Musicland/Defunct Record Store Chains Other Than Tower

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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

There is now a thread for defunct music chains here:

http://www.groceteria.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1036
jamcool
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Post by jamcool »

dth1971 wrote: Other record chains you may remember: Listening Booth, The Wall, Record Shop, Flip Side, Big Daddy's, National Record Mart, Waves, Camelot Music, Waxie Maxie's, Record World, Square Circle, J.R.'s Music Shop, Harmony Hut, Harmony House, Hasting's, We Three, Variety Records, Wall to Wall, Oranges Records, Rainbow Records, Blockbuster Music, Sound Warehouse, and Wherehouse Records.
Hastings is still going strong. They have added books and video games to their music selections. Most of their stores are in smaller cities in the Southwest (Amarillo has an interesting 2 story store that looks like it may have been a bank or dept store)
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Post by rich »

Peaches had fairly large stores. The one near me was in a late 50s Kroger--probably 15,000 sf. Another was even larger and occupied a large chunk of an old Federal's Department Store.
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Post by Groceteria »

There was a Peaches a block from my house when I was a teenager, so a significant chunk of my early record collection came from there. I won a cpy of the first Tom Petty album the night they opened (on clear red vinyl, yet).

They had an unusually good combination of prices and selection. The stores were designed to look sort of like peach crates inside and out, with a sort of yellow pine paneling. I also remember lots of multiple floor levels which would likely be prohibited by the ADA today, and the giant record paintings on the side of the building (a la Tower). I think they sold or auctioned those off as they were replaced, but I'm not sure. they may have given them away as radio station promos as well.

Most of my vinyl collection still resides in crates I bought at Peaches.
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Post by APCO25 »

surprised no one has mentioned Turtles. They were all over Atlanta in the 70's and 80's, remembered their radio ad's which always ended with someone speaking into a Vocoder saying "TURTLES". They had a good selection and were one of the few chains that sold compact discs when they were first introduced. Don't remember what happened to them, they seemed to disappear by the mid 90's. They used to give out stamps you could save to get new LP's and cassettes (and later, CD's). Their gift cards were in the form of gold coins like you got at the arcade or Dave and Busters. Very good selection.

Add Media Play and SamGoody to the collection of defunct record store chains around here. I guess Ipod killed the record store the way "video killed the radio star"?
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Post by Groceteria »

APCO25 wrote:Add Media Play and SamGoody to the collection of defunct record store chains around here. I guess Ipod killed the record store the way "video killed the radio star"?
I think with Sam Goody and Media Play, it was more a case of assisted suicide...
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buckhead
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Post by buckhead »

APCO25 wrote:surprised no one has mentioned Turtles. They were all over Atlanta in the 70's and 80's, ... "?
They were also all over Georgia and in some surrounding states as well (I used to frequent a store in Lakeland, Florida). I believe they got a bit of a boost when they acquired some or all of the Record Bar chain (Remember their graphics? A candy bar wrapper with the name "Record Bar" in place of Baby Ruth).

Turtle's had other innovations as well. As part of a freqent (video) rentals program, they would stamp your rental receipt with "Turtle Bucks" rubber stamps if you got the video back prior to a designated time, usually close-of-business the same or next day...I think it depended on the location. Accumulated Turtle Bucks could be turned in for free rentals. Special video Turtles trading stamps were also used and like the regular Turtles Stamps you got "double licks" on Wednesdays. When Blockbuster bought them out, the loyalty programs were dropped. Video rentals were scaled back, such that only "rated" videos were carried... this eliminated many of the imports, cult films, and non-rated major studio special releases that Turtle's made it a point to carry. As a result, many Turtle's video customers lost interest. Viacom bought Blockbuster Music and ultimately the stores were split and many passed into the hands of Wherehouse Music, which ultimately died off. About the same time, at least around Atlanta, Blockbuster also picked up Wearhouse Music (which also gave stamps) and folded it into the chain.
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Post by Buckethead »

