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| - The main strength of this place is the deep selection. Between their constantly changing used inventory and their impressive flow of new records, I almost always find something here worth having.
The problems are two. 1) The used records in the basement are mostly unmarked. Browsers are forced to bring records to the staff person, who when checking online for current prices suddenly seems more like a greedy dealer in vintage goods than a chill record store clerk. So you have to decide what records you are seriously interested in, then take them to the staff, and then sit there and make decisions how much you can or want to spend, then awkwardly wonder what to do with the records you've decided to leave. I prefer stores that price their goods once and then let them sit in the bins waiting to be discovered, rather than this up-to-the-second market rate. Too much of a hustle. This process makes the store as much about the money as the music.
And 2), as noted by others, the owner of the store is particularly pushy. The very first time in the store he asked if I were looking for something specific. Once I told him yes, I'm looking for a certain Don Pullen record. He says, oh we don't have that but we have this, and this, and this is really great and rare... Well, thank you but I didn't ask for those. Just say you don't have what I'm looking for, and ask if I am I looking for anything else. Another time I had four used records by one artist priced and then decided to take two of them. First he says I missed out on two other records by the same artist, that they were just snatched the day before. Do I need to be told that? It's in the nature of shopping for used records--we're always missing out, every second of every day. Then this guy has the balls to ask me why I'm not taking all four--"Is there a reason you're not taking all of them?" Well, it's actually none of his business. He doesn't know my collection, my budget, and my priorities. Whatta schmuck.
Go to MadCity. Selection not as deep but still good and zero attitude.
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