Huge Rush fan here! You were correct to say “shoot”. Rush did record video at the Ontario Provincial Legislature. It was used as a video backdrop on a bunch of tours. Great tour around Toronto!
I amassed most of my record collection in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Back then records were an odd niche and didn’t sell for much. I remember rarely paying over 5 dollars for a record. Most vintage records could be had for 1-2 dollars. My mind is kinda stuck in that era and I really have a hard time adjusting to the modern prices.
Man, it would be so awesome to be there. Some have all the FUN. So enjoyed this thx. I must agree old school & small shops are GREAT! DVD & CDs are fun to.
Hi Frank, I was in Walmart today here in west Central Florida. The Coltrain album you showed a video or two ago was $26.95, and Dark side of the moon 50 was selling for $36.95.
I always hit record stores when I travel. I'm fortunate that my wife is from Brussels, so we go to visit her family every year. New European records are crazy expensive so I only go for stuff I can't get in the States, and especially look for used LP's...the prices are better and you can find all kinds of crazy stuff. I always look for Golden Earring, Can, Les Rita Mitsouko and Gruppo Sportivo rarities.
I was in Toronto only once... for Noel Gallagher/Smashing Pumpkins at the Budweiser Sound Stage (what a great venue). Wish I had had more time to explore the city, it looks like such an amazing place. The traffic, though! As crazy as it is here in Boston!
That was cool but a tad disappointing as to most of their stock being new. Yes, I would usually hit record stores when traveling. It was mandatory when visiting Montreal to look for Canadian pressings and stuff I couldn’t find here in the states. Also NYC in the 80’s had a lot of record stores I’d visit. In Florida for a Disney World vacation, one day I took the rental car to nearby towns one day, looking for record stores. That was the days when I had only the yellow pages as a guide! I’ve shopped in the Boston area on a visit too.
If you had timed your visit a bit later in the day, you wouldn't have felt so old. I visited Sonic Boom that same day shortly after 7 p.m. and I'm 61 years old. 😁
I met a young boy buying Glen Miller records at the Austin Record Convention! And I met a young lady looking for Marty Robbins records at the Canton Texas Flea Market! Let me know how the wicked Lester sounds. My record store has a few of them.
Ok, so now I couldn't resist going out myself. I am spending Easter here in Warsaw with the lady. Very sunny weather today, so we went downtown. Could have made a similar video haha. Found a super little gem record shop. You have to ring the bell at the gate to get in and there it was, cellar like small shop. Big smile on my face since I took home a few Hendrix and a Morricone. The shop is called Winyl Market Records & Goodies. The guy there was a friend of the owner and he was playing classical music, so I asked, where are the classical records? He answers, we do not sell any 😂. Cheers
I have ordered from Sonic Boom and had stuff delivered to me in Newfoundland. One order, they could not find the album despite it saying it was in stock, and after seeing your pictures, now I know why! That place is huge!
They had a different location in the city before that was bigger and better. The building was sold to build condos so they moved to the location they’re in now.
Great video! Brings back a few memories. The last time I was in Toronto was 1969, just before my last year in High School. I went with some friends who were also band mates. On our way home to Cleveland Ohio we thought about going to Woodstock NY for that little festival that was happening there. :) I now wish we would have done it but we went on to Cleveland. Your Rush segment also brings back a great memory. In 1974 or 75 we opened for Rush at an outdoor show that was headlined by Rare Earth. I can remember coming up on stage to do a sound check and passing Geddy Lee coming off the stage. Back then not many people, including us, knew anything about them. When they hit the stage we were blown away! We played originals and covers so the following week we picked up their US debut album "Rush" and learned a few of their songs. If you look at the back of that album they credit Donna Harper at WMMS in Cleveland for "getting the ball rolling". Im holding in my hand an original pressing of that album in near mint condition I picked up at Goodwill a couple years ago! Thanks for a great channel. My first time commenting but Ive been with you for a while.
Great video! Thanks for taking us along! I remember Much Music even though I’m from Illinois. My parents had a satellite dish for a time and I remember watching many hours of Canada’s “MTV”. Also love the Moving Pictures stop! Just went to our local mall last week and was shocked to see a FYE had opened up. Of course it didn’t have much to choose from (seemed to be mainly collectible toys) but what they did have was overpriced. Will be interesting to see how long ours can keep their doors open!
Great video Frank! Welcome to Trawna (Toronto)! I'm a displaced Torontonian. I cruised the Queen St. area a few years ago and found the same thing as you did.....nice stores but a little bit pricey. I bought the majority of my vinyl years and years ago at my favourite store Sam The Record Man. 😢 Miss those times! I prefer the smaller stores like yourself. Keep on spinning Frank 👍
Hey Frank....yeah I do the same thing and always book my flights for biz trips to account for a few extra hrs to hit record stores. Oh yeah...and also gotta hit local food joint too. Just got back from Philly last week and was able to hit 4 stores AND get s cheesesteak at Pat's.....all within a few blocks. Way cool 😎 got my regular haunts pretty much everywhere I go 😝
Frank, Nothing about records but man, your country is so amazing. Even the big city is clean and tidy! I hate cities but I could cope with Toronto I think 🙂
Frank, I watch a young lady out of Africa, here on TH-cam, She does reaction videos to everything, right? Her newest one is Rush, Spirit of Radio. She’s always blown away. I wish I could have feeling again.
