bentclouds

I've made two posts elsewhere, so I guess I should do this. Real name: Jason Favorite Bands: 60s: Dylan. 70s: Television. 80s: Pixies. 90s: Radiohead. 00s: Joanna Newsom What's your Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr etc.?: I don't really check Facebook anymore. www.twitter.com/bentclouds My website is www.bentclouds.com My vinyl collection is cataloged here: http://rateyourmusic.com/collection/bentclouds/oo,fmt.LP Hobbies (outside of record collecting): I'm more interested in film than I am in music. I also work in film. Play in a band? Run a record label? Link us!: I sing in a cover band called Neon Dry.

1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me 2. Beach House - Teen Dream 3. Avey Tare - Down There 4. Future Islands - In Evening Air 5. Menomena - Mines 6. The Walkmen - Lisbon 7. No Age - Everything in Between 8. The National - High Violet 9. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest 10. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh Honorable Mentions: LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening The Roots - How I Got Over Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be Spoon - Transference Roky Erickson with Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme Best Coast - Crazy For You Nobunny - First Blood Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma The Soft Pack - S/T

You did a really nice job with this but I figured I'd do my own version of these and add a few more. Amoeba Hollywood 6400 West Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028 Refresh rate is very fast here with tons of new vinyl coming in all the time. Unfortunately they also know their stuff and pricing can run pretty steep on anything really worthwhile, but the flip-side to that is you can usually sell vinyl to them and get a pretty fair price for it compared to the other record stores around Los Angeles. No vinyl listening stations. Best purchase - The Sound - JEOPARDY for $35 Rockaway Records 2395 Glendale Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90039 They mostly focus on classic rock but they do get in a good selection of punk/new wave stuff and tend to only buy vinyl that is in very nice condition. They also have a very nice stock of cheap vinyl (usually $3.99) which can occasionally have some surprisingly nice titles that they deemed unworthy. No listening stations. Best purchase - Television - ST signed by band for $40 Atomic Records 3812 West Magnolia Boulevard Burbank, CA 91505 They seem to mostly focus on used vinyl and have a nice wall of obscure stuff and seem to get a lot of records in weekly. They tend to be a little pricey on the popular titles (T. Rex - The Slider for $24.99) but they have a very nice selection of albums from the 1970s and soundtracks. No listening stations. Best purchase - Big Star - #1 RECORD (White Label Promo) for $35 or sealed John Cale - FEAR for $9 Freakbeat Records 13616 Ventura Boulevard Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-3700 Pricey records and cheap buyers. They mostly focus on classic rock but I never seem to find anything I want there. They have two listening stations. Best purchase - Roky Erickson - THE HOLIDAY INN TAPES for $15 Record Surplus 11609 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90064-2908 They save all their best stock for their quarterly sales and don't have a new arrival section. They mostly focus on classic rock but don't usually have any of the really select titles that people are actually looking to buy. They have two listening stations. Best purchase - Sealed copy of Nina Nastasia - ROAD TO RUIN for $11. Origami Vinyl 1816 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026 They mostly handle new vinyl but have a small selection of recent arrivals that sometimes get worthwhile new indie records. Prices on new vinyl tend to be a couple dollars more than Amoeba (or online) but help is very friendly and they have some out of print titles sprinkled into their collection. They also have a section for local bands which is very useful. No listening station but if you ask they will probably spin a used record you are curious about. Best purchase - My first stop on record store day and I found the Pavement - Quarantine the Past RSD vinyl. Vacation Vinyl 3815 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026 They also mostly handle new vinyl but their used selection is always worth a browse. They often get used limited pressings and have first dibs at limited metal records. If you are looking for a rare Melvins or Boris album, you should probably check Vacation Vinyl. One listening station. Best Purchase - No Age - WEIRDO RIPPERS (Handmade Vinyl Edition) for $25. Records LA 5654 West Adams Los Angeles, CA 90016 A weird record store that is only open Thurs-Sun but has an amazing selection of used soul, funk and hip hop. The owner is weird but incredibly sharp when it comes to soul and funk, he specializes in 45s and you will find many boxes of them that are unsorted and unpriced. Happy hunting. Bring cash because they don't take card. One listening station. Best purchase - Jerry Washington - RIGHT HERE