A City of the Music Stores

The Ballard and Capitol Hill installations of Sonic Boom records boast a varied selection of CDs and vinyl and a steady schedule of in-store performances. Open until 10pm every day except Sunday, the stores are readily accessible. If that's not enough, check out the comprehensive online store.

Names after Phil Spector's ridiculously influential production technique (The Beach Boys, John Lennon, ABBA, The Ramones, and Mariah Carey have all worked directly with Spector or copied his techniques), the shop is a boutique-style affair that is probably the best place in the city to get turned on to an entire genre you never new existed. You probably won't find much Mariah Carey, though. "Avant-garde Japanese noise? I'll try anything once…"

Bop Street is home to over 650,000 vinyl records covering the sweetest of bubblegum to the saltiest of gutter punk. Located between Hattie's Hat and the Tractor Tavern (perennial Ballard favorites), Dave Voorhees' collection is as vast as it is diverse. He's sold records in the area since 1974, albeit several years were out of his house. The store is always looking for acts to perform free, all-ages in-stores.

This is our own little (but still huge) Amoeba. The Queen Anne location acts as an epicenter to Seattle's music scene. And with tons of new and used CDs and Vinyl, shelves of concert DVDs, and an impressive resume of past live performances (Pearl Jam comes to mind), Easy Street Records tops our list. The West Seattle location also hosts After Hours shows with a $5 cover on Friday nights.