Best Vinyl Selection
PDQ Records and Tapes
2342 N. Dodge Blvd.
STAFF PICK: The first thing you notice upon walking into
PDQ Records and Tapes is the seductively musty smell that
the vinyl artifacts have carried with them from the basements
and attics where they were once stored. Any record-collecting
junkie recognizes it from years of voraciously perusing any stack
o' vinyl once happened across. If any such circumstance sounds
familiar, consider PDQ your promised land of wax treasures. While
pricing is often erratic ($10 for a Steve Martin comedy album?),
and collectibles will run you a pretty penny, most of the LPs
in stock are five bucks or less. But it's the sheer volume of
titles that makes this warehouse-style outlet so daunting and
enjoyable to patronize. You could spend hours there every day
for a week and still only cover a fraction of what this place
has to offer. They also carry CDs, cassettes, videos, 8-tracks,
and lots of other stuff--but it's the vinyl that really dazzles.
CLUE IN: Check out the Beacon Foundation's Value Village
Thrift Store, 300 N. Fourth Ave., still one of Tucson's best-kept
secrets for small but plentiful 45 and LP vinyl racks. This popular
downtown thrift store is constantly restocked with the weirdest
and the most wonderful of forgotten records. From Martin Denny
to Molly Hatchet, you can (probably) find it all (with a little
patience). And because fads come and go, you can stay one step
ahead of the game and find tomorrow's trends today (hint: new
wave and old school raps are on their way back).
