I found out today that my favorite record store of all time closed last month.
For the Record in Amerhst MA was everything a local record store should be. It had good prices (always cheaper than retail), a wide selection in all areas of music, not just the usual mindless micro-genres of pop music that most places have. You could walk in on any given day and find something unusual and wonderful no matter where your interests might lie. This is because the people who ran the store knew good music. They also knew every inch of their store, and could find any record they had in stock in 30 seconds if you could describe three bars from the first cut.
For the Record was a great place to go and hang out and browse and be surprised. It has fallen victim to other forms of music commerce that may provide you with the bits that you want, but do not have this level of personal contact. After more than 30 years in business, they are gone, and the world is worse off because of it.
