[image-1]Wagon Wheel Flea Market, Pinellas Park, B-C Kiosk 112 & 113
Basically, it doesn't get any more out of then way than this. No title, no name, just a booth in the middle of one one of the largest flea markets in the country. Grab a free vendor map upon entering and it's an easy find, I guarantee. This four-sided booth contains a plethora of CD's running the gambit of genres -- zydeco, comedy, jazz, bluegrass and more, and anything from Slim Whitman and Nina Simone to KISS. Along with the amazing selection are the prices. The CD's found here range anywhere from $8.99 to $14. I will admit the artists are generally of a well-known stature, but do a more thorough search and you'll be amazed at what you find, like offshoot releases from Howlin' Wolf as well as Alan Lomax prison recordings. This booth is run by a very knowledgeable one-man show who purchases his discs from individual collections and distributors all over the world. It is exactly Alan's sort of personal attention and care for his customers that keeps me coming back to this booth, despite the claustrophobia of being under one roof with 20,000 other flea market shoppers on a Saturday afternoon.
[image-2]Sound Exchange, Pinellas Park, FL.
This amazing and plentiful record shop can be found off of Park Boulevard in the Park Plaza Shopping Center. Sound Exchange is the one place I know of where you can leave with a pile of CD's without spending much money. Their selection of CD's, vinyl, and DVD's are second to none. Obscure titles abound, and you'll never leave empty handed, nor disappointed. Big names like Rush, T. Rex, and David Bowie are readily available in addition to little-known yet highly influential producer Joe Meek. Sound Exchange's new and used collection fills the entire store. Thumbing through titles you can find a band's latest release coupled with a used copy for a phenomenally low price. I find myself at Sound Exchange purchasing music by bands I may not know too well simply because the price is right. If I take the disc home and don't like it, I don't feel bad only spending $5.99. If you're looking for cheap records to fill your collection, look no further. The Runaways' Queen Of Noise for $7.99, Fleetwood Macs' Rumors for $2, and so on. Sound Exchange offers everyone high-end music all the way down to cheap finds for someone looking for a random, in-expensive disc or LP to add to their collection.
As promised, the two aforementioned record shops offer an amazing selection of music. Below is a record shop located in Ybor City that's better left alone.
[image-3]Hot Wax, Ybor City
Hot Wax is best know for catering specifically to DJ's. I cannot personally speak for the overwhelmingly large selection of DJ equipment and 12" singles since it's not my field. If you happen to creep a bit further into the back of the store, you'll find a tiny room featuring records from the 1950's and beyond. The titles and bands found within are pretty basic and basically in bad shape, although I did discover a copy of Bon Jovi's seminal Slippery When Wet for $8.99. At first I assumed that this was quite a great find. Upon further inspection, I realized the record was missing a plastic sleeve (as were all the records), one had a torn cover, another a missing paper sleeve, and one record looked as if it had been used as a cat's scratching post. For $0.75 cents, the record was worth it but at $8.99? Not so much.
My personal Top 10 favorite record shops in Florida and beyond
In making this list, I did take into consideration that are thousands upon millions of amazing record shops out there. I've gone with these 10 shops based on the fact that I've stepped foot in each and every one, and was overwhelmed by the selection, comfort, and affordability of their offerings.
1) Rough Trade Records, London, England
2) The Sound Garden, Syracuse, NY
3) Daddy Kool Records, St. Petersburg, FL.
4) Vinyl Fever, Tampa, FL
5) Charley's, Albuquerque, NM
6) 525 Records, Charleston, SC
7) Newbury Comics, Boston, MA
8) Off-Center Records, Utica, NY
9) Horizon Records, Greenville, NC
10) Banana's Records, St. Petersburg, FL
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