I get to travel a lot for work, which is more of a curse than a blessing nowadays, but it does mean that I get to look through the racks at some decent record stores that bay be off the regular path of haunts in London, New York, Chicago and the like,
Miami, FL
Lucky Records
Small store in 1-800 Lucky in Wynwood, that is exceptionally well curated and has gems aplenty. There us always something worth finding in there even if you didn’t know you were looking for it in the dust place. Got a copy of Paulinho Da Costa “Happy People” for a steal there last week. Food in the food hall is pretty decent as well.
Technique Records
A much larger store that seems to turnover it’s stock almost hourly. The owner must be sitting on a lot of records, and while maybe it’s not that upfront there are plenty of gems in the disco and world sections. Prices are reasonable and there’s a gear shop in there as well with loads of synths etc.
Manchester, NH
Music Connection
There us no other reason to go to Manchester, NH bar the airport possibly. A proper diggers paradise with a lot of great records spanning a lot of genres. Guys in the store are constantly chatting and it’s a real record store atmosphere. There is stuff everywhere and you really do need to set aside a lot of time to go through it all. The owner regularly buys collections and he just put another 7000 in there. There’s a lot to unearth in there but I get mind eraser whenever I’m in there. I’ve been there 6 times or so now and I haven’t even started looking at the 45’s yet.
Santa Barbara, CA
Warbler Records & Goods
I’m not entirely sure, like a lot of US record stores, what the desired clientele is, but my guess is the punk and hardcore scene must be close to the owner’s heart. However, the dub, disco and techno sections are very, very good. The owner loves Harvey and notably the more esoteric side of the dude, so he’s trying to bring those records in so every time I go in I am guaranteed to leave happier but much poorer. He’s not afraid to give you a suggestion or two but be forewarned it may have nothing to do with what type of music you’re looking for rather just something he really likes, which is just fine by me.