I've been seeing a spot on our local NBC programing, asking which is the best records store in the SF Bay Area. Rasputin or Amoeba. Gotta love that!

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around_town/debates/#%23ip

I guess it depends on what location you are asking about Onepixel. The Rasputin in San Jose by my house seems to not get much in the way of used vinyl and it's selection is nothing when compared to the one in Berkeley, however it's far better than the one that is in San Leandro, the one in Stockton and the one in Walnut Creek, who get almost no used vinyl and give you the feeling of deja vu as they all carry the same exact new vinyl.

As for Amoeba, I really like the one in Berkeley and find quite a bit of stuff there and the one on the Haight is incredibly huge, but the problems they face is the stiff competition from collectors who live in the area who can scour the racks on a very consistent basis. People like you and I are left with what hasn't been scavenged...also for the good stuff, they are very expensive most of the time.

For the best record store in my area, I would have to say that it would be Street Light Records on Bascom. The best overall store would have to be Amoeba, but I am torn on the merits of Berkeley versus SF. If pressed to choose, I would pick Berkeley as its closer...

What is your favorite?

I agree Cool, location does matter. Amoeba up in Berkeley and the one on Haight are awesome. Rasputin in Berkeley and Mountain View are also pretty good. I go to the latter since it's only a 5 minutes from my office. It's great to hit it just after some unloaded their collection. Street Light is a great shop too.

Since I don't get up towards the city that often I'd say Rasputin just for convenience and Street Light a close second.

Saturday night I was shooting some video in Concord and noticed a big red 'Tower Records and Books' lit sign. Wait, I thought they went out of business. As I got closer I noticed that they had some sort of sheer banner over the still visible Tower Sign and the store is now Rasputins. I thought they had a decent collection. I have not been to Ameoba in a long time.

I hit Amoeba on Haight about once a month. For selection, It's no contest.

Onepixel, yeah I forgot to mention the Rasputin's in Mountain View. I have learned that the bins are essentially worthless, but they have dedicated a lot of wall space to good stuff. However, when they charge 40 bucks for something scratched to hell, I wonder if they have the right person doing the grading and pricing.