AMOEBA RECORDS HOLLYWOOD

Hands down the world’s largest independent record store, and a mecca for vinyl record lovers the world over. The amazing thing about this store is that no media format is a dead format here. The large vinyl record stacks sit along side CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks and even the odd sony mini-disc. They also carry the largest selection of current new vinyl LP releases I have personally come across in my travels. Not to mention they consistently have one of the best rosters of in-store concerts, bringing in a wide range of artists from Dungen to Paul McCartney, who all take part in their weekly free concerts.

RECORD SURPLUS

Record Surplus makes our list as they’re another awesome record shop with a massive selection that rivals that of Amoeba Records. However where Record Surplus has the edge, is that they have some incredible vintage finds at some of the lowest prices you’re going to find at a physical store.

VACATION VINYL

Vacation Vinyl has one of the best curated selections of vinyl in Los Angeles, catering primarily to the tastes of those who enjoy the full spectrum of indie, punk, industrial, goth and metal. Now calling a new location home off Santa Monica, they still deliver one of the coolest selections of music in the city. The team at Vacation have some of the most in-depth knowledge about the albums and artists they sell, and is a great place to go to have a conversation about your favorite micro-genre or band that you’ve assumed you were the only one who had heard.

PERMANENT RECORDS

Permanent Records has become another beloved fixture in Los Angeles’ music scene, not only selling some of the coolest records you’ll find in the city, but they also play host to some of the best in-store live performances we’ve seen. They also run their own imprint and have released records by Martin Rev, Frankie and The Witch and many others.

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In the wake of the record breaking sale of a copy of Prince’s Black Album on Discogs (a steal at $27,500) we look at five more vinyl releases the ownership of which requires the staunchest of fandom and the deepest of pockets

5. The Beatles – Honestly,  It would be very easy to fill this list only with Beatles offerings.   The only unedited version of Love Me Do on one sided acetate is valued between $50,000 and $100,000, the 10” acetate of “Till There Was You” sold for just under $100,000, a sealed mint copy of “Yesterday and Today” sold for $125,000, and Ringo Starr’s own copy of “The White Album” sold for $790,000.  Of course, for the budget minded shopper, maybe opt instead for a red and white label “Day Tripper” 45 for a measly $1,000

4. The Quarrymen – “That’ll Be The Day”/“In Spite of All the Danger” (78) Sadly only one copy of the acetate for the pre-Beatles Lennon/McCartney skiffle outfit exists and if you want it you have to buy it from it’s present owner, one Mr McCartney who’s valued it at $255,000.

3. The Velvet Underground and Nico – US Acetate in plain sleeve, 1966 with alternate versions of tracks) Now this one is interesting because it features versions of songs that didn’t make it to the final pressing so it has some value beyond it’s rarity.  The story goes that a collector found this acetate at a garage sale for 75c and later auctioned it on eBay for $25,000.  As beloved as this album is at LUNO HQ (it is one of our previously featured album’s of the month) we would probably opt to buy the Scepter Studios official release which was lovingly restored from the original acetate for a thousandth of the price and maybe save the change for a handful of red and white label “Day Tripper” 45’s

2. Jean-Michel Jarre – Musique pour Supermarché LP   Written as an accompaniment to his friend’s art exhibition Jarre decided that in the spirit of “art” he would press and sell only one copy of this album.  Auctioned for charity it sold for what would be the equivalent of around $30,000.  It’s still quite easy though to find a way to listen to it as Jarre outright encouraged it’s piracy.  Unlike our final offering, another one of a kind pressing…

1.  Wu-Tang Clan – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin  Without a doubt and by a mile the most expensive album ever pressed.  Eventually selling for $2 million dollars to the rather unpopular Martin Shkreli he did nothing to help his own popularity by refusing to share the album for free, something the sale did allow for (though he is forbidden from exploiting the music for profit until the year 2103)

It would seem unlikely then that the public will get to hear the album for 80+ years but for one very interesting term listed in the sale.

Apparently, the seller is allowed to mount a one time attempted heist to steal back the album and if they succeed the album rights revert to them.  The only people allowed to take part in this heist are current Wu-Tang Clan members and, of course, Bill Murray.

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