Robert Plant on Record Stores

One day in the 1980’s I was flipping through LP’s in Village Music (at that time a great record store in Mill Valley, just across the Bay from San Francisco. When it became a CD-only shop in the 90’s it turned into just another mediocre music retailer, eventually going out of business in 2007. Shoulda stuck to LPs!). At one point I looked down the aisle, and saw James Burton also flipping records. He noticed me noticing him, and flashed a nice big smile. I myself consider seeing James Burton more of an awesome making-day that seeing Robert Plant, but to each his own.  

Elvis Costello in the liner notes of his Kojak Variety album:

"Some of my best discoveries have been made in what may be the greatest record collector store in the world: Village Music in Mill Valley."

Did anyone else shop at Bleeker Bob’s in NYC? Bob was one orn'ry feller, weren’t he?! He opened a shop on Melrose Street in Los Angeles in the 1980’s, but I guess he was just too obnoxious for the town, the shop not surviving very long.

One day in the late-80’s my girlfriend and I went to Moby Disc Records on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks California (in the Valley on the West side of the Hollywood Hills) to look for records. I went straight for the racks, but the girlfriend came over and said "Look who’s behind the counter." It was Lucinda Williams, running the cash register. The girlfriend and I had been seeing Lucinda appear around L.A. for awhile, not knowing she was trying to get a record deal for her already-completed self-titled album that eventually was released by Rough Trade. I later bought that album at Moby Disc. 

@bdp24 Thanks for the Lucinda Williams memories of her working the counter, loved it. Enjoy the music

I remember being in Village Music in the mid/late '80s, watching in awe as a Japanese man filled cardboard box after box as fast as he could go through the bins of LPs.

Amazing store.  I still have postcards that show the LP bins and all the inspiring memorabilia.

"What Are YOU Looking For?" asks one of those postcards.

VM had a TON; I had scant dinero, unfortunately. . . .

Oops. The San Fernando Valley is on the north side of the Hollywood Hills, not the West. By the way, remember the line in Tom Petty's song "Free Fallin'" about "All the vampires, walking through the Valley, move west down Ventura Boulevard"? The "vampires" Tom was speaking of were the Goth kids he saw walking to and from a local High School.  Funny.

We used to ride our bikes to the train station (LIRR) and go into the city, walk down to the village and hang out for the day. First we'd hit Star Magic, cool little shop with lots of funky stuff to browse. Then to Tower Records for a few hours, the place was massive. Then finally landing at CBGB's for whoever was playing that night (Ramones almost every night closing the show). Try to catch a train back to the Island - didn't always happen, had to sleep at Penn Station many a time. Still, the record store was always something we prioritized in youth, loving it coming back.