IS WHERE YOU BELONG for $40 or Exuma - ST for $30. Wombleton Records 5123 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042 Great curated selection of records that mostly focus on 80s and 90s new wave/punk. Records can be on the scratchy side and they are probably getting more picked over each day but this is a place to go if you are interested in finding Jesus & Mary Chain singles or Wedding Present albums. No listening station but the dude seemed like he would be down to spin a record for you over the store speaker. Best purchase - Nikki Sudden & The Jacobites - The Ragged School for $15 CD Trader 18926 Ventura Boulevard CA 91356-3212 Sure they mostly specialize in CDs and DVDs but they also have a decent selection of used vinyl. However, I usually find that the only place I need to look is the New Arrivals section, anything worthwhile usually won't make it out of there. No listening station. Best purchase - Modest Mouse - THE MOON AND ANTARCTICA (original pressing) for $30. Record Outlet 1489 E Thousand Oaks Blvd # 1 Thousand Oaks, CA 91362-6206 Overstocked with disposable classic rock but occasionally worth checking out because the owner seems to never price anything above $10 and that can lead to some great deals. Two listening stations (both shitty). Best purchase - too many to name... I guess I'll go with Joy Division - UNKNOWN PLEASURES (first edition, UK Press) for $10. Grady's Record Refuge 2546 E Main St Ventura, CA 93003 Mostly classic rock (formerly co-owned by Record Outlet owner) but very reasonably priced with a nice oddities section and some discounted new vinyl. Very clean layout for this type of store. Two listening stations. Best purchase - Bob Dylan - SELF PORTRAIT for $8. American Pie Records 1412 Tower Sq # 2 San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA 93003-5130 Layout is a fucking headache and the owner is an old school asshole who is likely to lay out his political beliefs and sexual practices while you are browsing his stash. The stash is pretty undeniable though, it's set up in a huge storage unit and he has many rare pressings (a copy of VU & NICO that isn't supposed to exist) and I'm sure you could go in there with a fat wallet and leave with plenty of good records that you haven't been able to find elsewhere. His records are not the cleanest and his record jackets can sometimes be too worn to be worth the price he is charging but you will find something there if you are interested in records made before 1980. If you are interested in newer records (New Wave/Punk/Alt), don't bother because the owner hates that shit and will tell you about it. No listening station but owner will play your record (as long as it's not punk). Best purchase - Velvet Underground - LOADED for $30. Salzer's Records 5777 Valentine Road, San Buenaventura (Ventura) They mostly carry CDs and new vinyl. The used vinyl that they do have is usually very shitty, thrift store-type crap and classic rock standards. They are also priced too high. Best bargains can be found in the new vinyl section where they have many sealed records for 50% off retail price. They also have good sales a few times a year and you might be able to find some decent deals then. No listening station. Best purchase - The Dø - A MOUTHFUL (sealed) for $6. UPDATED Burger Records 645 S State College Blvd Fullerton, California 92831 I was only able to spend about an hour browsing this store before my friends grew restless and I was pulled away but I will say that this place is essential if you are looking for obscure indie bands from the 80s & 90s. They tend to price accordingly but some of their non-indie stuff is priced very reasonably (my friend got an early pressing (stereo) Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited for 10). They have a listening station and a bathroom that you can use if you ask nicely enough. Might pose a problem if you are seriously allergic to cats though, because a fat pussy has the run of the store. Best purchase - The Cavemen - ...Yeah for $12. Black Hole 108 North Harbor Boulevard, Fullerton, CA 92832-1813 A weird record store that focuses its selection completely on punk, alternative and especially brit-pop. A huge selection of Oasis and Smiths stuff, including an Oasis singles box and stuff signed by Morrissey hanging on the walls. I'm sure there are some pleasures hidden in these shelves but I didn't get a chance to really delve deep into their limited stock because I got there right before they closed. I didn't see a listening station or a bathroom but this place seems to warrant another visit next time I find myself in thee oh see. I didn't buy anything. Rhino Records 235 Yale Ave Claremont, CA 91711-4725 A good mixture of new and used with a heavy dosage of industrial/dark wave stuff from the 80s. They have two listening stations but refuse to let you listen to anything used that's priced higher than $24.99 (which I found really annoying because there was a Brian Eno used bootleg that I wanted to hear). They seem to have a good number of OOP new releases mixed in with everything else. Best purchase: Al Green Gets Next To You OG press in shrink for $9.99.