Fun video Frank. Only been to Toronto once in 2004, coincidentally to see Rush. So I definitely had to see the Legislative Building, it's the Rush fan's version of Abbey Road! Not one used record store could be open or found when we were there oddly enough. The only I bought was Rush's Feedback on vinyl, at the iconic Sam's store.
Living in a fisheye lens...... All hail the free records. You shoulda grabbed one and reviewed it. FYE just, JUST closed here. Sucks. They had a ton of $1 stuff.
Toronto is one of my favorite cities. I miss Sam the Record Man. A sizeable portion of my collection came from there in the 90s and early 00s. I do try to hit record store when I travel. Zia in Las Vegas is a must see. Hungry Ear in Honolulu was cool. If you're ever in my neck of South Central Pennsylvania or Baltimore hit me up. I'll show you some cool stores.
In America, they tried reviving the idea of 80s MTV - for a few years circa 2010, we had a channel called " cool tv" 24 hours of new music videos mixed with classic 80s and 90s videos - they had DVD concerts often on weeknights. To be honest, it was BETTER than MTV ever was, but it didn't catch on, because media is so readily available everywhere, I guess it was redundant to kids who grew up in the internet era, though I loved it. Discovered so much new music, and seeing Deep Purple or Whitesnake concerts nightly was awesome
Nice, I loved MuchMusic. I was able to watch it here in the states back in the 1980's on a 6ft C-Band satellite system. I love seeing all these record stores, especially the independent ones!
I remember ordering a ton of 45’s from Kops Kollectables…One of my favorite record stores to find those Canadian artists/bands and pressings…Back in the day, I remember visiting Toronto and seeing the CN Tower, Yonge Street, Casa Loma and the Toronto Zoo, as well as heading north to Canada’s Wonderland…Good times, good memories!
Hey Frank good seeing you and thanks for sharing the sights of Toronto ! Nice to see the Moving Pictures album cover location along with that very nice score Wicked Lester Sessions album ! Take care and enjoy that album and movies! ~ Jeff
Thank you Frank for the tour of record Shops in Toronto. And a special thank you for the visit to the location of Moving Pictures album cover location. That is the album that made me a life long fan of Rush. 👍👍👍👍👍
Great show Frank. I also went traveling. Went to London hit 4 record stores while there grab albums of bands that Are hard to get here. Love the show keep up the great work you do. Keep on spinning 🤘 😎
Walked Toronto years ago, also for work, flying over from Amsterdam. In the sun that city looks stunning. It became ridiculously expensive as I heard from colleagues, in the meantime. Impossible housing prices. Assuming the same for records. However, you found some from sightseeing and hunting. Nice video Frank.
Looking pretty menacing in that hoodie and shades Frank !! Wow what a shop sonic boom is ...looks bigger than Amoeba Music ?? The Exorcist horror movie is (in my book) the finest movie ever made and absolutely blew me away when I watched it at home with the folks, aged 15 !! Thanks for the walk around and have a great weekend
hey frank..i love toronto..nice seeing it again..not so nice seing that wicked lester cover..they ripped that off from the laughing dogs first album..they were a great band from back in my cbgb days...check it out...glad you had a cool trip..love hitting record stores when i travel.. peace to you and yours always..rocky
I often get sent to Toronto for work and have a route that let's me hit almost twenty something record stores in an afternoon using a one-day TTC pass for @13$. Neurotica and Rotate This are usually the most fruitful, but it's always hit and miss. Prices are rising, but Vancouver is usually the worse. I could hook you up in Montreal if you come this way, we have great stores and the best prices!
Hey Frank I was at Kops today, but the Oshawa branch east of Toronto, that’s where all the old dudes hang out lol, I like the dudes at Kops 50/50 new and used, I go for the used stuff nowadays, you are right about Toronto prices though the are as high as the condos downtown lol
There are lots of smaller stores that have a different mix of new and used. I hadn’t been to Sonic Boom in a while until I finally got back there today to spend a gift card. I hit up several other of those smaller shops-especially the ones they’re clustered together. Haven’t been to Kops in a while either.
I plan on going to Toronto later this month to see a concert with newer shoe gaze/ dream pop artists. Winter and Tankuichan. The venue is "The Garrison" I will also visit some record shops and unique restaurants.
That Wicked Lester session has been bootlegged so many times but this one looks cool. And yes that picture is not Wicked Lester but KISS before they had the make up designs.
Been to Toronto many times for shopping and concerts living on the other side of the lake. I believe I was at sonic boom after the Toronto rocks concert at downsview in 2003. There used to be a lot of stores in the Younge and Bloor area as well. Great video !
Hope you enjoyed your time in TO Frank. We are out in the burbs-Mississauga-and there are some good used records stores out here for next time you are in town. That Wicked Lester will be a fun listen-and that photo was definitely the 4 KISS originals without makeup-pre cranky old men days.
I have a trip next month to NYC and planned accordingly so I would have time to do some record shopping in the afternoon and have a way to get it to my car before the event that evening I'm traveling for. Always fun to explore a new store!
