Great Record Stores That Are Very Much Alive!!

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Well, I was born in the City of Orange (Southern California/Orange County) and was raised in Sacramento and I never heard anyone that was from the bay area (inc. the east Bay) ever referred to being from Nor Cal.
Maybe it's a generational thing? I'm a millennial, and anywhere from the Monterey Peninsula north has always been NorCal to me. Now, those from north of Sacramento/Napa/Sonoma might take exception to that, preferring to categorize the Bay Area/Sac as "Central California," or even—and I shudder at the thought—SoCal.
 
I was trying to be deferential to my friends in the Bay Area and didn't want to offend them by suggesting that they are located in Nor Cal, especially lumping them into comparisons with "Sacratomato". San Diegan's, likewise, cringe when they are lumped into the So Cal label as they typically want nothing to do with anything associated with the Los Angeles basin. Personally, I don't blame them one iota!
 
Squeezebox in Evanston. Small but mighty!
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I lived most of my adult (and teen) years in Orange. OHS class of 1965.
I was born in St Joseph's hospital, but we lived in Mission Viejo until we moved up to Sacramento in 1974 and lived in Sacramento until I graduated from CSU, Sacramento in 1991. Growing up, my grandmother lived in Lakewood and my cousins lived in Garden Grove. They now live in Newport Beach and Laguna Nigiel, respectively. I love going down to visit.
 
Vertigo Music in near downtown Grand Rapids. Herm Baker - owner - has been in the scene forever and is just a great guy. He and I go back to his first Owner foray which was Vinyl Solution. 1987 ? 1988 ? They ( he and biz partner at that time Paul ) started out in a little joint on South Division in Grand Rapids as the original Vinyl Solution. They would walk around barefoot and offer you a Molson. And perhaps some weed may have been smoked out back. ;)

They grew. Boy did they grow !! Moved to a big strip mall store on 28th St and had 2 floors and a massive inventory. Then -- Crash and Burn - prolly thanks to Napster.

Herm regrouped and has owned Vertigo Music for 20 plus years. He and his store are an Icon. Thanks Herm. Keep on rockin my friend.

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No pictures--though others can supply them (looking at you, @Clement)--but I spent an idyllic 45 minutes at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis yesterday. Between Fetus, the Mpls branch of Cheapo Records (they've returned to my old neighborhood, just around the corner from the former site of Garage D'Or and up the street from the legendary Oak Folk, which once again houses a vinyl shop under a new name!), and a Goodwill or two, my backpack is heavier by about 20 CDs. Lots of great stuff, but only one surround disc: Diana Krall's Love Scenes, 5.1 mix by Al Schmitt.
 
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