music-millenium-best-record-stores_Michael-novak_gsxxia Portland’s Best Record Stores | Portland Monthly — The oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest, Music Millennium, is still one of the best in town.

Portland has a deep love for all things vintage and eclectic. It’s what makes us cool, and what makes us insufferable. How many expertly curated second-hand stores selling everything from fashion to housewares do we have? That spirit is probably why we latched on so hard to the vinyl resurgence of the early 2000s. Twenty years later, we’ve ridden the hype through Walmart and Urban Outfitters selling cheap turntables and still have a huge scene for buying and selling new and used records. It’s almost like some of us were doing it before it was cool.

In addition to the now-anomalous experience of shopping IRL for media that you can actually hold in your hand, there’s something fun, exciting, even novel about building a physical record collection. You can read the liner notes, see the cover art in print instead of as a fleeting Spotify thumbnail. Your collection could also one day become a family heirloom. The Roots bandleader, music journalist, and vinyl collector Questlove has repeatedly named Portland as his “all-time favorite city.” And not just for the food carts and movie theaters. Apparently, 60 percent of his massive record collection comes from here. Questlove calls Portland “the best place for record shopping,” and we’re inclined to agree. Here’s our list of Portland’s essential record stores—a few even have corresponding record labels.

2nd Avenue Records

Downtown

This downtown mainstay off SW Harvey Milk Street has offered a constantly shifting cornucopia of new and used vinyl, CDs, and cassettes from its historic storefront inside the Governor Building since 1982. Over the years, it’s also become a go-to spot for gifts and merch gems, like band tees and hoodies, which they’ll happily buy from customers in good used condition. At the end of 2024, however, news broke that the building’s owners had new plans and were evicting tenants. After a moment of uncertainty, the legendary spot found new home a few blocks up Second Avenue, across from Kells, and has plans to reopen in time for Record Store Day, April 12, 2025.

City Noise Records

Montavilla

Metal, punk, industrial, darkwave, and goth records set the tone at City Noise. It also sells an impressive amount of rock band tees. In fact, you can pick up an entire punk kit here if you like, including leather jackets, boots, and studded and spiked belts. The vibe is slightly mellower at the adjoined natural wine–focused Replicant Bar and Bottle Shop (a sibling business; you’re free to peruse records with your pét-nat). But the menu is vegan and you better believe they have a regular schedule of DJ sets.

Jump Jump Music

Cully

This little shop has sold an inconceivable bounty of rare gems since opening in 1990, and it still feels like a secret. Nestled inside an unassuming house in a sleepy corner of the Cully neighborhood, Jump Jump isn’t the most convenient stop, but it is an absolute destination for serious collectors. Owner/dealer Dan Berkman might be the most knowledgeable dude in the local game, and he’s known for his fair prices, pristine records, and for seeking out entire collections—often traveling to people’s homes for bigger buys. Soul, R&B, jazz, break beats, rock, blues, folk, country, moog, exotica, hip-hop, spoken word, Latin, African, Brazilian, world, school bands, children’s music, soundtracks—no genre dictates Jump Jump’s scope. And a good chunk of those spoils are listed on its online Discogs store. In-person hours are limited (“Google does not know my hours. I do not even know my hours,” says Berkman.) It’s cash only. But should you make it in, perhaps by calling ahead, you’ll find a friendly shop cat named Torby.

Little Axe Records

Hollywood

The storefront portion of this dual record label and vinyl shop is a little hole in the wall next to the Hollywood Theatre selling an eclectic—to put it lightly—selection of used vinyl. New stuff, guided by the label’s small pressings of international music, is constantly cycling through, with genres ranging from electronic, reggae, soul, and Nigerian dance to Japanese jazz, blues, and hard-to-find African LPs. It also stocks loads of cassettes, some of which are mixtapes co-owner and Mississippi Records alum Warren Hill compiles from obscure 45s and oldies from around the world, each guided by a title that captures its mood or theme.

Mississippi Records

Humboldt

While the archival record label of the same name is now based in New York, Mississippi Records the record store is very much still here in Portland. The founder of both projects, Eric Isaacson, sold the label to friends years ago, but he still maintains its strong Portland roots as a project manager administering the Dead Moon and Michael Hurley catalogs. The same focus extends to the records in his shop. A selection of new and used vinyl, favoring quality over quantity, champions some of Portland’s best artists and music institutions, from Ural Thomas and the Pain to Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group. In addition to the expected rock, pop, and punk, there’s lots of soul, rare blues, country, gospel, and jazz in the crates here. Sometimes there are also a few sleepy pups lounging in the shop.

Music Millennium

Kerns

It’s easy to get lost thumbing through the massive labyrinth of vinyl at this 55-year-old gem, which still resides in its OG storefront on East Burnside. The oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest, MM is stuffed with a wide-ranging selection of new and used records. In terms of genre, this place has it all. Discerning discophiles will find local projects (Blossom’s Tease, MAITA’s Best Wishes) alongside classics (Prince’s Sign o’ the Times, a slew of Joni Mitchell), CDs, DVDs, posters, and all manner of memorabilia. The shop is also a longtime site for in-store performances, local DJ sets, album listening parties, and meet-and-greets with touring acts.

My Vinyl Underground

Hosford-Abernethy

The physical location of Portland label/mail-order service Jigsaw Records, My Vinyl Underground, lives literally underground, in the basement of Division comics shop Books with Pictures. Describing itself as “fiercely independent,” this quiet shop has an impressively global focus, though you’ll also find a strong contingent of local artists. A mix of new and used vinyl and CDs fill its shelves, from small labels (including its own), and covering indie pop/rock subgenres (shoegaze, twee, lo-fi, and dream pop, plus some punk and metal). Owner Chris McFarlane works the counter and is giddy about his “why” for the business: sharing his “undying devotion” to indie pop and rock. McFarlane and his staff are, I can attest, more than happy to nerd out.

The Record Pub

Sellwood-Moreland

Finally! A record store that doubles as a relaxed pub, where cupholders are thoughtfully installed on the bins. Consume a local bevvy (beer or cider on tap, or wine or kombucha) while digging through a bevy (well, a perfectly respectable selection) of new and used records. There’s Iron Maiden, James Brown, Death Cab for Cutie, Earth, Wind & Fire—and a wall of cassettes and a selection of stereo equipment filling out the storefront. It’s not the city’s deepest crate of records, but it is the shop with the best-stocked bar.

Speck’s Records & Tapes

Kenton

This small but mighty Kenton shop is owned by local DJ Michael Gersten, whose brain contains so much knowledge of so many musical genres—all of which he’s stoked to share with anyone who walks in. Come here to leisurely dig through all kinds of rare finds, new and used vinyl from all genres, including some excellent jazz bins, as well as cassettes, VHS tapes, T-shirts, and a host of mostly vintage audio equipment. The chill little shop will also fix your busted turntable. Look out for the occasional live shows or DJ set.

Tomorrow Records

Hosford-Abernethy

Unlike most shops in town, Tomorrow is just as dedicated to record players as it is records themselves, filling more than half of its cozy and warmly lit space with turntables, stereo receivers, and speakers. So if you need some gear, this is a good place to start. That said, its selection of old and new vinyl is carefully and thoughtfully assembled. You’ll find everything from gospel and American Negro spirituals to Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez, MF Doom, and a small selection of kids music. Don’t miss the slew of bargain bins in the back.

Source link

Share this content: