Last-modified: Thu Jan 10 23:09:06 2008
Summary: A list of vendors that sell progressive and related music from a shop front as opposed to mail order. Some vendors are duplicated in FAQ 2 as they run mail order from a shop front. Details include address, phone, fax, email and attributed customer comments.
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Scott Sloka (jssloka AT monet.uwaterloo.ca)
Mike Thaxton (mrthaxton AT miavx1.acs.muohio.edu)
Steve Pacenka (sp17 AT cornell.edu)
Anthony Alumkal (aalumkal AT phoenix.princeton.edu)
Gary Mosier (gary.mosier AT gsfc.nasa.gov)
Scott Anderson (sanderso AT gacvx2.gac.edu)
Clint Hyde (chyde AT bbn.com)
Etienne C. Rios (V584ERQZ AT ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu)
Ken Lang (kalang AT cbnewsk.cb.att.com)
Hobie Orris (hobie AT io.org)
Phil Zampino (zampino AT panix.com)
Alex DeWolf (a.dewolf AT tel.gte.com)
Koen Pollentier (koen.pollentier AT planetinternet.be)
Mike borella (cathmike AT xnet.com)
Phil Kime (Philip AT kime.org.uk)
As of January 29th 1996, the entries have been anonymised as in FAQ 2to avoid any legal problems that may occur since these FAQs are now registered with the news.* hierachy. The entries are collated from the comments of many people who have provided information on shops all over the world. The FAQ maintainer is not responsible for mode of expression or content in any of the comments below.
Huge store with an excellent prog section. They have most of the better known bands and a good selection of rarities. Almost any prog title available on CD can be expected to be there at a given time. I have seen: Epidaurus, Asfalto, Il Paese Dei Balocchi, Analogy, Kerrs Pink, Labanda, Apoteosi, etc. Prices are average. The prog section is only a small fraction of their huge inventory. They also have used CDs. Major credit cards accepted.
Amoeba is located in the heart of the legendary Telegraph Ave. section of South Berkeley. While you may find parking to be difficult in this area, there are three stores within two blocks that are worth visiting (see Rasputins below). Amoeba is on the corner of Telegraph and Haste, across from Cody's Books.
The store is quite large, and boasts a section about 2/3 or the way towards the back called `Unusual and Experimental' which tends to include some prog, mostly RIO styled stuff, like The Muffins, Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Art Bears, Samla, U Totem and Cassiber. Occasionally a somewhat less experimental or straight out fusion band will be included in this section, like Bi Kyo Ran, Ain Soph, or Iconoclasta. Most of the store is organized alphabetically in two different sections; one for used CDs, the other for new. You'll find progressive material interspersed in both of these sections. Canterbury and most common fusion artists are well represented, as well as the more mainstream prog bands. You'll find small sections for the common Italian bands (PFM, Le Orme, Banco), and in some very rare occasions you'll find an extremely hard to find disc (Los Canarios is the rarest I've found). Very little neo-prog is represented. The used CD section is huge, and does have prog, but I rarely find anything exciting there (could be that the rare stuff disappears fast). There are a number of LPs stocked, but not very many progressive, and I've never found a rare one.
The sales staff don't seem to be very helpful in terms of prog, and the best method to use when looking for prog in Amoeba seems to be exhaustive search. Prices tend to be high (sometimes close to $30 for an import). This applies to the used section as well, as I've seen used imports go for $15.
Their prices are a bit higher than they used to be. New stuff is usually close in price to other stores (but still under corporate store prices). I recommend everyone checking out their used section first which is pretty big. Sometimes they take never opened stuff and put it in the used section when sales for the item aren't too big and give you a really good price for it.
Directions -- Hillcrest - 163 South to Washington. Right on University (first light). You want to hang a left at the first light but it's a one way street going the other way. They're half a block on your left, park where you can. The directions from 15 north are much different, you're better off going too far, turning around, taking 15 South, then following my directions :-)
Mainly used CD stores with some new CDs. They don't seem to bother with the top 40 crap, but if you want Ozrics these are the places to go. I've found the most stuff I wanted in the Hillcrest Off the Record. I've bought Hawkwind, Ozrics, and Iconoclasta at the Hillcrest OtR. None of these stores carry prog so much as `alternative' music, alternative meaning "you'll never hear this on the radio!". Both stores special order. New CDs are list price, used are $8.99. I seldom walk out of the Hillcrest OtR empty-hand.
Mainly used CD store with some new CDs. Bigger than both Off the Record stores, mentioned above. New CDs are list price, used are $8.99. I've been to Lou's twice, their discs weren't in alphabetical order and I didn't feel like going through all their stuff. But they do have a good rep around town as a good place to find stuff.
