Amoeba Music, Hollywood / Photo by John Leverett

4. WAX 'N FACTS

432 Moreland Avenue NE, Atlanta, Georgia

Why It Rocks: Atlanta's Wax 'N Facts has a pretty crappy website, and until recently, they refused to use their phone. But the dusty old joint inspires some powerfully loving words from loyal Atlantans who would enjoy nothing more than to spend an entire afternoon poking around its piles of used vinyl for the rare finds that always end up revealing themselves. And with its hidden corners, a staff who doesn't mind if you loiter forever, and always democratic pricing, the place couldn't be better-suited for a good, long treasure hunt.

Fans Say: "I feel almost a little wild in my devotion to Wax 'N Facts. It represents something that's almost dead, which is this junk shop, American gothic thing. It's not pretty or flashy or designy; its crates filled with records on tables and random posters on the wall. It's not the kind of place you go when you're looking for something; it's the kind of place you go to just explore." -- Bradford Cox (musician, Deerhunter and Atlas Sound)

3. OTHER MUSIC

15 E. 4th Street, New York, New York

Why It Rocks: Other Music is too small. In fact, it has one of the smallest inventories on this list, with only about 10,000 titles in stock at a time. With dinosaur Tower Records no longer across the street, the location on East 4th Street in Manhattan feels almost random (in addition to their name losing its referent), and, between the quietly poised staffers and lack of dark corners to hide in, the place can be intimidating. But there's a reason that, despite all this, Other Music is one of the best-known shops in the country—to the point of being lampooned in a Human Giant sketch. The employees at this Manhattan shop are not only cute and hip, they know the ins and outs of any genre you can imagine, from minimal Argentinian techno to Algerian Rai to the hottest young thing the blogs won't hype for another three months. What OM lacks in floor space, it makes up for in overwhelming knowledge and a unwavering passion for undiscovered gems.

Fans Say: "On a number of occasions, I've walked into Other Music intending merely to look around, heard an album playing over the store's stereo, and promptly plunked down some cash. I can't say that about any other record store. Also, I once spent a solid half-hour there internally debating whether to buy a collection of the film music Mihaly Vig composed for Hungarian director Bela Tarr. I eventually put it down, figuring I'd come back and get the music another time. They've never had it since. Neither has anywhere else I've ever been to. But Other Music had it once, which is what counts." -- David Marchese (SPIN assistant editor)

2. WATERLOO

600A. N. Lamar, Austin, Texas

Click To Enlarge. / Photo by Gideon Tsang

Why It Rocks: Though it may not produce the most nationally recognized bands, Austin, Texas, takes serious pride in its self-proclaimed and well-earned reputation as the "Live Music Capital of the World." So it's fitting that it should boast one of the most comprehensive, enthusiastic, and all-around good-natured record shops in the country. Not only can you find just about anything, you can then listen to it in the store and even return it if you change your mind (if, for some inexplicable reason, you realize that Trout Mask Replica just won't ever do it for you). And yeah, their in-stores are legendary, what else would you expect?

Fans Say: "Waterloo is the big kahuna. They get a full complement of mainstream stuff, a full compliment of indie stuff. They are just pros; they know what they're doing. The only reason they don't own the city is because of downloading and video games. If those two things didn't exist, the owner would probably be mayor of Austin." -- Joe Gross (pop-music critic, the Austin American-Statesman)

1. AMOEBA

6400 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 1855 Haight Street in San Francisco, and 2455 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California

Click To Enlarge. / Photo by Barry Yanowitz

Why It Rocks: Amoeba Records, with locations in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood, isn't just the "World's Largest Independently Owned Record Store" as their topflight website proudly declares, it represents a sort of music lovers' heavenly refuge. Their vast, bright warehouse spaces house massive, constantly shifting new and used stock (more than 100,000 titles per store), painstakingly curated into ultra-specific, world-spanning genre sections. Factor in a mind-blowing history of in-stores (browse their online video gallery for a taste), and it's no surprise that a majority of people, when asked about great record stores in the U.S., respond with "Oh, like Amoeba?"

Fans Say: "There's something really soothing about rows and rows (and rows) of vinyl, just waiting to be flipped through, and when you hear that satisfying flip-flip-chunk sound of diggers, it's almost like hearing a great minimalist electronica record or something. Add to that the clattering of those plastic CD protector things, and it's like a little symphony. Amoeba feels like church, if church was fun." -- Josh Modell (managing editor, The Onion AV Club and SPIN contributing writer)

"I went to Amoeba for the first time when I was 15 and I almost passed out. I could have spent $200, and I didn't have $200." -- Joe Gross (pop-music critic, the Austin American-Statesman)

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