Online auction sites have now made the “unprecedented deal” obsolete in specialty shops around the world. Perhaps none are affected more than your friendly neighborhood record store. What once was a Sun Ra collection that was modestly priced because the clerk on duty never heard of him is now a treasure trove of expensive wax slices.
Online auction sites have now made the “unprecedented deal” obsolete in specialty shops around the world. Perhaps none are affected more than your friendly neighborhood record store. What once was a Sun Ra collection that was modestly priced because the clerk on duty never heard of him is now a treasure trove of expensive wax slices.
That said, specialty stores, without the draw of the cheap rare find, have to rely on other means—specifically, selection and relative pricing. What one owner might have found for $20 and sells for $40, another may have found for far cheaper, and the price reflects that.
What follows are, in this writer’s opinion, the best record shops in the city.
Mississippi Records
5202 N Albina St.
RECENT HAULS
Lickgoldensky, Lickgoldensky $4
Drowningman, Still Loves You $3
Still Life, From Angry Heads with Skyward Eyes $4
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the tale of the Portland vinyl-ite that went to a sidewalk record sale in NYC and pulled from it a holy grail—a Velvet Underground acetate. This is his shop.
Aside from being one of the best record stores in the city, one can regularly find the stellar releases from the record label of the same name. Plus, they have a “discount punk rock” section. It doesn’t get much more punk rock than that!
Exiled Records
4628 SE Hawthorne St.
RECENT HAUL
Bruce Haack, Way-out Record for Children repress $11
Copy, Hair Guitar $4
Copy, Möbius Beard $4
Rites of Spring, All Through a Life 7” repress $4
This shop is owned by a guy in Eat Skull, one of Portland’s best bands. And because they’re one of the best bands you’ve likely never heard of, a record store owned by one of them must have scads of treasures lining its walls.
The short answer: Yes. Exiled has one of the best selections in town crammed into a small space. The perfection extends to the “expensive wall” that all record stores have. Unlike most of its peers, you won’t find 30 different versions of The Beatles’ Revolver lining Exiled’s walls.
Instead, you’ll find stuff record nerds actually care about—albums by Nurse with Wound, Sun Ra, Jandek and a sealed copy of the understated psych classic, the ’70s self-titled effort by Relatively Clean Rivers—sealed, no less—for close to a grand.
Crossroads Music
3130 SE Hawthorne St.
RECENT HAUL
Pg. 99, Document #7 $12
Books Lie, It a Weapon $8
Green Velvet, Genedefekt $2
Green Velvet, La La Land $2
Frank Zappa, Sheik Yerbouti (Zappa Records) $4 Panther, Entropy $4
If you’re one of those vinyl mavens that get his or her jollies from the thrill of the hunt and you’ve never been to Crossroads, go there right now. No, seriously, put down this paper and get there before they close. Better yet, go tomorrow and make a day of it.
As far as record shops go, there is none more cavernous than Crossroads. The shop is set up like an antique mall with space allotted to vendors. Each vendor may specialize in a certain thing, or they may branch out into several genres.
Buyers beware: The records there are sold by bona fide record nerds, just like you. That said, if you’re expecting to find a copy of 13th Floor Elevators’ Easter Everywhere for $5, look elsewhere. These folks know, but they’re not unreasonable. Great deals can be found everywhere, but one must search.
Pro-tip: Ask the person behind the counter for the “special” indie vinyl section. What could make a hunt even more exclusive than secret sections? This hunt is one of the things that keeps us vinyl junkies coming back for more. Tally ho!