Its used CDs are now all in alphabetical order now. They have a Jazz section (`New Age' like), hardcore (with Fates Warning, but mostly satanic stuff), and pop/rock which has your Yes, Rush, etc. Anyway, they have a great selection of bootlegs for sale ($25 single mainly), and tons of used records + tapes (a $3.99 area, and a $.19-$1.00 section for the not so good stuff) as well.
Operated by Kirk Walther. I have done business with Kirk for years, and his shop has always been an interesting place. The store has just moved to a new location, and continues to stock a healthy supply of Krautrock, progressive folk/rock and techno titles on both CD and LP. Artists in stock almost always include Can, Xhol, Faust and many other classic Krautrock groups. Most new prog Spalaxes and similar releases on other labels appear at RC regularly, and I have also seen It's a Beautiful Day, Groundhogs, Fairport Convention and other unusual stuff in both CD and LP formats there. It's a great shop for Beatles and Beatles related titles also.
Kirk takes trades, has a lot of used vinyl and CDs, gets a lot of alternative traffic, but likes prog, Krautrock and old Ravi Shankar LPs (!) a lot. Prices: used CDs go for $7-$11 depending on rarity, if imports, then slightly more. Vinyl prices vary considerably, based on rarity, condition and so forth. Special orders are possible, but still take a long time to come in. A great little shop you need to visit if you're ever in the area.
Carries 70's Prog, Neo-prog, Jazz, Fusion, Space, Electronic, World Music, Industrial, Classical, some new-agey stuff - and that's all. No pop, rock, country, metal, alternative, etc. Extensive breadth of progressive material, and good depth for the big names (Camel, Caravan, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, Ozrics, etc.) They do special order and mail order sales. Chris Lamka is the owner and sole propriator and is extremely knowledgeable about prog. Domestics run about $14-15, imports generally in the $18-22 range, used stuff is generally $8-10 for CD's but vinyl varies all over the place depending on quality and rarity. Trades are generally welcome. Some cassettes and videos are also available, as are other things like sketches and paintings. An antique center in the same mill complex has a web page with a map and directions to the center at:
http://www.antique-cntr-savage.com/directs.html
Excellent place to get imports - Italian, Scandanavian, French. Well-stocked in the Canterbury classics. Lots of small, indy labels and obscure domestic stuff. This is a store dedicated to the progressive listener.
Of Sound Mind was known as Playing By Ear before Chris bought it a few years ago.
This store has TONS of imports by all types of bands, but carries a lot of prog. They had almost the entire Magma catalog, lots of Gong, Renaissance (both lineups), all of the Gryphon CDs, Atomic Rooster, lots of Hawkwind, etc.
Good selection, not the cheapest place around but well worth a visit.
To each his own but I thought this place was a total waste of time. My experience of this place is SO out of line with what's written up in the other entry, that I can only guess that the nature of the store has changed (drastically) since the entry was written. Didn't see a single prog disk. The comment that they sell nothing but used CDs is very wrong (CDs are actually only a corner of the store) and the only reason to "spend at least an hour" there is because you're moving trash aside to get a pile of mostly unalphabetized CD's . Total thumbs down from me on this one.
If you go to this store be prepared to spend at least an hour perusing through their racks. The Trading Post (2nd floor) sells nothing but used CDs, thousands of them. They buy everything and sell it at prices ranging from $6 - $10. I have found CDs by Carmen, Formula 3, Vivian Stanshall, Caravan, Seventh Wave, Gracious, Dixie Dregs, Material, Robert Musso, etc. plus bands from all over the world that I have never heard of. Its pretty much pot luck, but if you like to browse and are interested in checking out obscure bands this is a good place to start.
Tiny hole-in-the-wall but you MIGHT find something worthwhile there. More likely to find it on vinyl than CD, however.
Mostly an alternative type store, but has some decent prog titles, i.e. Van Der Graaf Generator, Kevin Ayers, Amon Düül I & II, National Health. Also has a diverse used section in which I've found Caravan, Barclay James Harvest. Only store in New Jersey that carries Mirthrandir! (I just though that was pretty funny).
One of my favorites for years. Not real big on Italian or French progrock for some reason but a huge selection at mostly pretty good prices.
PRE is located half a block north of Nassau Street opposite the university library. It is a good place to look for progressive rock in a town which is anything but progressive.
It claims to be one of the largest collectors' stores in the country and boasts 100,000 lp's, 30,000 CD's and 10,000 tapes. They don't tend to carry many new prog CD's, though I have seen HTM, Camel, Carvan, and A. Phillips there, as well the more `mainstream' stuff like Crimson, Genesis and Floyd. Depending on the day, you can find a number of used prog CD's as there are apparently a number of local prog-heads unloading their goods. I've seen Pinhas, Weingarten (!), Eloy, and GG to name a few. New domestics sell for about $15. Used CD's sell for $6-$10.