Very cool Rush information. Younger generation collecting records. My sons are 26 and 22, they both collect, mostly because I got my oldest son started in about 2012 by giving him a turntable, amp, and a few throwback albums I replaced with better copies. My youngest son doesn’t even have the equipment to play anything on, but started buying collectible albums, or at least ones he thinks will be collectible, and stashing them away. Great stuff as usual Frank! Keep on Spinnin my friend!
Hi Frank! Enjoyed the video. I like shopping for vinyl when Im away travelling. I recently visited couple of record shops in Dublin, Ireland. The Sentinel Records is a great shop with lots of metal albums, bought couple of Mötley Crüe vinyls, some Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P. and Pantera's early work Projects In The Jungle. I really enjoy discovering record shops in different cities. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Toronto! Much love
Great video. I want to go to Toronto some day, heard it's nice. Won't be a long trip for me coming from New York. I definitely do hit record stores when I travel. I would go up to the Portland area in Maine. They have great record stores there. Bought a lot over the years there. Great finds. Frank, how do you pack your vinyl for an air flight? In your luggage? If so how do you keep it safe? Thanks!
Great video Frank, thank you! In the past I always tried to hit a few record stores when I was on the road. Now, it's alot less. There are a couple of small proprietor-owned record stores I usually try to visit when I am in the Monterey, CA area. When I am in Sacramento, CA, they have a few record stores but the only one I get around to visit is in 'Old Sacramento' on Firehouse Alley because I've known the owner for years. I have been a bit disappointed seeing many record stores putting prices on records which are like the top prices of Near Mint records you see in record price guides, but many of the records are in the good-very good condition. I don't blame them for trying to get top dollar because they have alot of overhead, but they are pricing the records like Cadillacs when they are Volkswagens. Maybe it's mainly because I already have 1,000's of records and already have pretty much every record I've ever wanted. The new re-issues catch my interest, especially jazz and blues. Buying mostly online, I usually have most new releases before the stores get them and I have found that I paid less for them than the stores paid from thier 'one-stops'. Funny thing is often the records I buy online are direct-shipped from the same 'one-stops' they buy from. Then there are the record companies who have online stores, like Universal, and they are often having huge discount coupons or closeout records for a fraction of the retail price. PopMarket used to be like that when they were a clearance house for Sony and had the latest releases too. NOW, one thing I like to do is to peruse Thrift and 2nd hand stores. I enjoy looking around to see stuff I may have never seen before or maybe find something I have been looking a long time for. I always look at their records, if they have any. Stores like these tend to put records, CD's and movies in a dark back corner. The good thing is they price them like used records used to be priced. I have been known to come out with an armful, hard to carry, records.
Hey Frank when you get a chance look up the news on Motley Crue and Mick Mars. You did a video about this when you were showcasing one of the crues records. You were right on good call. Sorry for posting this here but you don't have an email address. Keep up the great work and videos.
Yeah.. I've been following the Crue news, and all the back and forth. Kinda pissed at Nikki for his comments. Also, he blocked me on Twitter. That one was a head scratcher. #TeamMick
Did you check the collectables section in Sonic Boom, Frank (they were at the back of the Record department); I was there 18 months ago, and bought some amazing stuff - but came away with a huge hole in my wallet. By the way, I don’t know if you collect Japanese pressings, but as I remember Kops had a large section full of those. Glad you enjoyed your trip, anyway. If you ever get to Vancouver, let me know and I’ll give you a record store tour!
The best thing about Sonic Boom are newly arrived used vinyl bins as soon as you walk through the door. If you get there at the right time, you will get a glut of records in VG+ or better shape for reasonable prices. They even write the grading on the price stickers, and I have found they are usually accurate, which takes a lot of the guess work out of it.
Frank if your ever in the city again I would like to take you to some other awesome stores in the city I think you would like great episodes keep on spinning
Frank!!! Killer video, man! You should Totally do more record store visit videos! And Dear God I hope you got a picture of yourself taken at the iconic Rush location! I’m a serious vinyl AND movie collector and I Have to point out at The Exorcist is being released in 4k this year! Likely round October. One of my all time favorite horror movies and I Usually watch that and The Shining once a year. So I’m saving this years viewing for the 4k. Anyway…. Love seein you out and about lookin in record stores. Awesome 🤘😎🤘
Exorcist and Shining are both great. My annual watch is Halloween 1978. I did not know about the 4K version of The Exorcist. I am not setup for 4k (yet) but having been buying the occasional blu-ray/4K combo in anticipation of upgrading my home theatre projector. Thanks for the info
Hi Frank, Have you thought of starting a show about movie collecting? I am a big music & movie fan & would love to hear your thoughts about movies (Especially the old ones). Take care! --- Bill (From Mt. Holly, NJ)
Hey Bill! I have thought about doing a channel like that with some movie buff friends. We already get together once or twice a month, have a few drinks, watch a couple of movies, and chat about them. This channel takes up a lot of time, and I don't want to spread myself too thin, but someday!
I used to love going to Sonic Boom when it was at their old location. It was bigger and better. The new location is still good but doesn’t have as much CDs as they used to. Dead Dog Records is a good store as well. They have 2 or 3 locations throughout the city. I used to love going to Yonge and Dundas. The HMV was huge (3 floors) and they had the Sunrise Records across the street (former employees of Sunrise started and own Dead Dog Records).
