Were you a fan of Tower Records?

Their laserdisc selection was unparalleled out of any national chain music store. I always wished there was one closer to where I lived in the 1990s, but I always made sure to visit if I was ever somewhere there was one.

Loves the Tower outlet too!

I lived near that Tower in the 80s.

Great place.

You could just hang out, browse, go from section to section - even if you weren't buying it was a great place to go.

Much of my youth and after-youth was spent in those large record stores.

YES!

When I came to the big city to hit the Gay clubs (early-min 1980s), I'd stop in. What I liked was the selection of 45s with classic hits from years and decades gone by. I made a mix tape that I since converted to cd. I still have it, I love it, and I've given a copy to my best friends, of a certain age. Thanks, Tower Records!

Loved the one on the Sunset Strip. I would hang in there as a kid, trying to look cool and checking out all the people.

There was a wall of punk and New Wave 45s that were either imported from England or produced locally. Great stuff.

I lived just a few blocks from there and loved going there, there was even a ticket master booth and you go and buy tix

[quote]There was a wall of punk and New Wave 45s that were either imported from England or produced locally.

Gurl, I'll bet you read THIS >>

You bet, r7!

Keith Richards lived in an apt above it, brittney spears bought the apt years later but sold it

[quote]Loved the one on the Sunset Strip. I would hang in there as a kid, trying to look cool and checking out all the people.

OMG, yes. It was there long before the one in NYC.

I used to get LPs/albums of 70s artists like Joe Cocker, Leon Russell for $4.99 & yes, good place for singles. I think they were 89 cents.

Loved Tower Records, my fave was on the upper west side in the 60s. I really miss it and the Barnes and Nobles that used to be across the street from them. Sigh. Good memories. Thanks OP.

[quote]Loved Tower Records, my fave was on the upper west side in the 60s.

I remember that one. It wasn't as good as the one downtown.

Such a huge part of my L.A. youth. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. You could go in that store and casually shop next to Robert Plant or Prince and, if there were bodyguards,. they were off to the side somewhere because they looked completely at ease.

I have this on my shelf so am reminded of my favorite Tower on Sunset story. When I was with a friend and wanting to buy a Doors CD that wasn't a Greatest Hits and I asked him which one to get and he nodded to the guy next to us and said, "Ask him". And it was Ray Manzarek (sp?) who talked to us and steered me to "Strange Days". I got in line, he was a person or two behind us, paid for the CD and the cashier, without a word, handed me a Sharpie -- which I handed to Ray who signed it to me. All very sweet and no big deal, no fan/star bullshit. THAT was Tower then. And that signed CD remains one of my favorite possessions, especially now that Ray is gone.

great story, R13.

Kate Bush was there to sign autographs in Dec of 1993. It was freezing that way. And the line went for blocks.

Fun fact :

Russ Solomon's first official Tower Records opened in 1961 on Watt Avenue in Sacramento.

Loved Tower Records. I spent the mid to late 80s in the NYC 4th and Broadway store when I was in grad school at NYU. By the mid 90s I was working in LA and spent way too many hours at the Sunset Strip store. I also spent a lot of time across the street at Book Soup.

I hate that Amazon and digital books and music killed the stores. I haven't been to Montreal in a few years, but there was still a surviving bookstore (Chapters and Indigo) and music store (HMV and Archambault). It's probably dying up there too. It's a shame. There is no place to hang and talk.

Elton John was always shopping at the Sunset store- he'd spend thousands in one visit.

LOVED that Tower Records at 4th & B'way. What a great place to hang out,

I once was in there shopping one afternoon and David Cassidy was sitting at a table waiting to autograph CDs and was all alone -- literally nobody at the table. He smiled at everyone passing by, including me. I have no idea why I didn't buy something and get him to sign it since I had him to myself, especially since I was a fan as a kid (and found him hot, though Shaun was really my first celluloid gay crush). I still regret not taking advantage of that especially since he was so friendly (and had to be dying inside a little).

