103 New Jersey (Stores In The USA That Carry Progressive Music)
Description
This article is from the Progressive Music FAQ, by Phil Kime(Philip@kime.org.uk) with numerous contributions by others.
103 New Jersey (Stores In The USA That Carry Progressive Music)
::Store::
Compact Disc Center
::Address::
Route 35 South, Middletown
::Hours::
10-9 M/F, 10-7 Sat, 12-5 Sun
::Comments::
This store has TONS of imports by all types of bands, but carries a
lot of prog. They had almost the entire Magma catalog, lots of Gong,
Renaissance (both lineups), all of the Gryphon CDs, Atomic Rooster,
lots of Hawkwind, etc.
Good selection, not the cheapest place around but well worth a
visit.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
::Store::
The Trading Post
::Address::
Route 1 South next to Route 18 Ramp
::Hours::
Open until 9pm weekdays, not sure about weekends
::Comments::
To each his own but I thought this place was a total waste of time.
My experience of this place is SO out of line with what's written
up in the other entry, that I can only guess that the nature of
the store has changed (drastically) since the entry was written.
Didn't see a single prog disk. The comment that they sell nothing
but used CDs is very wrong (CDs are actually only a corner of
the store) and the only reason to "spend at least an hour" there
is because you're moving trash aside to get a pile of mostly
unalphabetized CD's . Total thumbs down from me on this one.
If you go to this store be prepared to spend at least an hour
perusing through their racks. The Trading Post (2nd floor) sells
nothing but used CDs, thousands of them. They buy everything and
sell it at prices ranging from $6 - $10. I have found CDs by Carmen,
Formula 3, Vivian Stanshall, Caravan, Seventh Wave, Gracious, Dixie
Dregs, Material, Robert Musso, etc. plus bands from all over the
world that I have never heard of. Its pretty much pot luck, but
if you like to browse and are interested in checking out obscure
bands this is a good place to start.
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::Store::
Cheap Thrills
::Address::
Church Street, New Brunswick
::Comments::
Tiny hole-in-the-wall but you MIGHT find something worthwhile
there. More likely to find it on vinyl than CD, however.
Mostly an alternative type store, but has some decent prog titles,
i.e. Van Der Graaf Generator, Kevin Ayers, Amon Düül I II,
National Health. Also has a diverse used section in which I've
found Caravan, Barclay James Harvest. Only store in New Jersey that
carries Mirthrandir! (I just though that was pretty funny).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
::Store::
Princeton Record Exchange
::Address::
20 S. Tulane St., Princeton, NJ 08542
::Phone::
(609) 921-0881
::Hours::
Mon-Sat 10-8, Sun 12-6
::Comments::
One of my favorites for years. Not real big on Italian or French
progrock for some reason but a huge selection at mostly pretty good
prices.
PRE is located half a block north of Nassau Street opposite the
university library. It is a good place to look for progressive rock
in a town which is anything but progressive.
It claims to be one of the largest collectors' stores in the country
and boasts 100,000 lp's, 30,000 CD's and 10,000 tapes. They don't
tend to carry many new prog CD's, though I have seen HTM, Camel,
Carvan, and A. Phillips there, as well the more `mainstream' stuff
like Crimson, Genesis and Floyd. Depending on the day, you can find
a number of used prog CD's as there are apparently a number of local
prog-heads unloading their goods. I've seen Pinhas, Weingarten (!),
Eloy, and GG to name a few. New domestics sell for about $15. Used
CD's sell for $6-$10.
The real story here is the vinyl section. The majority of lp's sell
for an amazing $1.99; few sell for more than $6.99. I've encountered
prog gems by the likes of PFM, Acqua Fragile, McDonald and Giles (!),
Camel, Caravan (lots!), and many others. Also in the vinyl section
are a number of (unalphabetized) $.99 record bins, shoved under
the regular vinyl racks. If you don't mind spending some time on
your knees, you can find LP's by most of the mainstream prog bands.
As with any used shop, the stock will vary considerably from one time
to another. The vinyl section has a fairly quick turn-over rate, so
if you come once and are disappointed, try again in a month or two.
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