7.02.2009

WORTH THEY HYPE? Amoeba Records


The Gist: Amoeba Records is the Criminal Records or Hyde Park Records or Virgin Megastore (RIP) of Los Angeles. It his humungous, has tons of music and DVDs, and puts on nightly concerts. It is truly a spiritual place: music and movie buffs spend hours there scouring through CDs and DVDs and records and books hunting for music relics. The prices aren’t ridiculous and it is close to a lot of cool attractions (Hollywood and Vine, Arclight, that new Urban Outfitters, and some bars). If you are visiting Los Angeles, it is worth a peek in just to get a sense of the environment. You won’t regret it.

Pros: IT’S HUGE!!! Everything is laid out neatly and is well organized. They have a great system going and 123487459726876182734 employees there to help you—and none of them are antagonizing. You never will have a problem checking out, since there are tons of people working the checkout counter. They also validate your parking, if you park in the Arclight complex. Their discount bins usually hold GREAT finds. They also get some stellar acts to come and play their free concerts (Pop Levi, Abe Vigoda, Mandy Moore, Jill Sobule, Yo Gabba Gabba!, etc.).

Cons: IT’S HUGE!!! This is bad because even after the hundredth time you visit Amoeba, you will not have conquered the store. You also will spend more than you anticipated because your mind will only be thinking “MAN THESE ARE GREAT DEALS!!!!” Parking also sucks; however, just park at the Arclight complex: Amoeba validates your tickets. It’s not worth the hassle of trying to park in Amoeba’s lot. Impossible. Also, if you aren’t into record, CD, or DVD culture, you may be annoyed by the people who hove over one area for long periods of time searching: they’re busy scouring for their relics. Don’t bother them. Just kindly move around them and revisit that area later.

Verdict: WORTH IT. This article was flawed from the start. There is nothing bad about Amoeba. It’s perfect. It is the reason to live in—or just visit—Los Angeles.

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