Call me an American (I live in New York State)< but I really enjoy being in Toronto. Of course seeing a moving picture made at The Ontario Legislature building was welcome> To answer the thumbnail question, Yes I visit record stores while I'm traveling. And Oh, Yes, I have made a few CD purchases at Sam The Record Man on Younge Street in Toronto back in the nineties.
there are many smaller record stores in toronto (with the owner behind the counter), that sell mostly/only used records. you just went to the two stores with popular names. You'd probably enjoy Rotate This, located in the west end.
@@Channel33RPM oh, make a note of Play De Record, for next time. It's about 4 blocks north of Sonic Boom on Spadina Ave. The owner is always there, loves talking records, and they have tons of used and great stuff. Glad you enjoyed my city :))
I feel your pain, Frank - we had MuchMusic US for awhile on our cable system, and I loved them - discovered so many Canadian artists through it. Then it became Fuse, and it just crashed....I miss the old one....:: sniff:: The record stores are super cool though - love the look and vibe at Sonic Boom, wish there was one that cool in Boston...we don't even have FYE anymore (and BTW, I worked for Transworld for most of the 1990s before they sold the company to Sunrise Music a few years ago).
I live in Toronto. While I like to go to Sonic Boom occasionally, I am far more a habitue of Kops. The downstairs offers used psych albums from 10 - 25 bucks. They also offer Canadiana sections, which Sonci Boom does not. As someone who tries to collect homegrown product, that is a real plus for me.
@@Channel33RPM Happy to help. Cosmos and Tiny aren't exactly giving their stuff away but if you're looking for the more obscure and hard to find it's a good bet they'll have it. Cosmos is my fav store of all time, their main location on Queen and their 2nd location about a half block away deals mostly in Jazz and Brazilian. You'll miss Tiny from the street like I always do in spite of shopping there a bunch of times. It's in the back section of another store and again, another place with the special hard to find stuff. Invisible City is across the street from Sonic Boom, you have to go down some stairs into a sunken plaza. Awesome selection, always has a ton of gems and fair prices, same can be said of Grasshopper.
Thanks for taking us along on your walking tour of Toronto. I really enjoyed seeing the city. It’s good to see thriving record stores.
RUSH 🤘🤘🤘
its nice to see you out and about in the wild
That Moving Pictures album cover...it's the holy grail. Many thanks for the report, Frank
Glad you dug it!
Huge Rush fan here! You were correct to say “shoot”. Rush did record video at the Ontario Provincial Legislature. It was used as a video backdrop on a bunch of tours. Great tour around Toronto!
Ah ok, cool. I did not know about the video.
I amassed most of my record collection in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Back then records were an odd niche and didn’t sell for much. I remember rarely paying over 5 dollars for a record. Most vintage records could be had for 1-2 dollars. My mind is kinda stuck in that era and I really have a hard time adjusting to the modern prices.
Very cool to see the location for Moving Pictures cover!! It’s legend time!
Man, it would be so awesome to be there. Some have all the FUN. So enjoyed this thx.
I must agree old school & small shops are GREAT! DVD & CDs are fun to.
Thanks for bringing us along to Toronto with you, Frank.
Glad to have you along!
Hi Frank, I was in Walmart today here in west Central Florida. The Coltrain album you showed a video or two ago was $26.95, and Dark side of the moon 50 was selling for $36.95.
I always hit record stores when I travel. I'm fortunate that my wife is from Brussels, so we go to visit her family every year. New European records are crazy expensive so I only go for stuff I can't get in the States, and especially look for used LP's...the prices are better and you can find all kinds of crazy stuff. I always look for Golden Earring, Can, Les Rita Mitsouko and Gruppo Sportivo rarities.
Sounds fun!
Thanks for the tour. I ALWAYS hit Record Stores, Comic Book Stores and Thrift Stores when I travel. Right there with ya, Brother!
Thanks for tuning in! Checking out the stores is definitely part of travel for me as well.
Great video once again Frank
Glad to hear that the younger generation is digging vinyl still. Keeps the presses going.
Really enjoyed watching this. Thanks for taking the vinyl community along for the visit!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was in Toronto only once... for Noel Gallagher/Smashing Pumpkins at the Budweiser Sound Stage (what a great venue). Wish I had had more time to explore the city, it looks like such an amazing place. The traffic, though! As crazy as it is here in Boston!
Frank that was great, especially showing off the building that became the ironic record cover of Rush's " Moving Pictures " !! Keep On Spinning!
Glad you enjoyed it
That was cool but a tad disappointing as to most of their stock being new.
Yes, I would usually hit record stores when traveling. It was mandatory when visiting Montreal to look for Canadian pressings and stuff I couldn’t find here in the states. Also NYC in the 80’s had a lot of record stores I’d visit. In Florida for a Disney World vacation, one day I took the rental car to nearby towns one day, looking for record stores. That was the days when I had only the yellow pages as a guide! I’ve shopped in the Boston area on a visit too.
WOW! Loved this episode!! Thank you for the tour! I will have to visit Canada sometime soon!
