It aint easy being brilliant...

So…every Thursday is my one day off for the week and I normally enjoy spending it at my all time favorite place.

A record store!

So I arrive at my favorite record store in Charlotte, Lunchbox Records, right at 12 pm (because that’s what time their Facebook page says they open) only to get to the door to see that they don’t open until 1.

Bummed out, and knowing I can’t possibly kill an hour in the surrounding area, I hop in my truck and drive 11 miles across town to Manifest Disc, the next best option.

I walk into the store to find that to my genuine delight, they are running a buy 3 used get 1 free special! So now all I have to do is find at least 4 records worth my time and money.

Here are the results:

Elton John- “Rock of the Westies”

Elton’s 10th solo album released in 1975 for the incredibly reasonable price of $4.99.

Lou Reed- “Coney Island Baby”

Lou Reed’s (one of the masterminds behind the great Velvet Underground) 6th solo album, released in 1975 for only $4.99.

(NOTE: I fucking HATE when prior owners of records write their names on the front cover of records! If you don’t know for a fact that you are going to own it forever, DON’T do it! Simple.)

Stevie Wonder- “Hotter Than July”

The great Stevie Wonder’s 1980 solo album. Is it on par with Wonder classics such as “Innervisions” and “Songs in the Key of Life?” Not quite. But it’s a fucking Stevie Wonder album, so greatness is to be expected!

This album also only cost $4.99.

Aerosmith- “Get Your Wings”

The 2nd album released by the “Bad Boys of Boston” in 1974. Not many of the classic Aerosmith tunes that we have all come to know and love are featured here, but one listen gives you a preview of the greatness they were on the cusp of.

The price for this gem? $4.99.

Lou Reed- “Transformer”

For MY money, the BEST solo album released by the former Velvet Underground member.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 194 on it’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

This gem, in nearly flawless condition, only ran me $7.99.

Alice Cooper- “School’s Out”

Cooper’s 1972 album that features a song that simply EVERYBODY knows (the title track).

This vastly underrated heavy metal gem cost me $7.99.

Stevie Wonder- “Innervisions”

Simply put….a CLASSIC of EPIC proportions.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 23 on it’s “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time” list.

I just hate that the $4.99 copy of that I was lucky enough to score also has somebody’s fucking name in the top right hand corner.

Sigh…

James Taylor- “Sweet Baby James”

Released in 1971 when Taylor was “essentially homeless.” This album was nominated for Album of the Year and virtually assured that Taylor would never have to worry about where he laid his head at night.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 103 on their “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time” list.

This classic ran me $7.99.

So, after only expecting to find 4 albums tops that I would be willing to buy in order to qualify me for the Buy 3 get 1 free special, I walked out with 8! After applying the special twice, these 8 gems only cost me $40!

So, with my 8 albums in hand, and still fully expecting to return to Lunchbox Records, I headed into downtown Charlotte for a little more crate digging.

HERE is what I found:

Led Zeppelin- “Coda”

Zeppelin’s 9th and final studio album, released in 1982, 2 years after the legendary band had split.

And while it’s not known as one of their “must haves,” it’s still Led Motherfuckin Zeppelin!

And any day that you can score a Zeppelin album for a mere $9.00 is a damn good day.

The Beatles- “Meet the Beatles!”

Simply put, it is my personal goal to own every vinyl album ever released with The Beatles name on it. And this LP, the 2nd ever released by The Fab Four in the US, only cost me $15!

$15 for a Beatles LP in flawless condition? Hellz yes!

This classic was ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time” list.

Black Sabbath- “Master of Reality”

Classic Black Sabbath on red vinyl!

I am super psyched to have scored this rare edition of an album so classic that Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 300 on their list of “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time” list.

And I scored this bad boy for $10!

The Beatles- “Yesterday and Today”

And finally…for the prized score of my record store trip.

The Beatles “Yesterday and Today” WITH the classic and BANNED upon initial release, “butcher cover!”

And on blue vinyl?

Oh my damn I’m psyched!

$25 for this gem just bought me a lifetime of vinyl bliss!

The price tag for my visit to the AWESOME Lunchbox Records? $54. So $94 total dollars scored me 12 classic LP’s from some of the most legendary names in the history of music! Thank you very much, Manifest Disc and Lunchbox Records! What a day off!

If you have never done the “Wayne’s World” routine to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” then you are living an incomplete life.