Tony was taking some stuff to the thrift store today – including an old box of plates from my first apartment days. He opened up the box and found that I had stuffed plastic bags in between the plates in order to cushion them. But then, we realized what bags they were, and we felt a little wave of nostalgia for these 3 record stores that don’t exist anymore.

I used to go to Rhino to look at expensive import CDs I couldn’t afford, and ogle all the cult DVDs and assorted merchandise. I think it’s a lamp store now. Sigh.

Aron’s Records could really smell on a warm summer afternoon, but the used CD selection was good and cheap (cheaper than Amoeba’s almost-new used prices). I bought a lot of electronica and trip hop stuff there in those days of the late 90s. I probably bought my Portishead CDs there. They also had a gargantuan warehouse sale from time to time where you could spend hours picking through the selection. Good days, even with the record store armpit funk.

I wasn’t emotionally attached to Tower Records on Sunset…until I realized they were gonna put something super douchey and pointless there, and that is EXACTLY what is there – some kind of designer clothing boutique. I never knew how excellent it was to work near a record store until it was gone. We used to walk to Poquito Mas for lunch and stop on the way back to the office to browse the sale CDs. I once saw Paris Hilton in the parking lot. Not nostalgic for that though.

Do you remember these places? Share some memories.