If you had timed your visit a bit later in the day, you wouldn't have felt so old. I visited Sonic Boom that same day shortly after 7 p.m. and I'm 61 years old. 😁
I met a young boy buying Glen Miller records at the Austin Record Convention! And I met a young lady looking for Marty Robbins records at the Canton Texas Flea Market! Let me know how the wicked Lester sounds. My record store has a few of them.
Ok, so now I couldn't resist going out myself. I am spending Easter here in Warsaw with the lady. Very sunny weather today, so we went downtown. Could have made a similar video haha. Found a super little gem record shop. You have to ring the bell at the gate to get in and there it was, cellar like small shop. Big smile on my face since I took home a few Hendrix and a Morricone. The shop is called Winyl Market Records & Goodies. The guy there was a friend of the owner and he was playing classical music, so I asked, where are the classical records? He answers, we do not sell any 😂. Cheers
Have fun!
I have ordered from Sonic Boom and had stuff delivered to me in Newfoundland. One order, they could not find the album despite it saying it was in stock, and after seeing your pictures, now I know why! That place is huge!
They had a different location in the city before that was bigger and better. The building was sold to build condos so they moved to the location they’re in now.
Great video! Brings back a few memories. The last time I was in Toronto was 1969, just before my last year in High School. I went with some friends who were also band mates. On our way home to Cleveland Ohio we thought about going to Woodstock NY for that little festival that was happening there. :) I now wish we would have done it but we went on to Cleveland. Your Rush segment also brings back a great memory. In 1974 or 75 we opened for Rush at an outdoor show that was headlined by Rare Earth. I can remember coming up on stage to do a sound check and passing Geddy Lee coming off the stage. Back then not many people, including us, knew anything about them. When they hit the stage we were blown away! We played originals and covers so the following week we picked up their US debut album "Rush" and learned a few of their songs. If you look at the back of that album they credit Donna Harper at WMMS in Cleveland for "getting the ball rolling". Im holding in my hand an original pressing of that album in near mint condition I picked up at Goodwill a couple years ago! Thanks for a great channel. My first time commenting but Ive been with you for a while.
Great story - thanks for sharing. What was your band?
@@Channel33RPM We were a local Cleveland Band called East Wind. The band is still playing there with one of the founding members.
Great video! Thanks for taking us along! I remember Much Music even though I’m from Illinois. My parents had a satellite dish for a time and I remember watching many hours of Canada’s “MTV”. Also love the Moving Pictures stop! Just went to our local mall last week and was shocked to see a FYE had opened up. Of course it didn’t have much to choose from (seemed to be mainly collectible toys) but what they did have was overpriced. Will be interesting to see how long ours can keep their doors open!
Great video Frank!
Welcome to Trawna (Toronto)!
I'm a displaced Torontonian. I cruised the Queen St. area a few years ago and found the same thing as you did.....nice stores but a little bit pricey. I bought the majority of my vinyl years and years ago at my favourite store Sam The Record Man. 😢 Miss those times! I prefer the smaller stores like yourself.
Keep on spinning Frank 👍
Hey Frank....yeah I do the same thing and always book my flights for biz trips to account for a few extra hrs to hit record stores. Oh yeah...and also gotta hit local food joint too. Just got back from Philly last week and was able to hit 4 stores AND get s cheesesteak at Pat's.....all within a few blocks. Way cool 😎 got my regular haunts pretty much everywhere I go 😝
Like the hood and shades, you look like an AVENGER!
Frank, Nothing about records but man, your country is so amazing. Even the big city is clean and tidy! I hate cities but I could cope with Toronto I think 🙂
Frank, I watch a young lady out of Africa, here on TH-cam,
She does reaction videos to everything, right?
Her newest one is Rush, Spirit of Radio.
She’s always blown away.
I wish I could have feeling again.
Fun video Frank. Only been to Toronto once in 2004, coincidentally to see Rush. So I definitely had to see the Legislative Building, it's the Rush fan's version of Abbey Road! Not one used record store could be open or found when we were there oddly enough. The only I bought was Rush's Feedback on vinyl, at the iconic Sam's store.
Living in a fisheye lens...... All hail the free records. You shoulda grabbed one and reviewed it. FYE just, JUST closed here. Sucks. They had a ton of $1 stuff.
There's always a Max Bygraves in the free rack or 10c/10p rack, poor old Max, his revival is yet to come! 😄
Toronto is one of my favorite cities. I miss Sam the Record Man. A sizeable portion of my collection came from there in the 90s and early 00s.
I do try to hit record store when I travel. Zia in Las Vegas is a must see. Hungry Ear in Honolulu was cool.
If you're ever in my neck of South Central Pennsylvania or Baltimore hit me up. I'll show you some cool stores.
Hi Frank, thanks for showing me taranta. Great vid as always.
pretty sure Kops is the place i went to when i was there, picked up a bunch of stuff. thats one thing i miss about tour...hittin all the record shops
In America, they tried reviving the idea of 80s MTV - for a few years circa 2010, we had a channel called " cool tv" 24 hours of new music videos mixed with classic 80s and 90s videos - they had DVD concerts often on weeknights. To be honest, it was BETTER than MTV ever was, but it didn't catch on, because media is so readily available everywhere, I guess it was redundant to kids who grew up in the internet era, though I loved it. Discovered so much new music, and seeing Deep Purple or Whitesnake concerts nightly was awesome
Thanks for the info, I did not know that.
