I came down here a few days ago to purchase a vinyl record for my personal collection just in time for National Vinyl Record Day (Aug. 12th). Obsession Records is a small shop located in a strip mall off of Lake Otis and Tudor just behind the Golden Donuts and next to the Pizza Hut. The shop has a wide variety of vinyl records covering all genres as well as some imports from Europe and Japan. This was my first time setting foot in this shop being that I'm always driving by constantly at this intersection without stopping. The owner gave me a friendly greeting upon entering and encouraged me to take my time to browse around for some good deals. After conversing with him for a few minutes, I could tell he was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all things vinyl.
It definitely showed with the inventory of restored old-fashioned record players, boxes of out-of-circulation vinyl for only $1 each and vinyl box sets, some autographed by the artists, of the Beatles, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin among others. They were priced anywhere between two to three hundred dollars, but these were complete sets, brand new and still shrink-wrapped with the artist's or band's signatures displayed on the front of the box. In addition to the vinyl, they also sell vintage cassette tapes, used CD's and novelty items like handbags with the logos and names of musicians past and present. Records are available for sale either new or used with the new ones double-wrapped for protection. I'm more partial to buying the brand new vinyl if one is available that catches my interest mainly for mint condition and playability. I spent about an hour browsing through the numerous vinyl racks, trying to find an item that I haven't seen or heard for quite some time.
I finally came across a gem from Alice In Chains released back in 2009 called Black Gives Way To Blue, one of the best and most underrated albums they have ever made. Being a fan of these guys during high school in the early 90's, this album was a rarity to me meaning that every song on the album, not just the radio-released singles, were great and that their musical style hasn't changed after all these years. This was a great find and I learned that the store constantly receives new and used records every week. If there is an obscure album that can't be found in the store, they can order it for you online as well. They also have an app for your smartphone available where you can get a discount on vinyl after reaching a certain number of purchases. This was a fun family-owned place to visit where you never know what kind of long-forgotten treasures you may come across. read more