Amoeba Music, Hollywood / Photo by John Leverett

8. GRIMEY'S

1604 8th Avenue S., Nashville, Tennessee

Why It Rocks: Five years ago, Grimey's Records outgrew their space and moved into its current stylized, three-pedimented building, which it shares with Thirty Tigers music marketing and distribution upstairs and popular venue the Basement downstairs. Grimey's is definitely the meat of this sandwich, with an amazingly broad selection (for its size), very affordable prices, and history as a stalwart of indie cool in a town that's known for a very different kind of music scene.

Fans Say: "Best store in Nashville (that doesn't deal exclusively in country music). They've got a real good selection of new/used vinyl, indie and import CDs, DVDs, and books. And they probably do some of the best in-stores anywhere. Pound for pound, it's one of the best in the country." -- Bob Mehr (music writer, The Commercial Appeal)

7. AQUARIUS

1055 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California

Click To Enlarge. / Photo by Emily Hoyer

Why It Rocks: San Francisco institution Aquarius Records has been around for almost four decades, but there's nothing settled or complacent about this small Mission district shop. They get as many obscure releases per week as most stores get per month (particularly of metal and other extreme genres), and it seems like every last one gets a lengthy and consistently well-written review on the Aquarius website. Just walking around, staring at the blurbs taped up everywhere, feels like an education. Get a friendly clerk talking, and you're on your way.

Fans Say: "There's a lack of venues in San Francisco to sustain a music scene, so Aquarius is kind of an establishing factor; it really helps hold the community together. When I was younger, I would go there with my best friend and just read everything to keep up with what's going on. It's one of those record stores where you can go in and say, ‘Got anything that sounds like this?' and they'll go ‘Yeah!' and pull something out of the back." -- Jenn Su (contributor, GOOD magazine)

6. EAR X-TACY

1534 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Kentucky

Why It Rocks: Ear X-tacy's huge selection—rivaled by only a few stores in the country -- and commitment to "keeping Louisville weird" has earned it praise from devoted music fans (or weirdos, obsessive-compulsives, music critics, whatever) that echo all the way to the coasts. From its early adoption of online ordering, to its impressive selection of non-music indie media, to a supportive focus on local music, the shop works hard at keeping itself and the values it represents relevant. If any one store can keep a whole city weird, it's ear X-tacy.

Fans Say: "It's the ultimate hometown store. One that you can walk into and feel like you've just stepped into your favorite bar, where your favorite drink is already waiting for you. In this case, it's the music (in the end, its always the music). I know that when I go in, I'll find exactly what I'm looking for, and right off the bat, more times than not." -- Kyle Meredith (host, WFPK’s The Weekly Feed)

5. SONIC BOOM

2209 NW Market Street and 514 15th Avenue E., Seattle, Washington

Click To Enlarge. / Photo by Tom Dobrowolsky

Why It Rocks: In a town with a music scene as established as Seattle's, Sonic Boom is a welcoming hub for all the "types" floating around. Its Ballard flagship and smaller Capitol Hill location (the Fremont branch closed in February of last year) have employed half the music-industry folks in the city at one point or another, and its consistently great in-store performances often turn into impromptu family reunions. But this place isn't coasting on its rep; the selection is wide, well-organized, and surrounded with the kind of seriously pleasant atmosphere that could only be created and maintained by people who know that a great record store is about a lot more than just the music.

Fans Say: "Sonic Boom is beyond ridiculously fucking important to not only the Seattle music universe/community, but to those same people all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. If Sonic Boom was ever, ever in trouble, the community would rush to save it. I have zero question about that. Zero." -- Joan Hiller (publicist, Riot Act Media)

CONTINUE THE COUNTDOWN ON PAGE 4