Thanks for showing the moving pictures location :).
Nice, I loved MuchMusic. I was able to watch it here in the states back in the 1980's on a 6ft C-Band satellite system.
I love seeing all these record stores, especially the independent ones!
One shop you missed is Play De Record, not too far from SB at 411 Spadina!
RUSH IS GREAT BUT I'M MORE OF A LED ZEPPELIN INSTEAD BUT WHAT A GREAT FIND THANKS FOR SHOWING US AROUND THANK YOU FRANK ✌🏼OUT
Great video Frank. I had fun hanging out with you today!
Thanks for checking out the vid!
I remember ordering a ton of 45’s from Kops Kollectables…One of my favorite record stores to find those Canadian artists/bands and pressings…Back in the day, I remember visiting Toronto and seeing the CN Tower, Yonge Street, Casa Loma and the Toronto Zoo, as well as heading north to Canada’s Wonderland…Good times, good memories!
Hey Frank good seeing you and thanks for sharing the sights of Toronto !
Nice to see the Moving Pictures album cover location along with that very nice score Wicked Lester Sessions album !
Take care and enjoy that album and movies! ~ Jeff
Thanks Jeff!
Thank you Frank for the tour of record Shops in Toronto. And a special thank you for the visit to the location of Moving Pictures album cover location. That is the album that made me a life long fan of Rush. 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for tuning in!
Thanks I’m just now getting into vinyl record collecting so this definitely helps
Glad I could help!
Great show Frank. I also went traveling. Went to London hit 4 record stores while there grab albums of bands that Are hard to get here. Love the show keep up the great work you do. Keep on spinning 🤘 😎
Very cool. Thanks for watching.
I like the Unabomber look
Great video! You will love The Exorcist!
Interesting and super fun episode to watch! Thanks for sharing. Great work! :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
Toronto is a great city to visit.
I remember Sam The Man and HMV when I visited years ago. I was blown away by Sam The Man. I also think they had Tower Records too.
Great show, Frank.😁👍
Thanks 👍
Ohhh man!! Very cool!!!
The RUSH thing especially!!!
I’ll have to watch this later. My son and I are out hunting for Legos;)
Walked Toronto years ago, also for work, flying over from Amsterdam. In the sun that city looks stunning. It became ridiculously expensive as I heard from colleagues, in the meantime. Impossible housing prices. Assuming the same for records. However, you found some from sightseeing and hunting. Nice video Frank.
I was in Toronto about 4 years ago, found some great record stores and I had to visit the Legislature building
Great to see - thanks. Off to Berlin in a few months and will be doing the same :)
Hope you enjoy it!
Kops probably has best prices on new stuff. But the Queen West location doesn't really do them justice. The Danforth location is where it's at.
Looking pretty menacing in that hoodie and shades Frank !! Wow what a shop sonic boom is ...looks bigger than Amoeba Music ?? The Exorcist horror movie is (in my book) the finest movie ever made and absolutely blew me away when I watched it at home with the folks, aged 15 !! Thanks for the walk around and have a great weekend
hey frank..i love toronto..nice seeing it again..not so nice seing that wicked lester cover..they ripped that off from the laughing dogs first album..they were a great band from back in my cbgb days...check it out...glad you had a cool trip..love hitting record stores when i travel.. peace to you and yours always..rocky
Ahhh... I didn't know that. Thanks for the info, Rocky. Best wishes.
I often get sent to Toronto for work and have a route that let's me hit almost twenty something record stores in an afternoon using a one-day TTC pass for @13$. Neurotica and Rotate This are usually the most fruitful, but it's always hit and miss. Prices are rising, but Vancouver is usually the worse. I could hook you up in Montreal if you come this way, we have great stores and the best prices!
Hey Frank I was at Kops today, but the Oshawa branch east of Toronto, that’s where all the old dudes hang out lol, I like the dudes at Kops 50/50 new and used, I go for the used stuff nowadays, you are right about Toronto prices though the are as high as the condos downtown lol
Old dudes location... now that sounds like my kinda place ... :)
There are lots of smaller stores that have a different mix of new and used. I hadn’t been to Sonic Boom in a while until I finally got back there today to spend a gift card. I hit up several other of those smaller shops-especially the ones they’re clustered together. Haven’t been to Kops in a while either.
I will explore more next time I am in town. Sounds like there are a lot of great options.
I have a bunch bookmarked in Google Maps. ;-)
www.dropbox.com/s/yx879qtj176oqsr/2023-04-08%2009.13.31.jpg?dl=0
I plan on going to Toronto later this month to see a concert with newer shoe gaze/ dream pop artists. Winter and Tankuichan. The venue is "The Garrison"
I will also visit some record shops and unique restaurants.
FYI, it was FYE you visited, not FYI. Looks like a real nice city, thanks for giving us a glimpse.
Thanks. Correction was noted on the screen.
@@Channel33RPM Oh my, sorry, I must have been transfixed by your face and didn’t notice, 🤓. Take care.
That Wicked Lester session has been bootlegged so many times but this one looks cool.
