Shops in WA, SF, LA and S Diego

In Seattle, Bop Street in Ballard is probably your best bet. There's a ton of 45s on the balcony. But they've been picked over. Ask the owner, Dave Vorhees, if he's gotten any new garage 45s. He may pull out a box from the back room. On the plus side, the store is very pleasant with very tall ceilings & lots of natural light. The 45s are neatly filed alphabetically in long 45 boxes along the walls of the balcony. Theres plenty of tables to sort through them in the middle of the balcony. On the minus side, nothing is priced. Good luck.

I'm sorry I meant Washington DC....
 
In SF, dont forget Old Vogue in North Beach, as well as their "annex" shop across the street:

http://m.yelp.com/biz/old-vogue-san-francisco

If you're looking for specific 45s or LPs, feel free to PM me with you want list. I'm looking to sell some of my California garage and psych. Maybe I could help you out w something.

Also, while in SF, check out Aquarius Records on Valencia St. No used garage and psych but the citys best example of a modern underground record shop.
 
In SF, dont forget Old Vogue in North Beach, as well as their "annex" shop across the street:

http://m.yelp.com/biz/old-vogue-san-francisco

If you're looking for specific 45s or LPs, feel free to PM me with you want list. I'm looking to sell some of my California garage and psych. Maybe I could help you out w something.

Also, while in SF, check out Aquarius Records on Valencia St. No used garage and psych but the citys best example of a modern underground record shop.

thanks a bunch my friend, I hope I'll have enough time for SF....
 
I just did the vinyl tour in DC and SF; not enough time to visit all shops or contact dealers, but here's my report:
DC shops:
best was JOINT CUSTODY on 1530 U str., recently opened, good selection, 2 boxes with some appealing 45s from 5 to 30 USD, some nice comps, all viny, worth a visit
SOM records, 1843 14th str.: no 45s , and few comps, but guess what I bumped into KID CONGO POWERS who works one day a week in that shop (see selfie) , a real cool good humoured dude, we chatted for about 20' and had some good laughs, he still tours and records with his groups THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS and is still in contact with Krystie aka Poison Ivy
SF shops:
AMOEBA, 1855 Haight Str: pretty vast selection of comps both vinly and CD
RECYCLED RECORS, 1377 Haight Str., all Vinyl LPs, a bunch of not really rare comps, but well selected
ROCKY RICARDOS, Haght Str. , all 45s, primarely Soul, no garage
The big low down was GROOVES on 1797 Market Str. unless you are happy to forkm over 1o USD up for Beatles/Beach Boys/Stones singles....all boxes badly selected, very few 45s, mostly LPs, mostly trashIMG-20140729-01516.jpg unfriendly vendor (not Ray Anderson), a waste of time ('except for the nice window)

all in all, I bought 6 + 4 nice MV + Kid Congo.jpg comps, it really seems that nothing can beat Internet auctions and mail vendors, I'm sure record shops have had their days...
anyway, I'll be in LA for the next days to check out more shops, so stand by for part II of my report!
 
RECORDS SHOPS REPORT, pt.II, LALA IMG-20140801-01586.jpgLA IMG-20140801-01594.jpg :
AMEBIA: though bigger that the SF-affiliate, I found less garage goodies but of course this depends on the moment
ROCKAWAY: definitvely the best shop I've seen! Nice people run it shop and I found a good bunch of used CDs and LPS, all well selected, and at good prices. A few boxes of 45 but the "Collector"s Corner" sure is a goldmine (if you're willing to fork over a few bucks, of course...). Met a German from Texas (Jürgen Koop / Texas Music) who must have a GIGANTIC collection (of singles of every kind starting from before Elvis), nice dude, probabely a good phone number to call (512 - 8584357, he don't use email) if you are in search for the lost 45
 
We found some decent oddball '60s folk and more recent small label PNW/Calif. semi-rare stuff at Grooves, but that was a couple of years ago. And... free matches man. Overall I'd say Seattle was the best city I've ever been to for quality vinyl at great prices. The place for garage bargains is going to be the yard sale or all purpose junk shop, especially off the beaten track in small towns.