The real story here is the vinyl section. The majority of lp's sell for an amazing $1.99; few sell for more than $6.99. I've encountered prog gems by the likes of PFM, Acqua Fragile, McDonald and Giles (!), Camel, Caravan (lots!), and many others. Also in the vinyl section are a number of (unalphabetized) $.99 record bins, shoved under the regular vinyl racks. If you don't mind spending some time on your knees, you can find LP's by most of the mainstream prog bands.
As with any used shop, the stock will vary considerably from one time to another. The vinyl section has a fairly quick turn-over rate, so if you come once and are disappointed, try again in a month or two.
A record store that offers a massive inventory of over 140,000 vinyl records, rare cds and imports, and music memorabilia. Specializes in Prog Rock and Psychedelic. The owner is Andy Kamm.
We have been in business for 14 years. We sell new, used, domestic and import, CD's, LP's, Cass and Laser Videos. Our specialty is 60's and 70's rarities, progressive and alternative. We also have a large selection of Japanese laser discs. We have a 3,200 square ft store on the corner of Interstate 635 and Oates Drive in Mesquite (a suburb of Dallas). We ship out daily UPS, and accept all major credit cards.
Randy Frierson is the owner. About the only place in Dallas to get progressive rock. Randy Frierson's tastes run from punk/alternative to Krautrock, so these two areas are generally covered well. Also a pretty good selection of spacey fusion, Ozric Tentacles, Porcupine Tree, etc. Also a good selection of the big names - Gentle Giant, Nektar, Caravan, Camel, Marillion, iQ... Occasionally gets hard to find live recordings.
All the progressive stuff is in the Avant Garde/Noise/Experimental section. Quite a good selection of things. I noticed multiple Area, Art Zoyd and Nurse With Wound without really trying too hard.
Another good source. CDs and vinyl (mostly new), and competetively priced, mostly psych and prog. Acme is a label as well, both for original material and reissues, although their issues are nearly all psych. It's connected (I'm not sure how) with the UK neo-psych band Sundial.
Open every day. Sat to Wed (11 to 5) Thu, Fri (11 to 9). Offers a selection of well over 100 prog titles that you can listen to in the listening booth. Also offers used CD and classic Vinyl. Just 10 minutes from downtown Ottawa.
Second Sounds - purveyors of all things cosmic/trip/prog - and - second-hand! Good selection of Hawkwind/Ozrics/Gong/Yes etc, on good, old-fashioned vinyl! Give us a ring to see what's in!
I have been buying CDs from them since 1989, I have never ever been disappointed. The store is owned by Keith Howe, but its the mail-order manager, Alan Beecroft with whom I have mostly dealt with. What he doesn't know about progressive music isn't worth knowing. He is extremely helpful, and is very friendly on the phone. They keep a huge stock of CDs from the 60, 70s and 80s and well as current titles. They also produce a catalogue from time to time. The last major one was in two parts totalling 124 pages, and I have recently received a spring 1995 supplement of 42 pages. Excellent stuff. Track advertise in the UKs monthly Record Collector magazine. They accept credit cards, and once on file, just order, a swift check on your details and the goods are sent. They also sell videos, cassettes, vinyl and keep a number of specialist magazines
Decidedly average outlet. Reasonable amount of Cantebury related material and not a great deal else of note. No RIO, zeuhl (one second hand Magma Live) to speak of. Rather conservative.
The store is located close to Fontana subway station. They have a lot of progressive stuff, specially neo-progressive (IQ, Pendragon, Jadis, Cyan, Leviathan, Citizien Cain, Casino, Twelth Night, Violent District, Arrakeen, Big Picture, Aragon, Pallas, Starcastle, Clepsydra, Chandelier, etc). They also have a good list of Spanish and Italian releases (Gotic, Iman, Asfalato, PFM, Banco, Osanna, Le Orme, Arti+Mestieri, Eris Pluvia, Harnakis, Galadriel, Il Volo, Metamorfosi, Seminaris, etc), among other countries and differents styles in the prog. scene (Änglagård, Amon Düül, Atoll, Cathedral, Coda, Collage, Curved Air, Dice, Dream Theater, Echolyn, Eloy, The Enid, Greenslade, Henry Cow, Kayak, Machiavel, Nektar, O Terc,o, Popol Vuh, Sagrado, Tiemko, Triumvirat, etc, etc). They have a smaller collection of Rock, Jazz and New-Age music. The prices range from 1800 to 3400 pts (about $14-$26). Twice a year they print their updated catalogue (I have the last one).
The catalogue they produce is stunning. Many albums listed have full colour reproductions of the covers and it is well typeset.
Si-wan Records is a Korea-based label,specializing in reissuing progressive rock and euro-rock. It also has its own stores in Seoul and Toronto for retail sales and mail order. We sell not only Si-Wan label cds but also sell lots of imported cds like Japanese pressing and European pressing. We also focus on Kraut rock, Techno, Ambient music and world pop music.