Best Place To Buy Used CDs 2001 | Zia Record Exchange | Arts & Entertainment | Phoenix
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Best Place To Buy Used CDs

Zia Record Exchange

Someday, sometime, somewhere, somebody is going to sell his copy of that album you've always wanted, but could never afford at full price. When he does, he's gonna sell it to Zia, and Zia's gonna sell it to you, at a big fat discount.

This venerable Valley institution has better than a quarter-century of history under its belt, starting with its hole-in-the-wall beginnings on the old, funky Mill Avenue (back when Starbucks and the Gap were delightfully absent from the entire world). In addition to delivering the area's best cash-or-trade offers for those CDs cluttering up your own collection, Zia on University does a brisk business with the local college crowd, providing excellent turnover even on newer pop releases. But a deeper rooting through the stacks reveals a stock of rich diversity: Looking for that hard-to-find collaboration between Bongwater's Kramer and Penn Jillette? That'll be seven bucks. Also, Zia's topnotch jazz and blues sections make this location much smarter than your average college rekkid store.

Best Used Jazz Selection

Zia Record Exchange

Don't ask the salespeople for help in the jazz section at these longtime Valley record emporiums; they're likely to scratch their heads and walk away in confusion. But if you know what you're looking for, or just love the notion of exploring a well-stocked record store by yourself (and don't want to spend a fortune), you're bound to have a bebopping good time at Zia. For example, take the letter "D." We found a ton of Miles Davis, Djavan, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Barbara Dennerlein, Eric Dolphy and many others, all for under $12 a pop. Now, if only the help knew that Thelonious Monk was a piano player.

Best Used Jazz Selection

Zia Record Exchange

Don't ask the salespeople for help in the jazz section at these longtime Valley record emporiums; they're likely to scratch their heads and walk away in confusion. But if you know what you're looking for, or just love the notion of exploring a well-stocked record store by yourself (and don't want to spend a fortune), you're bound to have a bebopping good time at Zia. For example, take the letter "D." We found a ton of Miles Davis, Djavan, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Barbara Dennerlein, Eric Dolphy and many others, all for under $12 a pop. Now, if only the help knew that Thelonious Monk was a piano player.

Best Blues/Jazz Radio Station

KJZZ-FM 91.5

Lurking beneath the façade of an NPR affiliate is a substantial blues and jazz format helmed by two of the brightest jewels in Phoenix's musical crown.

Music coordinator and classically trained performer Blaise Lantana hosts the 7-to-11 block, bringing her discerning ear to an acoustic jazz playlist that regularly features a generous stock of the greats as well as the often overlooked (a Cannonball Adderley two-fer, anyone?). The erudite Lantana can teach even the most hardened jazz police a new tune or two. The acoustic jazz format continues straight through 'til 3 a.m.

Sunday evenings from 6 to 11 are helmed by Rhythm Room impresario Bob Corritore, with Those Lowdown Blues, a sampler of roots and blues music so informed that Corritore ought to charge classroom lab fees. "Smilin' Bob" sets authenticity above commerciality for this gravy-rich slice of Americana, doing for Valley airwaves what the Rhythm Room's been doing for Valley live music since the mid-'80s.

Best Blues/Jazz Radio Station

KJZZ-FM 91.5

Lurking beneath the façade of an NPR affiliate is a substantial blues and jazz format helmed by two of the brightest jewels in Phoenix's musical crown.

Music coordinator and classically trained performer Blaise Lantana hosts the 7-to-11 block, bringing her discerning ear to an acoustic jazz playlist that regularly features a generous stock of the greats as well as the often overlooked (a Cannonball Adderley two-fer, anyone?). The erudite Lantana can teach even the most hardened jazz police a new tune or two. The acoustic jazz format continues straight through 'til 3 a.m.