[quote]I once was in there shopping one afternoon and David Cassidy was sitting at a table waiting to autograph CDs and was all alone -- literally nobody at the table.

How sad!

The documentary about the store, directed by Colin Hanks, is worth the watch for fans.

I moved to the east coast in 1995 and made many weekend trips to NYC. Every visit included a shopping spree at the 4th Street store for Maxi Singles on CD. They had the BEST selection. Even though all those B Sides, Remixes, Extended Dance Versions, Instrumental Versions are available online, I still cherish the CDs I bought from Tower.

I miss Tower Records. I once saw Julianne Moore there. Seriously.

Technically, it was the Tower Video across from the Sunset store, but close enough.

Yeah, maybe that was the problem, why I didn't talk to him. Too much pressure as the only fan there. I'd do it now in a second, of course. This was the '80s so he was really cold, not just retro. But, like I said, smiling, no attitude or misery.

Everything sounded so good on those sound systems too. How I got turned on to so much music back then. They had good taste there too.

Anyone remember the stud who worked there who looked JUST like Jim Morrison? So much so that I swear that is him playing Jim in the death party scene in "Death Becomes Her". He was a dead ringer and seemed to know it, cultivated the look, hair and all.

[quote]Everything sounded so good on those sound systems too. How I got turned on to so much music back then. They had good taste there too.

Yes, I discovered new music just hanging out in the store.

Like THIS >

I was a green Midwesterner who had to be yelled at when I walked into the West 4th Street store without checking my backpack at the door. I turned purple with embarrassment, LOL.

I remember buying this 45 at Tower... Josie was American but I think the original single was an import.

Yes, I miss Tower Records. It was a great place. I hate it when places I like exist no more. It's happening all the time now, so many stores and shops I like are gone or going. It sucks.

I worked as a buyer for one of their major competitors back in the 90's. Their business model was very decentralized, with the senior salespeople at their stores making most of the buying decisions. It worked brilliantly in genres outside the mainstream. They owned the record business in alt rock, classical, jazz, blues and the like for decades. And legend had it if you showed up at their corporate offices in Sacramento in a tie, you left with a knot because the CEO would cut your tie off. As the CD boom waned, their business model bit them in the ass: returns to the labels ballooned which caused losses to mount. Eventually it could not be sustained. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a rep tell me "Tower Lincoln Center bought 100" of a CD I knew I would sell 10 in the next year of at my store 2 blocks south, I'd be retired now.

God, I miss Virgin too. Walking into the one in Times Square to kill some time and there, with little fuss, is this new band called Outkast playing -- not on the sound system. Playing LIVE. Dumbshits with their faces down in their phones will never know what they missed (and I HATE those Napster pricks for ruining the whole thing. The whole industry actually.).

[quote]God, I miss Virgin too. Walking into the one in Times Square to kill some time

I thought it was HMV in Times Square.

Whichever one it was - they had listening stations, which I don't remember Tower having.

Loved me some listening stations.

I'm pretty sure it was a huge Virgin Megastore in Times Square. Right? My brother lived right next to it.

There was such easy sense of community in those stores. I remember being on an aisle and just saying out loud, "What Moby am I looking for that goes like this?" And singing a few bars. And people I didn't know one aisle over would chime in with the answer (the right answer too) and discussion, telling me to just buy the whole CD, not the single. I think that is still in a lot of humans but there are just less and less places to gather and hang out and just kill time while discovering cool new stuff.

Met some of my musical obsessions at the Tower Records on 4th & Broadway in the 90's: Rickie Lee Jones, Tricky, Henry Rollins. Good times back when NYC was the epicenter of everything.

[quote]I remember being on an aisle and just saying out loud, "What Moby am I looking for that goes like this?" And singing a few bars. And people I didn't know one aisle over would chime in with the answer (the right answer too) and discussion, telling me to just buy the whole CD, not the single.

That's very New York.

