spice Girls 12-inch. Gentrification and rising rents in Wicker Park haven’t deterred Reckless in 2015, the business moved a few doors down to a more spacious storefront. Supposedly, Reckless inspired High Fidelity’s Championship Vinyl (though the exteriors were shot at a storefront down the street from Reckless). Reckless Records // Chicagoįor more than 30 years, Chicago via London’s Reckless Records has maintained high standards, operating three stores in the city: Loop, Lakeview, and its most iconic location, Wicker Park. Currently, the neon-inflected Amoeba remains Sunset Strip’s only record store (Tower Records shuttered in 2006), so it’s helping to keep the city’s music spirit alive.

RECKLESS RECORDS HIGH FIDELITY FREE

Every week, bands and artists-including well-known acts-play free shows here. As the largest independent record store in the world, Amoeba’s two floors house millions of used and new vinyl, CDs, DVDs, video games, and a jazz room. In 1997 it expanded to San Francisco, and in 2001 it opened its largest location-at 24,000 square feet, it takes up an entire city block-on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. In 1990, Amoeba Records opened its first of three locations, in Berkeley. Amoeba Records // San Francisco, Berkeley, and Hollywood, California (Vinyl and cassette tapes have increased in sales, though.) Whether your favorite record store made the list or not, be sure to support your local store during the annual Record Store Day, a sort of Christmas for music fans, which will occur on April 13, 2019. What makes a record store cool? Is it an obscure collection of vinyl, a storied history, a coffee shop within the store that brews third-wave coffee, or the fact Prince shopped there? All of these can factor into the coolness, but also how indie record stores continue to prosper despite operating in an era when physical media sales are in decline.

Reckless records high fidelity