Whatever happened to used CD stores? They're so few and far between, pretty much nonexistent today. That's why when I was treated to a trip to CDepot for the very first time in my life I was really, really excited. I love perusing used CD's and records to find missing wants from my collection as well as hidden gems I didn't know I wanted until my hands were physically holding them. This store had a great selection of both.CDepot was musty, hot and stuffy, dirty and overwhelming in its floor to ceiling selection. In other words, it was a collector's dream palace. I do have to admit that the shear stock available was a little difficult to get around. Boxes and crates were stacked high with God knows what and this didn't help matters as a lot of times these were blocking easy access to the racks and racks stuffed full of CD's. Perhaps it was even a little overwhelming as a result.
I spent roughly two hours in the place meticulously going through the various CD's. Yet surprisingly I only walked out of there with twenty-three of them.
The selection was honestly just okay. They didn't have many albums from the 80's, but I did find a few. Rather, their stock seemed to consist of a lot of 90's / New Millennium music as well as a decent amount of 70's. I also wasn't fond of how they separated things. Rock and Pop was on one side of the store up to the letter "P", and then finished along the other side of the store. In between that was rap, country, comedy, soundtracks and a ton of DVD's and records. The store could honestly do with a good reorganizing and cleaning.
About half the CD's I ended up getting were on my want list, with the other half being one of those, "Oh yeah," moments of wanted but forgot about. Here's a closer look at the spines;
Beck - Mellow Gold*David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars*David Bowie - Pinups*David Bowie - Scary Monsters*Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage*Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre*Duran Duran - Astronaut*Duran Duran - Paper Gods
I actually already had Duran Duran's Astronaut at home, so I'll have to file that one under, "Oops". As for the Dragonforce CD, that was more so a callback to all those hours I spent strumming a plastic guitar to Guitar Hero. Through the Fire and the Flames for the win!
Bob Dylan - Christmas in the Heart*Foreigner - Foreigner*Foreigner - 4*The J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame*Journey - Infinity*Journey - Evolution*Lords of Acid - Voodoo-U*M.C. Hammer - Let's Get it Started*M.C. Hammer - Too Legit to Quit*The Who - Tommy
If you haven't seen the music video for Bob Dylan's Must Be Santa, I highly recommend it. It's fun.
The Who - Who's Next*The Who - Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy*The Who - The Who By Numbers*The Who's Tommy Original Theatrical Cast Recording (Highlights) - The Who - The Kids Are Alright
The Who's Tommy Original Theatrical Cast Recording was not what I was hoping or expecting it to be. I thought it was the versions from the film, such as Tina Turner's Acid Queen and Elton John's Pinball Wizard. Instead, it was some kind of Broadway cast. Sad times.
Overall though, not a bad selection. Still, disappointing all the same that in a store so massive this was all I found...Or was it?
No.
There were four gems I ended up picking up on vinyl.
I love Prince's music! Love it! To find these classic albums (and more) out in the wild was fantastic for me. I immediately nabbed them up to add to my Prince vinyl collection, which until today only consisted of Purple Rain. Mind you, there were a ton more. However at roughly $25.00 each, I didn't want to go too crazy despite the voice in the back of my head singing, "Let's Go Crazy!"
I'm literally listening to the Batman soundtrack as I type this post up. I honestly can't believe how crisp and clear it sounds. It feels like I'm hearing it for the first time.
Yeah, sure, I have all of these albums on CD already and have for years. However, what you don't get on CD, well, besides the crystal clarity you get from vinyl, is the fantastic artwork and inserts. Check these out!
So beautiful! Again, with the exception of the clarity and crisp sound, this here is the reason to buy vinyl.
With that, the last track, Batdance, has started and I've just about said all I can about my visit to CDepot. I can definitely see a return trip in the future, but I may have to use that follow up visit to focus on their massive vinyl selection.
Until then, thanks for reading!
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