There may be one record store in Seattle whose heritage and size can outshine many of the other stores in the city, but Sonic Boom Records is still well worth your time. Located across Salmon Bay in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, Sonic Boom is a neighborhood shop on steroids. Sporting an impressive selection of new and used records, the shop manages to still offer the friendly and warm feel that bigger shops tend to lack.
What to Expect
The Ballard neighborhood is one of the coolest and most happening neighborhoods in Seattle. Great nightlife, great restaurants, great shops, etc. If you are visiting Seattle for the first time, there is a very good chance you will find yourself here for reasons unrelated to expensive discs of wax. However, Sonic Boom is a seriously legit record store. I’ve noticed in my many record store travels that some shops are able to do good business simply by having a favorable location, rather than having a great selection of records. Sonic Boom avoids this pitfall and has created a space that many record collectors will find to be worth a trip, even if it’s out of the way.
Located right in the main shopping district of the Ballard neighborhood, Sonic Boom is a medium-sized record store that has a good selection of both new and used records. The space is a single large room, with plenty of lighting and space for browsing. The decor here leans slightly more practical than the dark and crowded vibe of many record shops but that’s in no way a knock. The walls were covered with some memorabilia and posters that were downright impressive like this autographed Iron and Wine poster and this one signed Spiritualized poster.
Besides records expect the usual. CDs, posters, t-shirts, basic equipment, and other merch like this dog collar.
Selection at Sonic Boom Records
Sonic Boom’s stock leans slightly toward new records so don’t expect to come in here and flipping through bins of $5 records. Used records are curated to the store’s taste (more on that in a minute) and most used records are in the $20+ range. That’s not to say that records here are overpriced, just that they only bother filling their shelves with the good stuff.
Genre-wise this isn’t a specialty shop per se, but there are a few genres that they seem to specialize in. Most notably there is a fantastic selection of indie/alt/punk.
Which makes perfect sense since, you know, it’s SEATTLE. This does mean that a few other genres might feel a smidge underrepresented like jazz, hip-hop, rap, etc. But if you’ve been to a lot of different record stores this favoritism towards rock and its sub-genres isn’t exactly a surprise.
In general, the indie choices here were quite good. I had been on the lookout for Girl with Fish by Feeble Little Horse, during this entire trip and finally found it here after striking out at Easy Street Records, Silver Platters Lodo, and a couple of others. That alone is cause for me to give a big thumbs up to this shop so the really unique indie/punk/alt section was the icing on the cake.
Record collectors on the lookout for the very best and the very rare might have some luck here as well. In typical record store fashion, high-value items are on the wall throughout the store, with the really expensive stuff behind the counter for safekeeping.
Prices at Sonic Boom Records
Going to five different record stores in the same day is a great way to compare prices and I’m pleased to announce that Sonic Boom was the second cheapest shop I visited in Seattle. Prices were ever so slightly higher than Easy Street Records, but not by a margin that would stop me from buying anything. The same goes for used records which I found to be reasonable from the few I checked out. The bottom line: records are expensive; but Sonic Boom isn’t trying to make matters worse.
My Take on Sonic Boom Records
Sonic Boom was one of my favorite stores I visited in Seattle. The size of the selection was more than serviceable and since it was tailored to my exact music tastes, I found myself spending a lot more money than I had planned on here. If you want to get away from the crowds of the famous Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom is your best bet. If I were to live in Seattle I could definitely see myself going here more than any other record shop. The service and atmosphere of the store were top notch and there is tons of great stuff to do in the neighborhood around the shop. Bonus: This might be my favorite record store sign of all time.
Records Purchased
Girl with Fish- Feeble Little Horse
Man Alive!- King Krule
The Modern Lovers- The Modern Lovers
Address: 2209 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107