And yes that picture is not Wicked Lester but KISS before they had the make up designs.
Been to Toronto many times for shopping and concerts living on the other side of the lake. I believe I was at sonic boom after the Toronto rocks concert at downsview in 2003. There used to be a lot of stores in the Younge and Bloor area as well. Great video !
I am there in November so thanks 🙏
Hope you enjoyed your time in TO Frank. We are out in the burbs-Mississauga-and there are some good used records stores out here for next time you are in town. That Wicked Lester will be a fun listen-and that photo was definitely the 4 KISS originals without makeup-pre cranky old men days.
I liked then better before they were cranky old man, haha!
I have a trip next month to NYC and planned accordingly so I would have time to do some record shopping in the afternoon and have a way to get it to my car before the event that evening I'm traveling for. Always fun to explore a new store!
Very cool Rush information.
Younger generation collecting records. My sons are 26 and 22, they both collect, mostly because I got my oldest son started in about 2012 by giving him a turntable, amp, and a few throwback albums I replaced with better copies.
My youngest son doesn’t even have the equipment to play anything on, but started buying collectible albums, or at least ones he thinks will be collectible, and stashing them away.
Great stuff as usual Frank! Keep on Spinnin my friend!
Buying records and stashing them away. WTH
Of course I look for the record stores when I travel. Though I don't travel so often.
mr. Finglish (Bäd English Recs)
Great Toronto content
Thanks. It's always a fun city to visit. I will be back again in April.
Enjoyed the walk around,,have a great weekend Frank
Toronto, my home town
Awesome video brother
Thanks 👍
That is a picture of KISS with Ace and Peter. They may not have had the permission to use Wicked Lester photos or likeness.
Hi Frank! Enjoyed the video. I like shopping for vinyl when Im away travelling. I recently visited couple of record shops in Dublin, Ireland. The Sentinel Records is a great shop with lots of metal albums, bought couple of Mötley Crüe vinyls, some Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P. and Pantera's early work Projects In The Jungle. I really enjoy discovering record shops in different cities. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Toronto! Much love
Sounds like some great pickups. I look forward to record shopping in that part of the world at some point.
I sand with Isreal !! great video frank
Too bad you missed Play de Record. Those guys are solid. You have to check them out the next time your out here!
Next time!
I loved Muchmusic.
I’m so sad I was in Toronto on the second and almost went to SB and kops! I could’ve meet one of my favourite record guys :(
Thank you. Too bad our paths did not cross. I always love meeting 33ers in real life.
Great video. I want to go to Toronto some day, heard it's nice. Won't be a long trip for me coming from New York. I definitely do hit record stores when I travel. I would go up to the Portland area in Maine. They have great record stores there. Bought a lot over the years there. Great finds. Frank, how do you pack your vinyl for an air flight? In your luggage? If so how do you keep it safe? Thanks!
Great video Frank, thank you!
In the past I always tried to hit a few record stores when I was on the road. Now, it's alot less. There are a couple of small proprietor-owned record stores I usually try to visit when I am in the Monterey, CA area. When I am in Sacramento, CA, they have a few record stores but the only one I get around to visit is in 'Old Sacramento' on Firehouse Alley because I've known the owner for years.
I have been a bit disappointed seeing many record stores putting prices on records which are like the top prices of Near Mint records you see in record price guides, but many of the records are in the good-very good condition. I don't blame them for trying to get top dollar because they have alot of overhead, but they are pricing the records like Cadillacs when they are Volkswagens.
Maybe it's mainly because I already have 1,000's of records and already have pretty much every record I've ever wanted. The new re-issues catch my interest, especially jazz and blues. Buying mostly online, I usually have most new releases before the stores get them and I have found that I paid less for them than the stores paid from thier 'one-stops'. Funny thing is often the records I buy online are direct-shipped from the same 'one-stops' they buy from. Then there are the record companies who have online stores, like Universal, and they are often having huge discount coupons or closeout records for a fraction of the retail price. PopMarket used to be like that when they were a clearance house for Sony and had the latest releases too.
NOW, one thing I like to do is to peruse Thrift and 2nd hand stores. I enjoy looking around to see stuff I may have never seen before or maybe find something I have been looking a long time for. I always look at their records, if they have any. Stores like these tend to put records, CD's and movies in a dark back corner. The good thing is they price them like used records used to be priced. I have been known to come out with an armful, hard to carry, records.
did you check out the basement at Kops? Lots of records priced at $1.99
Hey Frank when you get a chance look up the news on Motley Crue and Mick Mars. You did a video about this when you were showcasing one of the crues records. You were right on good call. Sorry for posting this here but you don't have an email address. Keep up the great work and videos.
Yeah.. I've been following the Crue news, and all the back and forth. Kinda pissed at Nikki for his comments. Also, he blocked me on Twitter. That one was a head scratcher.
#TeamMick
Did you check the collectables section in Sonic Boom, Frank (they were at the back of the Record department); I was there 18 months ago, and bought some amazing stuff - but came away with a huge hole in my wallet. By the way, I don’t know if you collect Japanese pressings, but as I remember Kops had a large section full of those. Glad you enjoyed your trip, anyway. If you ever get to Vancouver, let me know and I’ll give you a record store tour!