Sunday evenings from 6 to 11 are helmed by Rhythm Room impresario Bob Corritore, with Those Lowdown Blues, a sampler of roots and blues music so informed that Corritore ought to charge classroom lab fees. "Smilin' Bob" sets authenticity above commerciality for this gravy-rich slice of Americana, doing for Valley airwaves what the Rhythm Room's been doing for Valley live music since the mid-'80s.

Best Country Radio Station

KXKQ-FM 94.1

As country music's popularity and sales continue to fall from its mid-'90s high point, the blame can be laid squarely at the doorstep of radio programmers who continue to promote hopelessly manufactured-sounding pap and try to pawn it off as country gold. Not so with KXKQ, which is based in Safford in eastern Arizona but broadcasts in the Valley. Though the station does mix in a fair selection of new country acts, the real attraction of its playlist is its adherence to old-school masters like Merle Haggard and George Jones. Besides offering up the big names from yesteryear, KXKQ plays its fair share of lost classics, hard-core honky-tonk and gen-u-wine tales about cheatin', drinkin', and truckin' that you won't find on an other frequency in town. Yee-haw!

Best Country Radio Station

KXKQ-FM 94.1

As country music's popularity and sales continue to fall from its mid-'90s high point, the blame can be laid squarely at the doorstep of radio programmers who continue to promote hopelessly manufactured-sounding pap and try to pawn it off as country gold. Not so with KXKQ, which is based in Safford in eastern Arizona but broadcasts in the Valley. Though the station does mix in a fair selection of new country acts, the real attraction of its playlist is its adherence to old-school masters like Merle Haggard and George Jones. Besides offering up the big names from yesteryear, KXKQ plays its fair share of lost classics, hard-core honky-tonk and gen-u-wine tales about cheatin', drinkin', and truckin' that you won't find on an other frequency in town. Yee-haw!

Best Hip-hop Radio Station

KKFR-FM 92.3

Starting with the morning Wake Up Show featuring Chino and the ever-horny Clarissa Jenkins, through multiple-mix sets like the midday Digging in the Crates show, to Flashback Fridays, Power 92 has put a lock on its ownership of the Valley's hip-hop airwaves. Meanwhile, the Power 92 van has become a ubiquitous presence on city streets, and the station has reached out to the local community sponsoring appearances by rapper Snoop Dogg and comedian Jamie Foxx, a memorial concert to Roger Troutman and the best bills featuring talent of the up-and-coming variety.

Best Hip-hop Radio Station

KKFR-FM 92.3

Starting with the morning Wake Up Show featuring Chino and the ever-horny Clarissa Jenkins, through multiple-mix sets like the midday Digging in the Crates show, to Flashback Fridays, Power 92 has put a lock on its ownership of the Valley's hip-hop airwaves. Meanwhile, the Power 92 van has become a ubiquitous presence on city streets, and the station has reached out to the local community sponsoring appearances by rapper Snoop Dogg and comedian Jamie Foxx, a memorial concert to Roger Troutman and the best bills featuring talent of the up-and-coming variety.

Best Club For Rock

Nita's Hideaway

Guided by the shrewd vision of local arts wunderkind Charles Levy, Nita's is a welcome midsize venue in a town with more than its quota of overpriced stadiums and cramped coffee houses. Ever supportive of local talent, Nita's has become a necessary rite of passage for Valley bands looking to graduate from dad's garage to Phoenix's club scene, but Levy's particular genius lies in bringing remarkable talents to the venue's intimate space. Performers who've graced Nita's indoor and outdoor stages in the past year include Mogwai, the Melvins, Joseph Arthur, Wheat, Built to Spill, Calexico, J. Mascis, and Mike Watt, to name but a handful. On one thrilling evening, the generations came together peacefully when Dr. Ralph Stanley played a two-show engagement. Mudhoney opened its (supposed) last set of live shows here while the big portrait of JFK looked on serenely, from its eternal post beside the men's room door. All this, plus the most eclectic jukebox in the Valley (and possibly the world), makes Nita's the place to bring visiting friends, when they ask what there is to hear in this burg.

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