Is Bop Street the Best Thing in Ballard?
Usually being the biggest of anything is a worthy distinction in its own right, but Bop Street Records’ appeal exceeds the sheer volume of its massive collection of music.
Located on the increasingly trendy Ballard Avenue, the current incarnation of Bop Street Records is two floors, several hundred thousand vinyls, and a small venue all rolled into one mesmerizing venture.
The walls are adorned with the witticisms of hipsters past and present. You can see a loud “Jesse Sykes” autograph right next to a nondescript “Neko Case” to gauge the relative egos and appreciation that come through its doors. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood says it’s the best record store in the country, and if you don’t believe us it’s printed on the business card, so there.
Owner Dave Voorhees, unlike other snobby, music geeks that seem to permeate many area music shops is approachable and more than happy to offer advice or guide a visitor towards a recording of choice.
Case in point, Seattlest was eyeballing some crappy, late Zeppelin albums when Dave offered a little, free insight about the magical, hidden, watercolor sleeve on In Through the Out Door that reveals Zeppelin’s desire to spread into corny gimmicks as their career wound down.
As we were tallying our potential purchases for consideration we noticed a DVD of a 1993 Nirvana Concert in Miami. (It’s not all vinyl, CDs and DVDs are available in much smaller quantities.)
We added the Nirvana DVD to our pile and moseyed up to the cash register.
“How much for the DVD?” We asked.
“Tell you what, why don’t you take it home and watch it. Check it out, if you like it great, bring it back if you want. Borrow it or whatever. No charge.”
Talk about service.
Where else can you go to a Mecca of music, get treated warmly and then make off with free loot to boot? No where, that’s where. Only at Bop Street. The best record store on Earth.
Photograph of Bop Street's expansive collection by Krisken from the Seattlest Flickr Pool
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