By: Brian Smith
Savannah purports itself as a creative, artful city – what with its art school around every corner, and its galleries from the river to the train tracks. Obviously, music is a part of it. Savannah’s got the venues, and books as many concerts as a small, southern town can. But, where can you buy some records – and I’m talking records worth owning the physical media, with big cover art and nostalgia slathered all over.
The sad truth is, practically nowhere. The used record store on State St., Vintage Vinyl, closed last year, and the soulful Records and Tapes on Montgomery St. mysteriously stopped being open a few months ago when a realtor’s for sale sign appeared in the metal-grated windows.
Now, if you’re looking for a music store downtown, the closest thing you’ll find is Civvies, a vintage clothing store at 22 E. Broughton St. They offer some local bands’ albums in mostly CD format. Venture down Montgomery St. and you’ll find a kiosk of a record store ¬– Dirty South Records. If you’re into a small selection of MTV and BET chart toppers, this is the place.
But what about a record store, a real one that offers a range of new CDs, used vinyl and other music-related stuff for you to blow your money on? The only one I can think of in the general area is Silly Mad CDs. Drive out to the corner of Eisenhower and Hodgson Memorial Drives and you’ll find a strip mall housing this poor excuse for a store. Want to spend $7 on a scratched-to-hell Whitesnake record you’d find at a garage sale in the “free” box? No, you don’t.
Where now? Keller’s Flea Market’s all right. It’s far from downtown at 5901 Ogeechee Rd. There are loads of water-damaged records at high-but-haggle-able prices, but go once and you’ve seen it all. New shipments of records are sparse.
The thrift stores are that last resort, desperate for a fix source of vinyl. Sometimes you’ll find a funk gem amid the Barbra Streisands and the Christmas collaborations and the South Pacific scores, but don’t get your hopes up.
And that’s about it. If you’re a music-lover or a vinyl-listener, you’ve come to a strange place where despite the hipster explosion (note the new Urban Outfitters opening on Broughton St.), there aren’t any great record stores. Next stop: eBay, or Athens.