If you're at all extravert, you talk to people (strangers) all day long.

Yeah, I refuse to give that up. If someone has a problem with it, it's their problem. Just did it in a grocery store with a nice couple today -- asked their advice on kale since there was two different kinds. I hope that kind of thing never goes away but sometimes it feels like it's on life support.. I talk to anyone.

I used to go to the one on South Street in Philly every payday. I loved the music selection and the laserdiscs. I also loved that they had a classical music annex and a bookstore. Good times.

[quote] I hope that kind of thing never goes away but sometimes it feels like it's on life support.

I hope not.

When I moved to London from NYC - it took me a while to stop saying "Hi!' to people you met waiting for the elevator.

I went to HS near the uptown one. We went in there all the t after school. I remember being in there when the '93 WTC attack happened. It was playing on the tvs in the store. That's how I found out about it.

The Virgin Megastores were in Times Square (had a movie theater inside!) and later, Union Square. The only HMVs I'm aware of were in Herald Square (it's a Victoria Secret now) and on the the Upper West Sude. Was there an HMV on the Upper East Side? Perhaps E. 86th Street?

I used to go to the one in DC on my way home from AA meetings with friends. I loved this part of the '80s.

[quote]The Virgin Megastores were in Times Square

You're right. My mistake.

[quote]Was there an HMV on the Upper East Side? Perhaps E. 86th Street?

yes.

They had such an amazing inventory. With more and more new albums coming out weekly, I always wondered how, in a store chock FULL of so may different albums already, they made room for the new ones

LOL, that movie inside the Virgin Megastore was sort of "anything goes". I saw "Bride of Chuckie" there with my brother and it was the first time I actually witnessed a girl giving her date a blow job during the movie. Slurps and all.

NYC., you gotta love it.

DL elder gay thread!

[quote]DL elder gay thread!

Wow! You most be old! - Haven't seen a post like that in YEARS!

I still love visiting NYC but when they closed the Virgin megastore, it was a real loss. NYC has never been the same for me. I can't believe such a world-class city doesn't have a huge record store anymore.

I loved visiting Tower, Virgin and HMV. NYC music stores were like entering heaven. I loved buying CD singles back in the '90s. Tower always had a great selection. Music buying is something I will never give up (including CDs) but it's a tradition that is long gone for many people.

They brought Tower here in Toronto but it didn't last long.

Apparently there were plans to put a Virgin megastore at Yonge and Dundas but never came to fruition.

There is still a tower records store in Japan

why do they still have them in Japan and nowhere else? Odd.

In LA, we all hung out in Westwood on the weekends. We'd go into the Tower Records and often see classmates or people from other schools walking around with the canary yellow bags. We'd look at them and try to figure out what they bought.

I've told these three stories before but they were popular so I'll tell them again. In Westwood, two fangurls had just come from seeing "Star Wars" and Mark Hamill was there. They wanted him to autograph a 45 from SW, but he said it was a cheap ripoff and picked up the soundtrack and said this was the one to buy. They did and he autographed it. In Sunset, I would regularly see Elton John there with a body guard behind him and he would simply grab whatever he saw and gave it to his bodyguard to put in the basket. And finally, at Sunset, I saw Pia Zadora going through the Nana Mouskouri bin.

Paid my way through college working at the 5th & Mercer location, Seattle.

The best of times and all the related perks!

(Ah, memories!)

It was a great place to shoplift in!

I hated that gay magazines we listed under the "alternative lifestyle" section at Tower

Did the Sacramento store in late 83 -- great fun despite being spoiled by the Sunset Strip location.

To bad the documentary about Tower is such a bore. It's called something like " All things must end"

When Tower Records was in its glory, I had little money to buy records and declining interest in doing so. I dumped my record collection in Jr. Year of College. It didnt to be saddled down by books and records.

When I was young and in NYC after college, I was into clubbing, and went to clubs to enjoy music and DANCE. I listened to the radio. I taped albums from friends who had more money. I went to the library and checked out all sort of music to listen to and tape.