I did check it out. Love to see that kind of stuff.
The best thing about Sonic Boom are newly arrived used vinyl bins as soon as you walk through the door. If you get there at the right time, you will get a glut of records in VG+ or better shape for reasonable prices. They even write the grading on the price stickers, and I have found they are usually accurate, which takes a lot of the guess work out of it.
I did see the new arrivals... but it was SO crowded. I must have been there at a busy time.
I'm definitely going to check the vinyl myself before trusting any random person's grading.
Frank if your ever in the city again I would like to take you to some other awesome stores in the city I think you would like great episodes keep on spinning
Awesome. Thank you!
Frank!!! Killer video, man! You should Totally do more record store visit videos! And Dear God I hope you got a picture of yourself taken at the iconic Rush location! I’m a serious vinyl AND movie collector and I Have to point out at The Exorcist is being released in 4k this year! Likely round October. One of my all time favorite horror movies and I Usually watch that and The Shining once a year. So I’m saving this years viewing for the 4k. Anyway…. Love seein you out and about lookin in record stores. Awesome 🤘😎🤘
Exorcist and Shining are both great. My annual watch is Halloween 1978. I did not know about the 4K version of The Exorcist. I am not setup for 4k (yet) but having been buying the occasional blu-ray/4K combo in anticipation of upgrading my home theatre projector. Thanks for the info
Hi Frank, Have you thought of starting a show about movie collecting? I am a big music & movie fan & would love to hear your thoughts about movies (Especially the old ones). Take care! --- Bill (From Mt. Holly, NJ)
Hey Bill! I have thought about doing a channel like that with some movie buff friends. We already get together once or twice a month, have a few drinks, watch a couple of movies, and chat about them. This channel takes up a lot of time, and I don't want to spread myself too thin, but someday!
You should have gone to charity shops Frank and picked up cds. One shop here does three cds for a euro !!
I didn't encounter any charity shops on this trip, but I did not have much spare time. Next time!
I used to love going to Sonic Boom when it was at their old location. It was bigger and better. The new location is still good but doesn’t have as much CDs as they used to.
Dead Dog Records is a good store as well. They have 2 or 3 locations throughout the city.
I used to love going to Yonge and Dundas. The HMV was huge (3 floors) and they had the Sunrise Records across the street (former employees of Sunrise started and own Dead Dog Records).
Ah, ok cool. Thanks for the info.
Call me an American (I live in New York State)< but I really enjoy being in Toronto. Of course seeing a moving picture made at The Ontario Legislature building was welcome>
To answer the thumbnail question, Yes I visit record stores while I'm traveling. And Oh, Yes, I have made a few CD purchases at Sam The Record Man on Younge Street in Toronto back in the nineties.
...didn't have to put my shoes on...thanks dude!
Any time!
there are many smaller record stores in toronto (with the owner behind the counter), that sell mostly/only used records. you just went to the two stores with popular names. You'd probably enjoy Rotate This, located in the west end.
Unfortunately, I ran out of time to explore further (and was limited to places where I could walk). I will definitely check out Rotate This next time!
@@Channel33RPM oh, make a note of Play De Record, for next time. It's about 4 blocks north of Sonic Boom on Spadina Ave. The owner is always there, loves talking records, and they have tons of used and great stuff.
Glad you enjoyed my city :))
Sunrise Records is closing? Pity -- that was the last chain store record shop that I worked in which still exists -- until now.
No, not all of them... just certain locations (the one closest to me closed a couple of weeks back, and I hear there are others).
I feel your pain, Frank - we had MuchMusic US for awhile on our cable system, and I loved them - discovered so many Canadian artists through it. Then it became Fuse, and it just crashed....I miss the old one....:: sniff:: The record stores are super cool though - love the look and vibe at Sonic Boom, wish there was one that cool in Boston...we don't even have FYE anymore (and BTW, I worked for Transworld for most of the 1990s before they sold the company to Sunrise Music a few years ago).
I'm sure Boston has some great record stores, like every major city in the world.
I live in Toronto. While I like to go to Sonic Boom occasionally, I am far more a habitue of Kops. The downstairs offers used psych albums from 10 - 25 bucks. They also offer Canadiana sections, which Sonci Boom does not. As someone who tries to collect homegrown product, that is a real plus for me.
Dang... I did see a sign saying the downstairs was open, but I forgot to check it out. Next time!
If I had known you were in my city I would meetup man ! haha
I need to get more organized and do a TO meetup.
Dude you gotta hit up Cosmos, Grasshopper, Invisible City and Tiny Record Shop.
Sounds like a great selection of stores for the next trip. Thank for the info.
@@Channel33RPM Happy to help. Cosmos and Tiny aren't exactly giving their stuff away but if you're looking for the more obscure and hard to find it's a good bet they'll have it. Cosmos is my fav store of all time, their main location on Queen and their 2nd location about a half block away deals mostly in Jazz and Brazilian.
You'll miss Tiny from the street like I always do in spite of shopping there a bunch of times. It's in the back section of another store and again, another place with the special hard to find stuff.
Invisible City is across the street from Sonic Boom, you have to go down some stairs into a sunken plaza. Awesome selection, always has a ton of gems and fair prices, same can be said of Grasshopper.