Comments (0) BEST VINYL - 2006

Eastside Records

DJ-friendly wax copy of the hip-hop Gorillaz — check. Obscure Albert Ayler ESP 180-gram free jazz reissue — check. Nigel Peppercock punk rock gatefold — check. This is what a typical visit to Tempe's version of High Fidelity will look like for vinyl junkies and newbies alike. Since 1986, Eastside has carried aisles of dusty crates filled with new and used vinyl galore and a no-nonsense attitude to boot; just try to come up with a musician whose discography these audiophiles can't break down in the time it takes to flip over a record (you'll take home a complimentary dust bunny with your purchase, either way). The store's inventory bridges the analog/digital divide with a healthy supply of major and small-label CD releases while shelves of underground lit, band tees, a smattering of discounted turntables, and kooky action figures round out the merchandise like a sweet 33 1/3 rotation.