Taking a journey along the west coast, and from the deep south up to New York, we went looking for rare, unusual or just downright brilliant funk, soul, r'n'b and gospel music. Our quest took us to some great independent record shops, and we came away with some amazing spoils, the best of which we are going to reveal over the coming weeks...
Bop Street Records,
2220 NW Market St, Seattle, Washington - (206) 297-2232
There are a number of great record shops across Seattle, each with an impressive range of styles and stock (including, surprise surprise, grunge). Bop Street Records was one of our favourite spots, and we spent a whole afternoon diggin' there. Located in the city's funky Ballard neighbourhood, the shop is an Aladdin's cave of vinyl, superbly laid out, floor to ceiling with shelves upon shelves of records.
Upon entering you're met with an impressive sight: the store recently relocated from around the corner and has been fitted with shelving so high it's reminiscent of the sliding ladders you'll find in the British library or, perhaps, the Batcave.
The afternoon we visited was unplanned; we were in the area and happened across the store by sheer luck. Finding the jaw-dropping array of vinyl in front of us, the rest of the day was immediately put on ice in favour of delving into the crates.
With so much variety it was hard to choose where to begin, but the helpful guys behind the counter offered a friendly welcome and were on hand to guide us around the shop (they even helped us look for some records too – thanks again Bob and Davin).
The large top floor is dedicated to boxes and boxes of 45s, and there are a couple of listening posts tucked away to sample the bounty.
We spent a frantic four hours at Bop and still didn't get through even half of the vinyl at our mercy. This is truly one of the biggest collections on the west coast, as well as a really cool place to dig (even Radiohead are known to pop in now and again to spend the night browsing for inspiration).
One of our finds from the day at Bop Street Records:
Ray Charles - Don't Set Me Free
We're currently busy assembling a killer mix of the best music we found during our trip, so watch this space!
Some other good stores we found in Seattle:
Silver Platters
Easy Street Records
Holy Cow Records
Sonic Boom Records
