the Mission, the oldest independent record store in San Francisco has been catering to discriminating fans of indie rock, unusual sounds and hard-to-find Allan Horrocks, who became a co-owner in 1995, attributes much of the get sent out through its biweekly e-mail newsletter. "Having a record store is a lot like making a mix tape for your friends," he says. "We just happen to have 10,000 of them.
" "Big" Al Farleigh, a former roofer who got into the record business after he fell and broke his back, was forced to shut down his original Santa Clara store after the landlord sold the building. Eight months later he reopened at his current 6,000-square-foot location in San Jose, where he's been for nine years. "I do records like nobody," he says.
"I got stuff here nobody's got." Farleigh recently bought 50,000 vintage 45s to add to his stock from a "It's something to see," he says. "The store is like a museum.
I'm 74, and the guy who works for me is 82. It's a lot of fun." looking for a record, and they don't mind paying a fair price for it.
" hard-to-find jazz, soul, disco, psychedelic rock and Latin American vinyl gems "We're customer oriented," says Chris Veltri, who bought the store from its original owners in 1997. "Everything that's in here is handpicked for certain people in mind." vintage goods, Veltri says he has little trouble keeping the regulars coming "You just have to be really focused and always look ahead," he says.
sensory experience, Grooves owner Ray Andersen has decorated his windows with colored vinyl and his walls with all kinds of tantalizing rock, jazz, blues, soundtrack and lounge rarities. See Light Show, Andersen doesn't seem particularly surprised by his vinyl-only "CDs haven't done anybody any good," he says. It's a philosophy his customers seem to share.
Since 1997, Andersen has into the general clutter. "People like the idea of being able to find something serendipitously," he Much of the store's success, he reckons, has to do with the eclectic population of the Bay Area: "I wouldn't want to do this in Ohio." University Avenue home, a block from the UC Berkeley campus, after rents shot "It's not just record stores," owner Paul Bradshaw says.
"The price of running a small business in downtown Berkeley is just not feasible anymore." The store, which once specialized in import CDs, was also affected by an influx of tech-savvy UC students. that 400 people can access," he says.
With that insight, Bradshaw realized Mod Lang no longer had to cater to "It was a liberating moment," he says. country, soul and jazz vinyl releases. The hardest part has been shaking people's perception that it's still a Britpop specialty store, but the owner believes the customers are slowly coming around.
"We moved 4 miles and it feels like 400," he says. "You have to find your niche and accept that it's a different time." Upper Haight that managed to survive the bust.
For almost 30 years, owner Bruce to the Grateful Dead." There is a small corner for CDs, but Recycled has mostly adapted to the inventory to include paper goods such as collectible books, posters and movie "You just have to go with it," Lyall says. "You can't fight it.
" "Business has never been better," says Richard Vivian, who opened Rooky Ricardo's on a rough stretch of Haight Street in 1987. This overstuffed vinyl emporium features mostly soul and oldies 45s, but there are also a few surprises in the mix. "I make my rent selling girl-group records," Vivian says.
customers are always in their 20s," he says), the store also sells vintage turntables, offers weekly repair clinics and does occasional business through online retailers such as Global Electronic Music Marketplace. Despite his devotion to an outdated format, Vivian isn't at odds with new "A lot of my customers first hear this music on iTunes or Pandora," he says. "But at the end of the day, they need to touch the records, listen to them and thumb through them.
" Catering primarily to professional DJs, judicious supply of vinyl and offering a monthly record pool. Owners Tom Seymour and Sam Labelle work with, rather than compete with, the like-minded stores in the city. "Each of us has a little family," Seymour says.
"And we help each other Although Soundworks is facing a rent increase, Seymour and Labelle believe they can ride it out, unlike recent lease casualties such as BPM and Open Mind Music. It's all about keeping a skilled clientele. "Not only do MP3s sound like crap when they're amplified, but the main problem with laptop DJs is it's hard to tell if they're mixing live," Labelle that are loaded with hot sellers.