If I had cash, I was more fascinated by fashion shops than record stores. Albums were 8-12 dollars. A pair of English or French shoes - 150-250 dollars. The suits I wanted started at 400 and the next price point was 800 and the amazing ones were 1200.

[quote]If I had cash, I was more fascinated by fashion shops than record stores. Albums were 8-12 dollars. A pair of English or French shoes - 150-250 dollars. The suits I wanted started at 400 and the next price point was 800 and the amazing ones were 1200.

In other words, you're not musical and find clothes more important than music.

The Tower Records on Sunset was part of the urban landscape.

[quote]The Tower Records on Sunset was part of the urban landscape.

It wasn't an attractive store, unlike B'way, NYC.

It was just a small warehouse without windows.

The name of the building the East 4th Street store was in is The Silk Building. Tower moved in in 1983. For many years, the four story quadraplex penthouse was Cher's home when she was in New York. (She sold it several years ago.) Other former or current residents include Keith Richards (two story duplex with recording studio), Britanny Spears, Bret Easton Ellis, Alan Colmes and Russell Simmons.

^ er, Britney, not Britanny of course.

I referenced it above but it seems like few are familiar with the documentary made by Colin Hanks on the rise and fall of Tower Records. It explains why there is a Tower store in Japan and answers other questions raised on this thread.

someone upthread said it's a bore, R62.

R63 — They were wrong. It was a very interesting documentary.

[quote]I saw Pia Zadora going through the Nana Mouskouri bin.

A Datalounge moment in the flesh.

Outstanding CD selections.

Columbus and Bay San Francisco Bought my first album there Dejavu CSN&Y

I loved Tower Records, but they had an unfortunate effect when they opened up on the University of Michigan campus in the 90s.

Tower's size, selection and low prices put all the local record stores that had been there since the 60s out of business, and then Tower also shut down.

Tower Records on B'Way and 4th was my fallback record store. I preferred the independent records stores in in the East Village and Greenwich Village, but Tower would have was always a good place to stop by and buy records, CD's singles. etc. A few years after it closed, around 2011 someone set up an art exhibit reimagining the Tower Records store as pop culture art. It was surreal but well done.

When I first got to LA my roommate and I got high and he took me to Tower on Sunset at like 2am. I loved it and went back often. I miss it.

I got this Rotters single at Sunset before Stevie heard about it and bought up all the other copies:

Canadian here. In Toronto there was the most famous record store in Canada, Sam The Record Man, a huge store right on main street. Love going there for their huge selection. Eventually Sam branched out to other cities, including the smallish city I lived in, located in Southern Ontario. Then in the early to mid '90, all the little Sam stores started to close up and then only the main Mother Store in Toronto was left - and now it's gone to, existing only in legend. Miss all of them. New Technology helped kill all the old time record stores that I love.

You can still find independent record/vinyl stores here and there like Toronto as well as the city I live in (Dr. Disc), but we witnessed the end of a beautiful era.

I rented gay porn videos at Tower Records

There is still a Tower Records in Japan because the Japanese still treasure CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays. Despite their advances in technology, Japan still loves physical product.

And also, the Japanese CDs are gorgeous, especially the mini-LP replicas. The Japanese put extra care into how the CD is presented. In particular, the obi-strip becomes a part of the CD. Without it, it loses value.

Only one decent record store in NYC now: Academy on 18th between 5th and 6th.

8th St. bet. 5th and 6th used to have 4 record stores in the 1970's: Greenwich Village Disk, which wasn't very good, Dayton's, one of the first places to carry bootleg soundtracks, Hapoy Tunes, which had tons of lp's for $1.99, and Discophile, a Classical-only place.

Tower in 4th was a great place to meet people and hang out. I later remember the one in Honolulu, add also the ones in Phoenix and San Diego, when I lived in those places. I used to see bikers, thumbing through the CD's, with loaded pistols stuck in the back of theur jeans. (You could carry firearms openly anywhere there.)

