When I moved here from Atlanta I looked for my go-to stores; my bookstore, my record store, my crazy stuff that I don't really need but love store; my paper store, my haircut place, my tattoo place, etc. I'm one of those super loyal folks that finds a place and spends her money (limited as it may be) there. It's kind of a family tradition.
Back in Atlanta I shopped at Wuxtry I will admit that I did cheat on Wuxtry while visiting friends in Gainesville, FL who own a great record shop called Hear Again. Wuxtry will forever by my home base for vinyl. But I gotta have a spot here to pick up something!
I've visited and really enjoyed other stores in the area for sure. None really felt like home, though. I wasn't trying to replace Wuxtry- I wanted to find a place that simply felt right. When I initially moved here I had a difficult time getting to know an older African American AARP volunteer in my former workplace, but; we finally bonded over a shared love of a variety of music. He suggested that I check out Music Saves (after retiring he once called to check in with us while rocking out to WHAM).
He was right- Music Saves was the spot for me. I had a slight incident during my first visit- due to a sinus thing my hearing was a bit off and when introduced to Vinyl I believed her name to be Lionel. I love some Lionel Richie, but; I really should have known her name as she's a rather famous little lady! I do love a store cat. Or a cat with a store as it may be.
Don't be fooled by the seemingly smaller size of the shop- not at all! you can find just about anything AND they do an excellent job alphabetizing things (I hate poorly alphabetized things) so you can find what you want. If you can't find it- ask! They're SO friendly. The folks at Music Saves aren't the too cool for school types. They're are the music loving types who want to help other music lovers. They know the music, they love the music- you can tell by having a brief conversation with them about whatever band's record you're buying or looking forward to buying when it's released.
I think that if I were 15 and asked for a record for my birthday or Christmas my musically challenged mother or grandmother could go to Music Saves and not feel intimidated or like she was not cool enough to be in the store. I feel confident that the staff would help her find what she was looking for and give her some other ideas as well. I really like that.