According to Andrew Shadgett, a manager and employee at the Market Street location since 1988, the four shops have survived by keeping up with their "We're all neighborhood stores," he says. "We listen to what people are looking for and what people want." stores, they still feel the burden of loss leaders like Best Buy and Target that undercut prices on new releases.
Still, Shadgett believes Streetlight can offer something the bigger chains can't. "People still like the social component of going to a small record store," he says. in a sublevel space in the Lower Haight, but it's known around the world by Since 1991, Tweekin' has featured a tightly edited selection of the latest electro, break and hip-hop records (plus some disco reissues) and has let its customers sample the wares before making any purchases.
"We carry stuff you're not going to find on iTunes," says Anthony Mansfield, who became a co-owner last year. in stock. "For a small store," he says, "we do a lot of work.
" Time is ticking for CDs. the eight-track tape. While vinyl sales have unexpectedly surged in the Bay Area, the LP's younger, shinier and glitchier cousin hasn't fared so well.
According to year-end sales figures released by Nielsen SoundScan in 2006, sales of the physical format dropped nearly 5 percent, while digital sales shot up 65 percent. That means that while overall music sales jumped more than 19 percent last year, most of the purchases were made by clicking a mouse rather why it's getting harder to find the latest releases at neighborhood stores? Blame big chains like Wal-Mart and Target, which sell new CDs as loss leaders.
televisions and stereo equipment. Kearney's debut album, "Nothing Left to Lose," at $7.99, while Rasputin listed for $11.
98. The mega-retailers simply write off the loss as an advertising Records' demise in the United States. And Virgin Megastores could be next.
The After nearly 40 years of operating this Mill Valley institution, Village Music in September. "I got this place rolling on my own terms, I ran it on my own terms, and I'm closing it on my own terms," he says. There are several reasons, he says, among them a lack of local support and general burnout.
But ultimately it was a business decision. "The price of rent in Mill Valley is absolutely insane," says Goddard, who started working at Village Music in 1957, when he was 13, and took over in 1968. "I can't afford to stay open.
" In recent years, the cluttered warehouse -- stocked with a treasure trove of 33s, 45s, 78s and rock 'n' roll memorabilia -- has mostly served as as Tom Waits, B.B. King and Elvis Costello, who once called it "the greatest record-collecting store in the world.
" public service to the community," says blues guitarist Ry Cooder, who recently made an in-store appearance at Village Music. "But that's not good enough Many regulars would like to see it granted landmark status by the city, which they feel is quickly homogenizing. "It's sad to see an institution close," says Richard Vivian, owner of San Francisco's Rooky Ricardo's record store.
"It should be a museum." But Goddard doesn't seem likely to change his mind in the next few months. run it for a while, but it depends on the day you ask me," he says.
In the meantime, Village Music will get a bang-up goodbye. Costello has agreed to perform in the store sometime in May, and DJ Shadow (Marin resident for good. "Might as well," Goddard says.
"He's practically paying my rent now." Bird Beckett Books and Records, 2788 Diamond St., San Francisco.
(415) collection of classical, jazz and rock records. . Specializing in jazz, folk and blues since 1976.
Green Apple Books and Music, 506 Clement St., San Francisco. (415) 387-2272.
. An annex stuffed with new and used CDs, plus a discriminating selection of vinyl. .
South of Market spot geared toward house DJs. Another vinyl-only store, best known for its walls of 78s. Open Wednesday through Saturday, or by appointment.
Jazz Quarter, 1267 20th Ave., San Francisco. (415) 661-2331.
Rare and out-of-print jazz records. Open Tuesday through Saturday. .
Show tunes, dance and lounge. record store with a knowledgeable staff, lots of vinyl and an '80s-leaning with junk-shop ambience. Offers eight-track, cassette and reel-to-reel tapes, and working turntables.
local chain, offering a competitively priced variety of new and used releases. separate units for used CDs, reel-to-reel tapes and videos. .
Rockridge collectors' store, offering mail order and Did we miss your favorite Bay Area independent record store? Let us know.
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