And I used to travel up to L.A. from San Diego all the time. Videos were in an annex across the street. And I loved Book Soup, too. Is that still there? Probably overwhelmed by the internet, like everything else.

I still have a number of those distinctive Tower bags.

Book Soup has survived somehow. Remember when Mariska Hargitay used to work behind the cash register Just for fun and because she loved books. She was always very nice too.

[quote]8th St. bet. 5th and 6th used to have 4 record stores in the 1970's:

gurl that was never a good block for record stores.

I lived on Carmine St in the 80s - which was a lot better.

Have never been a rock fan, so I loved the West 4th Tower for jazz, nostalgia, show music & the most amazing classical selection anywhere. They always had the greatest LP imports in all categories. And super-expensive Japanese jazz LPs. Back in the early 80s, I would shop at RKO Video at 49th & Bway. Saw Michael Jackson shopping there once and buying every MGM musical on VHS. He's hand them to one of a pack of salesmen who were trailing him around the store. No one was really paying attention to him, surprisingly. Maybe that's why he liked to shop there. He was ahead of me on line and his bill came to $4,900.

[quote]I would shop at RKO Video at 49th & Bway.

Don't remember that at all.

R76 Fawn Hall was a manager at Book Soup in the late 90s-00s

I used to shop at Disc-O-Mat in Times Square in the early 80s. Now THAT was a record store!

Really? I only remember the shitty one on Lex nr Bloomingdale's.

R69 The reimagine Tower Records art exhibit was in 2010, called Never Can Say Goodbye. They took over the Broadway location for 4 weeks. The link is below. It was fascinating.

I used to go to the one on Mass. Ave. & Newbury in Boston. I remember buying one of Tom Bianchi's coffee table books and checkout clerk winking at me. That Tower Record location turned in to Virgin mega store. I haven't been back to Boston in awhile so I don't know what's there now.

Yes yes yes. And Unique Boutique. Back then, I lived on St. Marks Place and there were so many thrilling places that are gone now.

Also loved Tower Books. Remember that?

& Tower Video on Lafayette.

I also remember Danielle von Zernick from "La Bamba" fame working the register at her family's bookstore in Toluca Lake. Nice as could be. All those tourists looking for stars on Hollywood Blvd. and all they had to do was go to a bookstore (and, often, look behind the counter).

[quote]Russ Solomon's first official Tower Records opened in 1961 on Watt Avenue in Sacramento.

My parents used to live fairly nearby; there was eventually also a Tower Books and Tower Video at that location. (Watt and El Camino.) But Tower got its name from the Tower Theater (on Broadway in Sacramento), which shared a building with Solomon's father's drugstore. He started selling records in the drugstore before he went on to start Tower Records. Eventually there was a Tower Records store across the street from the theater, as well as a Tower Books and Video location.

Whenever visiting a new town, I'd always hit their Tower Records. Long before Amazon, Ebay and the rest, it was like a treasure hunt. I found lots of great stuff at the Tower in Vegas on Sahara and the Tower in, of all places, Fresno, CA. But there you have it, the internet made Tower obsolete.

I loved the Boston store and aside from the music they also had a great video rental section. I used to hook up with a cute young latin dude who worked there. I started going to NYC regularly during the 90's. The Tower at 4th and Broadway had an expanded section of rock oldies from the fifties and sixties including a lot of imports. The singles section in the basement was a fun place to visit. The one up by Lincoln Center had an outstanding vocal/Broadway section that was worth going uptown for. Now I go to the comparatively small but worthwhile Academy Records on 18th street. For a small place they are strong on jazz and classical. Bleecker St. Records on W 4th street is also worth visiting although I haven't been there in a while.

R90 Bleecker Street Records on 4th closed about 6 months ago.

[R91], [R90] here. Thanks. I'm finding fewer and fewer reasons to go to Sheridan Square.