jamcool wrote:
dth1971 wrote: Other record chains you may remember: Listening Booth, The Wall, Record Shop, Flip Side, Big Daddy's, National Record Mart, Waves, Camelot Music, Waxie Maxie's, Record World, Square Circle, J.R.'s Music Shop, Harmony Hut, Harmony House, Hasting's, We Three, Variety Records, Wall to Wall, Oranges Records, Rainbow Records, Blockbuster Music, Sound Warehouse, and Wherehouse Records.
Hastings is still going strong. They have added books and video games to their music selections. Most of their stores are in smaller cities in the Southwest (Amarillo has an interesting 2 story store that looks like it may have been a bank or dept store)
When I lived in Joplin, Mo in the early-mid 90's, a Hastings opened there. It became one of the most popular stores in the city overnight. You could rent movies, buy cds, rent games, buy books,etc. There movies that weren't new releases were only 49 cents for 2 days. Crazy. That store was packed from opening to closing time. Before I moved from there, they were about to put alot of other video and record stores out of business.
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

We had a chain called Sight 'N Sound. They were operated by the Wards Corporation from 1971 to 1978. Wards is now Circuit City.
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Post by Groceteria »

buckhead wrote:They were also all over Georgia and in some surrounding states as well (I used to frequent a store in Lakeland, Florida). I believe they got a bit of a boost when they acquired some or all of the Record Bar chain (Remember their graphics? A candy bar wrapper with the name "Record Bar" in place of Baby Ruth).
Record Bar was a North Carolina based chain that at one point even had its own independent record label. They generally (but not always) operated in malls, apparently preferring locations adjacent to JC Penney, for some reason. As CDs became the preferred medium, they ultimately changed their name to Tracks for a few years before being absorbed into Blockbuster Music. If they were entirely purchased by Turtles at some point, which wouldn't surprise me, their NC stores never took the Turtles name.
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Post by runchadrun »

J-Mac wrote:... and nobody has mentioned MusicPlus ...

I will, although I just remember shopping there - I don't have any real insight or memory of their commings and goings, though I think they were gone with the advent of CDs.
"Believe in us, we're Music Plus!"

Music Plus (or Music+ as their signs said) was a Socal chain where I bought most of my music in high school and college. I believe all the stores were standalone and not in malls. They had a great selection and transitioned well into the CD era but the fortunes of the chain pretty much paralleled the entire music retailing industry. They also had a very knowledgable staff and the stores were Ticketmaster outlets. In the late 70s/early 80s they got in trouble for some stores selling drug paraphanalia (I should point out that this was well before I started shopping there...) Probably my fondest memory was standing in line at the Redlands store early on two consecutive Saturday mornings waiting to buy tickets to see Depeche Mode at Dodger Stadium, only to have the shows sell out in 15 minutes.

Blockbuster bought them in 1992 and the stores became Blockbuster Music. The employees at my local store were very upset because the conservative management of Blockbuster was going to impose a Disneyesque grooming code and a dress code. Most of them didn't last very long working for Blockbuster.

Wherehouse bought Blockbuster Music in 1998. Wherehouse filed for bankruptcy in 2003 for the second time (the first time was in 1995). Wherehouse is now owned by Trans World Entertainment, which also owns FYE, Sam Goody, and Suncoast among others. I wonder if any of the old Music Plus locations are still open as one of those stores.
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Defunct record stores

Post by wulfgar64 »

Does anyone remember "Record Factory?" They had several locations throughout the Sacramento area. Always overpriced, but you would always find the newest releases.
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Post by Swampcrone »

dth1971 wrote:I didn't even mention for defunct music record store chains Record Theatre.
If you're talking about the one based out of Buffalo, NY they are still alive in the Buffalo area. They have 5 locations in the area (so down from their peak when they were a much larger chain).
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Post by submariner »

Groceteria wrote:
APCO25 wrote:Add Media Play and SamGoody to the collection of defunct record store chains around here. I guess Ipod killed the record store the way "video killed the radio star"?
I think with Sam Goody and Media Play, it was more a case of assisted suicide...
I wouldn't write off Sam Goody too fast. They're still around, I just passed one by the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale just this week.

However, Some additions: Blockbuster Music (who brought along the incredibly cool-for-the-time listening stations, where you could preview any CD before you bought it) anf a recent death, The Wherehouse, which has been rebranded as FYE.
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Post by Jeff »

I dont think any original Music Pluses exist anymore. Most were moved or enlarged when Blockbuster took over.
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