Music shopping in San Francisco
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A
Aquarius Records
When pop seems played out, this is the dawning of the age of Aquarius Records, featuring Armenian blues, rare 1970s recordings by SF’s Moog-powered punk rockers The Units, and new releases of blissed-out trance on – get this – cassette. Recent staff favorites include Ethiopian funkmaster Mahmoud Ahmed, groovy Brazilian garage rockers Bango and aluminum records of sci-fi synth by Finnish band Aavikko.
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B
101 Music
You’ll have to bend over those bins to let DJs and hardcore collectors pass (and, hey, wasn’t that Carlos Santana?!), but among the $5 to $10 discs are obscure releases (Songs for Greek Lovers) and original recordings by Oscar Peterson, Janis Joplin and, oh yes, Pat Benatar. At the sister shop at 513 Green St, don’t bonk your head on the vintage Les Pauls, and check out the sweet turntables that must’ve cost some kid a year’s worth of burger-flipping c 1978.
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C
Clarion Music Center
The minor chords of the erhu (Chinese string instrument) will pluck at your heartstrings as you walk through Chinatown’s alleyways, and here you can try your hand at the bow yourself with a superior student model. With the impressive range of African congas and Central American marimbas and gongs, you could become your own multi-culti one-man band. Check the website for concerts, workshops and demonstrations by masters.
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D
Amoeba Music
Enticements are hardly necessary to lure the masses to the West Coast’s most eclectic collection of new and used music and video, but Amoeba offers listening stations, a free music zine with uncannily accurate reviews, a free concert series that recently starred Elvis Costello and the Breeders, and a foundation that’s saved over 950 acres of rainforest.
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E
Discolandia
The oldest Latin-music store in the Bay Area and as funky as ever, making passersby step in time with merengue, salsa and Tejano blasting out the door. Get yours on CD or vintage vinyl, and stock up on Spanish-language mags, adult comics and pulp fiction.
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