[quote][R90] Bleecker Street Records on 4th closed about 6 months ago.

Doesn't matter. It was an awful pace and over-priced - or was that Bleecker Bobs? Both actually.

I was never very keen on those sorts of places. They were generally over-priced and uniformly run by creeps who thought they were 'the shit' because they sold records. They thought they were cool 'rock dudes'. Same in London. Attitude City.

Tower was a much better place to go.

I could have had a vacation home in Fire Island, except I dropped a shit ton of money in Tower Records in NYC, Denver, Seattle, and LA over the years.

I'd forgotten about that thing of handing in your bag at the door.

Maybe it's an American thing.

I ran into one of those last week, R93. A long gray haired hippie guy running a brick and mortar CD shop and I was glad to be there -- until I started talking to him. Me: "Stevie Nicks made an album called 'Rock a Little" that I--" Him: "No, she didn't." Me: "Um... yeah. She did." So he looks it up on his computer. I tell him it may be out of print, it's only CD-R on request on amazon, and that maybe they are planning a deluxe release like all her other CDs. But he goes into a long authoritative spiel about how it's not selling and that's why it's CD-R, duh.

Anyway, the best part was when I told him I'd order it since he didn't have it in stock -- and he started picking a fight with me for not buying it from him at twice the price and a long wait. I told him I would if he had it in stock but I needed it quick and then he REALLY went off. "One day you will walk past this and say, "There used to be a record store there!"

I got out of there fast as I said, "Yeah, I miss Tower." Wont be back.

r96 this is why it still surprises me that record store clerks give attitude in THIS day and age. They should be grateful to have customers at all. I've met with that kind of snotty attitude again and again in record shops. I don't get it. Failed musicians? Do they really hate their jobs or something? Because it looks fun to me. Talking about music most of the day sounds fine to me.

[quote]Failed musicians?

probably.

I know. You don't even have to be a big Stevie Nicks fan to know she made an album called "Rock a Little". She was in her solo career peak then. I even told him it had a white cover. But he was determined to prove me wrong until he saw it on his trusty computer. So he wasn't even particularly astute. Nor nice about it. It was one of those drama ambushes but I have learned how to wrangle out of those fast.

Those record clerks have become the equivalent of those anti-social weirdos who used to run the movie memorabilia shops on Hollywood Blvd., the ones with files and files of black and white 8x10 still shots. They were always put out and just plain weird.

[quote]Those record clerks have become the equivalent of those anti-social weirdos

Have become? They always were.

Adam & Joe did a thing about 'hip record stores' back in the 90s.

R93 Both Bleecker Bob's and Bleecker Street Records were bad in their last years, strictly for tourists. Bleecker Street Records (which was previously Golden Disc Records at their Bleecker Street location) was decent until about 2005, then their selection got noticeably worse. Only Rebel Rebel could be considered good until they closed.

the best place for oldies in NYC was Upstairs Records (43rd & Sixth)

[quote]Kate Bush was there to sign autographs in Dec of 1993. It was freezing that way. And the line went for blocks.

People were on line since early morning, she showed up, stayed about and hour and half, went straight to her limo and left leaving a very disappointed and pissed line that went down the block around the corner. I felt bad for the staff that had to tell them. Met The Thompson Twins who were hot for about a minute in the 80's there and Traci Lords when she released a dance album. Uptown got to meet Carly Simon signing her greatest hits box set.

Oooh, I love that "Clouds in my Coffee" box set. I so would've been at that signing.

[quote]Met The Thompson Twins who were hot for about a minute in the 80's there a

I remember them.

I thought HE was cute. Boy! I can't see it now.

I rarely went to the record stores in the East Village. I was into soundtracks and Broadway, and those places didn't have a lot of those.

Anyone here remember Footlights, over on 12th or so and 2nd Ave.? Incredible selection of rare shows and soundtracks. Run by a gay couple, one of whom was named Eddie. They sold it to others, and moved to Florida, I think. The store stayed open well into the 2000's, as I recall.

