Record stores should offer insight into the store’s owner and the people who work there. The music that shaped them, influenced them, that convinced them to invest thousands of dollars into a business that sells an outdated form of media. To me, that’s what makes record stores so very special. Sharing the music that’s important to you with other people. At Portland’s Crossroads Music, over 50 different sellers share their unique tastes with the people of the Pacific Northwest.
What to Expect
Crossroads Music is essentially a record consignment store. Across the store’s large space in Southeast Portland, dozens of different sellers have sections filled with records. You might find a bin filled with a bunch of punk records next to a bin filled with records from a different seller that specializes in funk and soul. This results in a shopping experience that is a little chaotic, but extremely effective at introducing you to new music.
At first glance it looks like a normal used record store with a batshit insane organization system but it’s not as bad as it looks. Signs throughout the store will differentiate one “shop” from another. Each shop organizes its records however it wants. Some have all the records they offer in one bin in rough alphabetical order, whereas others will have them organized with more traditional genres tabs. There were a few sellers that organized by decade, new vs used, etc.
The most effective way to shop this store is to do a quick sweep and find the sellers whose music taste aligns with your own, and then do a deep dive into what they have to offer. Punk, rock, pop, metal, and just about every genre you can imagine are featured here in some capacity. I would say about 95% of the records in the store are used. But there are a few sellers that have a reasonable selection of new records.
Price and Selection at Crossroads Music
Obviously, with so many sellers under one roof the selection and prices vary wildly. The new records I found were of standar price of $24-35. Used records depend entirely on the seller. Some sellers had records that were all in the $5-10 range, whereas other sellers focused more on high-end used records that started closer to $30. As with most shops, the valuable stuff ($60 and up) is behind the counter for safekeeping.
This is basically a bunch of record stores rolled into one so not every seller has the most *ahem* fair pricing so keep your wits about you. I found several sellers that had a mix of records that were of reasonable price and other records that were far more expensive than you could get at any number of record stores in Portland. But in general the pricing here was very reasonable.
My Thoughts on Crossroads Music
The appeal of Crossroads Records is variety. (not to be confused with Variety Records, which is down the street a ways.) Different record stores have different focuses. Here you get to shop at 50 different small record stores without having to walk outside. If you are interested in treasure hunting for rare used records, you would be hard pressed to find a better record store in Portland. Even some of the great used shops around the city, like Mississippi Records, are hard pressed to compete with the volume of unique used records available at Crossroads.
If you are a used record junkie, this is extremely high on my list of record shop recommendations for you. Those who collect more contemporary stuff might walk away from this store disappointed, as the selection skews heavily towards 60s, 70s, and 80s recording artists.
This shop has been around a long time and has had its fair share of famous clientele. The cashier mentioned that Guided by Voices lead singer Bob Pollard was a frequent visitor and mentioned it in a list of his favorite record stores in the U.S. The article was published in Playboy, but I tracked down an old forum post discussing the article here. As a indie nerd, this was all the validation I needed that Crossroads Music kicks ass.
Records Purchased
Bee Thousand – Guided By Voices
Address
8112 SE Foster Rd. Portland, OR 97214.