Needles & Grooves

I've had good experiences as an international cuatomer with Shuga Records in Chicago.

Zia is a good option if you want a spot that doesn’t charge until it ships.

Plaid Room and Seasick are fantastic as well but do charge upon ordering. Amoeba is super reliable and has free shipping (but higher prices overall).

Yeah I used them to secure pre-orders and not worry about it being charged till it shipped. But lately I've realized how easy it is to use my new local place. They don't always put up stuff for pre-order (and they charge right away), but they almost always get new releases on the day of. Anyone interested: Yellow Racket Records, Chattanooga, TN

Also I've used Rough Trade as they also don't charge until they ship. Or buy direct from artists/labels.

@Piratenovelist oh, that’s what I meant by using your local (online) if they participate in indie releases.

What happened with Bullmoose?

@Bohnjaggs They fired all the staff and changed the locks at their Salem store because the staff had concerns around Bull Moose no longer mandating masks in-store.

Wow. That's crazy. I would assume that the state or county has lifted the mask mandate? I work at IKEA and we recently removed the mask requirement in cities/states that no longer require it. Here in California, we will be ending it on June 15th and employees will no longer be required to wear them as well.

Couldn't tell you what's going on at a state or county level, honestly, but that's no way to deal with employee concerns either way.

the hard part is that for a lot of music I like I could only really buy it on bullmoose (maybe) or amazon (not trustworthy even if I had good experience). newbury and my local seem nice but they don't have everything to say the least

It's weird to characterize BM as an "indie". I mean sure I guess but they're not your local. They're a big business. If your conscience won't let you shop BM just go to AS or MD. You aren't that far removed in scale

Sooo basically

1. Local indie store if they have it online
2. Newbury or rough trade or vmp if they have an exclusive
3. MD and AS to see if there is a high quality version (but it might already be in those other stores)
4. Amazon for everything else

I don't get choosing Amazon over BullMoose, if you're upset about employment practices.

@GritNGlitter I think this line of thinking is indicative of starting w an individual instance (in this case BM) and going backwards to a set of values. Rather than starting w principles and asking what does & does not align. From there it should be that if one cannot allow themselves to shop at BM bc of those values then Amazon would also be precluded

It becomes much less consistent when we try to figure out where we stand in a reactionary way rather than an "a priori" sense. But then again I would shop at all these places bc they don't contradict my own personal values. I just think it's interesting (ie wasted effort) to be coming up w these hierarchy of where to spend ones money. It seems like it should be binary & a conclusion that follows moral premises

Also I want to pontificate for a bit and I buy my soap boxes bulk (from Amazon)

@GritNGlitter some older reissues and pressings are hard to find so Amazon always has a 3rd party seller.. and I don't always trust used quality since I never know the grading and i guess I assume VG+ is more like NM in not having scratches or cover wear

I'm not saying anyone should or shouldn't use Amazon, it's just funny to see it suggested as an alternative to Bull Moose.

Bull Moose actually was my local and I am devastated by this news. I’d wander in there just to flip bins with some regularity. It was my happy place. No more though.

Are we going to talk about their tweet