But it continues online, and still has a great, frequently updated selection. Fairly decent prices too.

[quote]Anyone here remember Footlights, over on 12th or so and 2nd Ave.?

God - YES!

It was also good for pop oldies and movie soundtracks and NOT over-priced.

That was the great thing about record shops - singers could do promo but interact with fans and it was good business as it would attract customers who may not regularly visit the store. And it still was about the music.

It's such a shame that we've lost that type of experience. Even when Napster came into play, I never imagined we would lose so many record stores. I get some nice deals online, but nothing like being in a record store, surrounded by music lovers, hearing music playing (and often they will play something that inspires you to buy that album, or you discover new music), browsing for hours, sometimes until closing (which could be midnight or if I recall correctly, the Virgin Megastore in Times Square was open to 1 a.m.).

I miss those stores so much. Tower was reasonably priced too. Every week in the local papers they had the huge ad, the new releases were always on sale. I loved the original art work they would do for the current hot album that was out at the time in the store front windows. And of course the record labels had the huge cut out billboard size promos for the recording acts that were all over the stores too.

Being a consumer was so much fun back then. Walking out of the store with that iconic yellow bag was so cool. Downloading music now is so faceless and cold. Part of the music experience died when Tower went out of business.

I used to go to Tower any time I visited NYC or LA...we finally got one in Memphis but it only lasted a few years. Loved the books, magazines, and action figures, but man, the music. I'd always scour the "import" and 'various artists" sections for gems. One of the workers was a 7 foot tall (in platforms) tranny--she was a great source of music info.

Christmas was every Tuesday: New Releases!

[quote]Those record clerks have become the equivalent of those anti-social weirdos who used to run the movie memorabilia shops on Hollywood Blvd., the ones with files and files of black and white 8x10 still shots. They were always put out and just plain weird.

Last night, I finally saw the documentary on Tower Records, and while the self-inflicted knee capping they gave themselves over the $18 CDs is true (and more the fault of the record companies), the real problem for me was the clerks. I tired of their bullshit long before there was Amazon, but when on-line shopping appeared, I danced away from record stores with joy.

Is the doc streaming on any of the usual services? Will have to check it out. I used to shop at the Tower Records in La Jolla (near UCSD) when I was a teen and into my early 20s. And the poster who mentioned the 'cool factor' of walking out with those iconic yellow bags is so right.

There were more Wherehouse Music stores in the burbs of San Diego, though. Anyone remember that one? I used to lineup at the TicketMaster booth at Wherehouse Music (and, occasionally, Tower) for concert tickets. If you were first or second in line for an in-demand concert you sometimes had a decent chance -- as long as the clerk had fast fingers, too. Ended up getting great seats for Madonna, Radiohead and a few others there.

I'm kind of amazed that the massive Amoeba Music in Hollywood has managed to stick around. I wonder if the big increase in vinyl sales in recent years has helped them keep the lights on.

The manager of the store could make or break a shopper's experience. When I lived near Pasadena, the Pasadena store clerks followed me around and "helped" me by holding my purchases until I paid for them. I tired of this and took my four-times-a-year record and VHS binges (usually around $250 in purchases) down to Alhambra (a store that was on the way to work) and they appreciated my binges and always left me alone as I shopped.

I loved the Tower downtown. I remember walking in one afternoon and Nancy Sinatra was doing some sort of signing or something. I just turned around and came back later.

I also liked the Virgin on 14th street too. And yes it was Virgin in Times Square too.

I still have the autograph I got from Siouxsie in 1986.

R113 maybe I was lucky, but my experiences with the staff were usually positive or at the worst neutral. Though the one bad one I remember was exceptionally obnoxious. Mind you, I did a lot of record shopping in indie stores which were famous for rude service, so maybe it was just better in comparison.

