Pure Pop -- Burlington, Vermont
Pure Pop looks, feels, and sounds like every cool music stores you've ever seen on the big screen -- High Fidelity, Empire Records. I get a giddy thrill walking down the steps (Pure Pop is in the basement of a non-descript building off the Church St. marketplace) and through the door into a wall of sound blasting through the speakers whenever I go there. Their prices are very competitive (usually) with national chains when it comes to new mainstream releases, but where Pure Pop really makes their mark is with their inventory of independent artists and more genre music -- jam rock, electronica, punk, to name a few. They always display 8 to 10 new releases from "hot" or "emerging" artists and sell them for less than $10, a steal. Their back catalog is pricey, but they do carry a fair amount of imports and other hard-to-find releases of your favorite artists. They also sell some vinyl, DVD's, concert tickets, and carry a used-cd section. Pure Pop is the perfect college town music store a place where Rob Gordon and Barry would feel right at home.
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