BEST RECORD STORES

Amoeba Music
Los Angeles
Prepare for an embarrassment of riches when you walk into Amoeba Music on L.A.'s Sunset Strip — a 35,000-square-foot warehouse packed with more than a million LPs, CDs and DVDs. Amoeba's L.A. flagship (the others are in Berkeley and San Francisco) also offers free in-stores from acts like the Raconteurs and PJ Harvey, an expert staff that knows the eclectic stock inside out and a vast and ever-changing collection of used CDs. "When you come in here, it's almost like a treasure hunt," says Amoeba exec Ilene Barg. "If you have twenty dollars, you can walk away with a big stack of music."

Dusty Groove
Chicago
Though this Chicago shop's Website allows fans everywhere to browse its vintage funk, soul, hip-hop and jazz LPs, those who live in Chicago get an added perk: Dusty Groove lets you order from its perpetually updated site and then swing by the store to pick up your purchases.

Waterloo
Austin
Waterloo not only offers all the best indie and mainstream releases but proudly promotes a huge array of Texas roots and rock bands from Ray Price and Joe Ely to Okkervil River and Spoon.

Other Music
New York
Other Music is going twelve years strong as downtown Manhattan's best-curated record shop — complete with a killer array of psych rock, No Wave, electronica, French pop and much more.

Vintage Vinyl
Fords, New Jersey
Love punk, emo and metal? The staff here could have told you about My Chemical Romance or Taking Back Sunday before they broke, and the store still draws top Warped Tour acts for free gigs and album signings.

Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

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