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The record stores that changed my life

What record store changed your life?
 My first memory of a music store is The Warehouse in San Diego. I know I went to some before that but this is the one I distinctly remember. It was so exciting going there and searching through rows of CDs. I would look for certain bands, laugh at some of the album covers and marvel at the awesome posters on the wall. I knew from a young age that I REALLY loved music and anything involved with it. This was also a time where "the guy behind the counter" at the record store was a well of knowledge, being the closest thing I've ever had to a cool big brother. This was also when certain comments began that I haven't stopped hearing to this day "You're too young to like that music."

 This remark always confused me because maybe I AM "too" young to like this music...yet here I am. All I could do was shrug, but this marked the beginning of that whole thing. Truth was being a kid I had little to no money to spend on music at the record shop so I had to plan and save. I usually ended up with something by Queen and I'd hide in my room with the CD on loud. As I got older my obsession only grew and I wanted to see more music stores. I forgot how but I heard of one called Blue Meanie Records in El Cajon and I was hellbent on going. After doing some convincing we finally drove to this record store. This record shop was like heaven on earth to early teens me. I was blown away by vast selections of music, rock book, posters and rock t-shirts which were actually hard to find.

 I ended up buying a lot of stuff from that place but mostly posters. They had the best posters I had ever seen and still to this day haven't seen any as unique as those. One of the first rock books I bought and still cherish to this day is "The Story of Tommy" filled with colorful collages and song lyrics from the movie. I could write a whole blog just on this book and maybe I will eventually.


 The first CD I bought there was Queen's "A Night At The Opera" and the first poster I got was a classic shot of the Monkees and the first shirt was "With the Beatles." It was a place with a lot of firsts for me. Sadly not long after I moved away the place closed down. So have all the places I went to for music when growing up. Thankfully moving to the San Francisco Bay Area got me planted between easily a dozen record stores: Dave's Records, 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, Amoeba, Rasputin, Hercules Records, Stranded Records to name a few. Now I am spoiled with lots of options but as I kid I really didn't have options. However I am super grateful for the places that I did have and the music that I got from there. I'll always remember them fondly.
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