Record Store Day

Record store day was founded in 2007 to celebrate the unique culture of independent record stores throughout the world. I've spent a lot time at record stores and have fallen in love with this culture. So I thought I'd share my experiences with some of my favorite record stores. Here are a few words along with a record store pictorial...

The first record store I ever stepped into was Bagatelle Records. Every payday, I used to rush over to Bagatelle and dig through as many boxes of records as I possibly could. The store has it's designated sections for different genres of music, but my favorite place to dig, is in the random boxes of records Steve (the owner) has laying around the store. Steve always has more records stashed away somewhere, and you never know when he'll pull them out for you to look through. I'd say 80 percent of my record collection comes from Bagatelle. (260 Atlantic Avenue Long Beach, CA 90802)

Fingerprints has a nice selection of records, that I can't find anywhere else. I've taking a lot of chances on records there and found out about a lot of artist that I'm now a huge fan of. Don't sleep on Fingerprints. (4612-B E 2nd St Long Beach, CA 90803)

Fatbeats on Melrose is my first stop for Hip Hop. Whether I'm looking for something that just dropped or a classic 12" I may have missed, Fatbeats usually has it and has it cheap. (7600 Melrose Ave Suite J 2nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90046)

Then there's Amoeba Music. What can I say, the store feels like you're in music heaven. You can dig through the clearance section and find some serious heat for as low as $0.50. Any genre of music, Electronica, House, Hip Hop, Cumbia, and even country. Amoeba has something for EVERYONE! (6400 West Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028)















*Photography by Ervin Arana (2010)