Cruisin' for records

Back when I used to make the occasional trip to New York City to hunt down elusive vinyl records for my beloved collection, I used to carry a long guide with me that had been posted on a usenet newsgroup back in the early '90s. It was damn near close to comprehensive, and it covered almost every corner of Manhattan. No mean feat.

I've yet to find a similar guide to Bay area record stores, but this article by Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle is exactly how it would be written -- little reviews on most (if not all) of the stores, with contact information and locations. Would be nice to have it organized by location rather than straight alpha order by store name, but hey, it's a start.

It was also incomplete, and Vaziri knew it. It was probably not possible to assemble a complete guide on whatever deadline he was working with, so his readers helped him out with some of the places he missed. Scroll down and you'll see my question about the fate of Open Mind Music, which used to reside on Divisadero by Oak Street in SF. Vaziri did reply to my inquiry, though it was not printed in the Chronicle. Here is what he wrote:

Rent increase. They're looking for a new location.

Thanks,
Aidin

Figured. Rent in this city is ridiculous. I salute all those who take on the challenge of running a small storefront business in SF.

Recently, I spied an 'Open Mind Music' sign above an antique shop across the street from the old location. I have not yet stopped inside to ask what the deal is, but rest assured that I will very soon. You wouldn't expect anything less from me now, would you?