VINYL COUNTDOWN: Noise Pollution has more vinyl than you can count

While plenty of vinyl stores can amass large collections of classic rock and jazz records, Noise Pollution has been carrying a notably large punk and hard rock selection since 1991.

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VINYL COUNTDOWN: Noise Pollution has more vinyl than you can count

POSTED: Friday, June 17, 2011, 3:00 PM

Storefront on Fourth Street

Intrepid CP entertainment reporter Peter Chawaga sets out on a weekly mission to find the best, quirkiest and - most importantly - still operational record stores our town has to offer.

In my experience, hardly any record store owner will admit to catering to one type of music fan. Understandably, they see "specializing" as a negative thing, because it suggests that their store has no variety and most people won’t be interested in visiting. The owner of Noise Pollution Records and Collectibles (619 S. Fourth St., 215-627-7246) is no different and when I asked him if the store sees any demographic coming in regularly, he responded, “It’s all across the board. We get anything from young teens to older customers buying classic rock [and] DJs buying soul, jazz guys and metal heads.” I’m not saying he misled me (in fact there was a great deal of variety and options for every type of fan he mentioned), but he underplayed the impressive punk and hard rock collections that define the shop.

While plenty of vinyl stores can amass large collections of classic rock and jazz records, Noise Pollution has been carrying a notably large punk and hard rock selection since 1991. When I asked how many vinyls the store carries, the owner replied “more than you can count.” Although the punk collection remains the stores biggest draw, there is definite validity to the claim that they have something to attract all sorts of customers. There are 45s of all types, a big bin of discount records and a huge CD collection as well. I’m told they’ve also carried eight to 10 Beatles albums signed by John Lennon.

I’m not a huge fan of punk records, but I appreciate their value on wax and can tell you that if you’re in the market for them, this store is worth checking out. Noise Pollution is in a great location, the owner is extremely friendly and although their collection would appeal primarily to those looking for hard rock records, all vinyl fans would enjoy a visit.

(peter.chawaga@citypaper.net)

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