Among the 20,000 albums, there's everything from classic rock to circus music—so if you're there to re-up your late-70s L.A. punk rock stash, don't be surprised if the Germs end up sharing your backseat with a barbershop quartet recording.

Forgive me for sounding like a cranky septuagenarian, but These Days, when sounds like this are coming out of speakers on the reg, it's kind of necessary to take shelter in a place where Youtube Sensations can't harm you. Fantasyland Records has been this kind of hangout and haven for audiophiles for thirty-six years. With everything from new releases to dusty old 45s, and thousands of used vinyl in between, a trip to Fantasyland isn't exactly an in-and-out affair. It's more about coming in, snaking your way through the maze of vinyl-filled crates in the front room, making a stop in the new releases corner, wandering into one of the back rooms, discovering something in the "Strange & Bizarre" crate (more on that later), fingering through the original 70s and 80s movie theatre posters, perhaps picking your way through the spaghetti western soundtracks, and, at some point, emerging back into daylight with a shiny new indie record, a musty old Sparkletones 7", and... maybe a little bit of circa-1950s self help on vinyl.

Indeed, among the 20,000 albums waiting to be flicked through, the range of genres reps just about everything from classic rock to circus music—so if you think you're just there to re-up your late-70s L.A. punk rock stash, don't be surprised if the Germs end up sharing your backseat with a compilation of space age pop, a barbershop quartet recording, or an album of erotic dance music (all of which were, indeed, discovered hiding in their respective crates on my most recent trip to Fantasyland). Sure, a couple clicks around iTunes could save you some time, but spending some time flicking through sleeve after sleeve only to emerge victorious with the classiest album artwork of 1965 just feels right. It's why neighborhood record stores have been such a time-honored, beloved institution for so long, and why Fantasyland has been doing their thing since '76. (And besides, I'm pretty sure iTunes doesn't currently stock that one erotic dance record, anyway.)

---

Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.