Odd that someone bumped this thread as I was thinking how Tower was one of the reasons I loved going to Chicago.

I used to go to the one on Clark and Belden.

Always something to discover. I found/bought the Joan Rivers "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most" CD and, after cheapening out after a few visits, finally broke down and paid $24 for "Song of Joy" by the Captain & Tennille on a Japanese import CD as it wasn't available domestically.

All those joys of discovery. All that freakin' money on stuff you can get for free, now.

And yes, I loved the documentary, as well.

I was a buyer for the New Orleans store and later for the one in D.C. Once Michael Jackson came into the DC store. He had a kid about nine with him. He was predictabley strange—talked in a tiny Marilyn Monroe voice and complimented my Somalian co-worker on her beautiful skin. He had ruined his face by then. (1992)

[quote]All those joys of discovery. All that freakin' money on stuff you can get for free, now.

Looking back, I don't mind the money -- I miss the fun of music in a public place that we all could visit. As an introvert, record stores and bookstores were two of the few "outside" things I enjoyed.

New York in the 80s.....I miss it so much

I still remember my first pilgrimage to Tower Records back in 1985. Spent about $300 on music for a radio show I was doing.

No. I prefer the old Bleecker Street records. Small shops where the owners know something about the music. Not chain blockbuster stores.

In DC, I preferred Serenade. Leon specialized in classical.

In Pasadena, CA, we had Poobah's

I loved shopping at Tower.

I knew a few people that worked at the NYC one (well, one of them). They still have thousands of LPs. I think they must have gotten a freebie every time an artist sent one to the store or played there.

I worked at a location in the video department for a few months before getting hired FT at a competitor. I remember playing "Valley of the Dolls" or "Female Trouble" almost every time it was my turn to select a movie. And I remember the amazingly hot leather jacket guy who came in to talk to me every Friday.

Tower was great - I'd put it just behind Toronto's Sam The Record Man for scope of what they had and prices.

I went and bought CDs. I didn't understand what all the fuss was, but it was definitely convenient, especially because I was at NYU at the time it opened.

r115=Known shoplifter

I didn't shoplift, but later I learned that is what some shoplifters did -- fill their baskets with items, and then run for the door.

Pasadena was an "urban" store -- Alhambra was not.

yes I was. I would frequent the one on sunset blvd. I had just moved to LA and was a mid westerner small town hick and I lived only a few blocks away from the store and thought I had made the big time...............

I spent many hours in Tower in the Village and the Outlet, where I could pick up amazing European CDs of jazz classics for $3 or $4 each. At least one night a week I would spend a few hours going through the bins at both stores.

I was also a big fan of J&R downtown (back when each department seemed to be in a different building). I would go regularly to check out the sales, particularly in the jazz and classical sections.

Lastly, my best Footlight story was one Christmas I asked my father what he wanted and he only had one request.....he wanted to hear some Ziggy Elman. I went to every record store in Manhattan (even the jazz store that was upstairs in a commercial building) and came up empty-handed. I was down to my last hour of shopping before stores were closing then I was leaving for home the next day. In desperation, I went to Footlight and asked if they had any Ziggy and they said no. Completely defeated I started flipping through their jazz LPs, trying to get some inspiration, when I found a Ziggy Elman LP misfiled in the Duke Ellington section. The guys at the counter were amazed, but happy for me, and started singing "And the Angels Sing" as they rang it up. I rushed home and copied it to a cassette tape along with other songs he'd done with other big bands (yep, this was a long time ago....my parents had a turntable but I knew he was more likely to listen in the car where there was a tapedeck) and my Dad was thrilled to get the tape!

I wasn't a fan, per se. It was my third place to go shopping for CDs in Washington, DC, in fact, after Olsson's and Serenade.

r129 again -- one thing I noticed: the black and Mexican clerks assumed we all were thieves, the white clerks did not.

Tower didn't get minority clerks until near the end, before the store died.

[quote] I was also a big fan of J&R downtown

Me too!