Vinyl junkies celebrating Record Store Day tomorrow will gather along clusters of excellent shops on and near 18th Street NW and in Silver Spring, with a few outliers in other neighborhoods. Only one of these stores, Red Onion, is anywhere near Dupont Circle. But in 1995, Billboard spoke with shop owners concerned that “the Dupont Circle District has become overcrowded with record stores.” Walk down memory lane with me as we revisit another Washington neighborhood that used to be lousy with vinyl.
The Disc Shop, 1815 Connecticut Avenue NW (1961-1985): Originally located at 1619 Connecticut Avenue (which would later be home to a branch of Kemp Mill Records and Phantasmagoria), the store specialized in jazz and classical records and was a good source for replacement styli, but it was never one of my favorite record stores. Still, I distinctly remember buying a 45 of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me” (the Live at Budokan version) here and then returning it because it was defective. A branch at Mazza Gallerie was open from 1977 to 1995. The Universal Building location closed in 1985. Owner Littman Danziger lived to the ripe old age of 94. Read his 2006 Washington Post obituary here. The location is now home to Buca Di Beppo.
Kemp Mill Records, 1518 Connecticut Avenue and 1619 Connecticut Avenue: They used to be everywhere and on either side of Connecticut Avenue. I don’t have specific dates but both shops opened during the CD era (and the dirt cheap cut-out cassette era), so they weren’t exactly bastions of vinyl at the time. But the location on the East side of Connecticut Avenue was also briefly home to Phantasmagoria.
Phantasmagoria, 1619 Connecticut Avenue: The ’90s record store/music venue occupied two different spaces in Wheaton and opened up this Dupont Circle location in 1995. In the middle of the CD era, they had lots of used and collectable vinyl, and though I don’t remember what I bought there, I recall seeing a copy of the Japanese pressing of Miles Davis’ Pete Cosey-era double album Dark Magus for $50. That excellent set has since been reissued on CD, vinyl copies having appreciated to about twice that figure on Discogs. Read a Washington Post piece about Bobby Rencher and the Phantasmagoria empire here. Now the home of a cosmetic shop.
Melody Records, 1529 Connecticut Ave NW (1977-1989); 1623 Connecticut Avenue (1989-2012): Along with the Record and Tape Ltd./Olsson’s branches, Melody’s Connecticut and Q location (now home to Connecticut Avenue Liquors) was a great source for punk imports like X-Ray Spex’s Germfree Adolescents, but I also remember getting a 45 of John Lennon’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” there about a week before he was shot. They moved up the street in 1989 and were the last generalized new music shop standing in D.C. Melody used to compete for my disposable income with a Kemp Mill branch a few doors down. Kemp Mill’s prices on mainstream CDs may have been more competitive, but Melody was the only area store where I ever saw new import releases from the DIW jazz label on sale. They came late to the vinyl resurgence, but in their last years in business had a growing vinyl selection and became my go-to source for Mississippi Records compilations and a relatively sane Record Store Day outlet. See my Flickr set of the shop’s last days here. Now home to the Lou Lou boutique.
Olsson’s 1307 19th Street NW: Formerly known as Bialek’s Discount Records/Record and Tape Ltd., Olsson’s was part of a bygone era — the local bookstore (in this case, a local chain) with a small but well-curated CD selection, a place you’d like to hang out. The staff was often playing something good on the stereo that you wanted to ask about, and they could offer you suggestions based on what you were into, a human Amazon algorithm. I used to live a few blocks away and would stop in to see what was new or to browse for something. But like the Onion article, “Variety of Unsustainable Business Models Make Up Extremely Hip Neighborhood,” that time has passed. It’s a shame as it’s more interesting to talk to somebody than to see what other people bought on a website. Now home to a daycare center. —Andrew Wiseman
Graffiti, 2000 L Street NW: This branch of GraffitI Records was previously part of the Douglas Stereo chain. I remember seeing copies of Howard Stern’s 1982 album 50 Ways To Rank Your Mother here. The office building that housed the shop has been completely renovated since then, and I can’t pinpoint their exact location.
Serenade Records, 1800 M Street NW: There were once three branches of this shop in Northwest D.C. The chain specialized in classical records, though I remember my brother getting a copy of The Velvet Underground and Nico here. The corner where Serenade existed has been completely refigured (I think it was in the former location of Chocolate Mousse), but it was approximately where Caribou Coffee is (currently) now.
Not pictured:
Nobody Beats the Wiz 19th and S streets NW: I remember wandering into this shop when it opened and finding it nearly empty of customers. I heard the manager on the phone with higher ups assuring them that it was a great location. It didn’t last long.
Graffiti , 1218 and 1219 Connecticut Avenue NW.
Twelve Inch Dance Records/DJ Hut, 2010 P Street NW
