As the saying goes, the older I get - the more I long for things from my childhood. One of those things is music stores. I'm pretty sure I wasted most of my youth sifting through rows and rows of albums at local music stores. I loved them! Since I never have been much of a clothes shopper, I'd spend the countless hours with my friends at the mall sitting inside of music stores, going through all the genres trying to find something new and exciting. When I moved to Germany, I would spend way too much time inside of the "Powerzone" on base. Whenever we went shopping in the local villages, I'd delve into the hundreds of boxes and shelves of European CDs or cassettes.
Although I love the digital musical realm we know these days, I do miss going inside of a music store and discovering new music and artists simply based off of an interesting album cover. Or how great it felt after purchase to peel back the security tape, pop the CD into my Sony Disc man and read the little booklet while listening to each song on the album.
Simply heaven.
A heaven I'd been missing out on for the most part of the 21st Century, as little to no music stores exist anymore. Then, one day I was looking at Lora's (a.k.a. Bug) awesome fashion/photo blog (In Bug's Drawers) and noticed she had one of her photo shoots in front of a place called "The CD Cellar."
"What's this?" I thought. I know that Lora lives in the Washington DC area, like myself - so it had to be a place I could find nearby. After a quick search on Google, I discovered not only does it exist, but one of their locations (there are TWO locations!) is only 15 minutes from where I live! Of course I drove there as soon as possible to check it out for myself.
The CD Cellar I went to was the one that is centered between a coffee shop and a Pyschic reading place in Arlington. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia as I walked down the stairs leading into the CD Cellar. The familiar smell of musty, old plastic filled my nostrils and I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the rows and rows of CDs and records that I saw as soon as I entered the small, dimly lit store. Posters of bands lined the walls, other music memorbilia was placed throughout the store and every genre of music you could imagine was represented! Not only were there used and cheap CDs galore, but you could find discounted DVDs, and record after record after record. Want some classical tunes? They got them. Want some good ole '90s rock? They got that too. There were loads of CDs and so many records I could've really spent hours inside of the place! They even had records for albums that you wish never existed:
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| Something about spinning this on a record player is just wrong. |
It took a lot of willpower for me to walk out of there without purchasing loads of music. I'm definitely going to be returning to CD Cellar soon for another trip down memory lane. Next time, I'm definitely going to travel armed with cash to buy a few CDs.
If you are ever in the area and want to check it out for yourself (you know you do), it is located at 2607 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22201 and at 709-B West Broad Street, Falls Church, VA
22046.
I used to love sifting through old records and used CDs when I was in high-school-- that's where most of my paychecks ended up! There is something special about reading through the little booklet while giving the CD its first spin in your player.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to a record store in a minute! I am way too excited about this. This is actually awesome enough to justify crossing state lines. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBug: Haha, I forgot to thank you for mentioning me(reason for the deleted comment above). Thanks, glad you liked the store :) I love your post it really reminds me of the times I spent with my dad searching for records. I still do to this day :)
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