Metroland

Metroland Readers Poll '15: Goods and Services

 

Best Optical Store

1. Empire Visionworks

2. DiNapoli Opticians

3. LensCrafters

The recently rebranded Empire Visionsworks is your favorite, but local mainstays DiNapoli was a strong second.

Best Appliance Store

1. Sears

2. John D. Marcella and Son Appliances

3. Lowe’s Home Improvement

Sears may be struggling, but its Kenmore line of products clearly remains popular.

Best Antique Store

1. Silver Fox Salvage

2. Trojan Horse Antiques

3. Aunt Katie’s Attic

Only a handful of votes separated these perennially popular Albany, Troy and Scotia businesses.

Best Bookstore

1. Barnes & Noble Booksellers

2. The Book House

3. Market Block Books

The last standing national bookstore chain may have won, but it was close. And the Book House and Market Block—which are twin heads of one local bookseller—got the most votes combined.

Best Comic Book Store

1. Earthworld Comics

2. Aquilonia Comics

3. Zombie Planet

Earthworld is your superhero source for superheroes.

Best Garden Store/Nursery

1. Hewitt’s Garden Centers

2. Faddegon’s Nursery

3. George’s Market Nursery

If the top three finishers in this category were trees, then Hewitt’s would be the sequoia.

Best Florist

1. Lark Street Flower Market

2. Emil J. Nagengast Florist

3. Frank Gallo & Son Florist

Lark Street comes up roses in this category, but there was strong support for both Nagangast and Gallo. We’re wondering, what happened to former winner Price Chopper?

Best Kitchen Store

1. Different Drummer’s Kitchen: The Cook’s Resource

2. Lowe’s Home Improvement

3. Williams-Sonoma

Different Drummer’s is an all-round gourmand’s store—and you know it.

Best Furniture Store

1. The Old Brick Furniture Co.

2. Taft Furniture

3. Huck Finn’s Warehouse & More

Low prices were first in voters’ minds in this category.

Best Pet Supply Store

1. Benson’s Pet Center

2. PetSmart

3. Healthy Pet Center

Local, independent chain Benson’s edged out PetSmart in this popular category.

Best Gift Store

1. Wit’s End Giftique

2. Maggie’s Gift Shop

3. Romeo’s Gifts

More than 26,000 square feet of selling space gave Clifton Park’s Wit’s End Giftique a clear edge.

Best Wine/Liquor Store

1. Empire Wine & Liquor Outlet

2. All Star Wine & Liquor

3. Exit 9 Wine & Liquor

Our readers enjoy an adult beverage now and then (and again). We know because this was one of the most popular overall categories.

Best Women’s Clothing Store

1. Macy’s

2. Kohl’s

3. Truly Rhe

Times change and retail stores come and go, but Macy’s almost always wins. Props to Troy’s Truly Rhe for a solid showing.

Best Men’s Clothing Store

1. Macy’s

2. Kohl’s

3. Enigma Co.

We’re sensing a pattern here: Macy’s, Kohl’s, and an interesting indie shop in Troy—this time, the Enigma Co.

Best Children’s Clothing Store

1. The Children’s Place

2. Kohl’s

3. GAP Kids

When it comes to dressing your fancy brats, the national chains are seemingly unbeatable.

Best Consignment Clothing Store

1. Plato’s Closet

2. Goodwill

3. (tie) Polkadots, Salvation Army

Only Plato’s Closet and Polkadots are consignments stores. Plato’s is geared to teens, Polkadots caters to children; Plato’s wins. 

Best Sporting Goods Store

1. Dick’s Sporting Goods

2. (tie) Empire Mountain Sports, Goldstock’s

4. Play It Again Sports

The big chains may be overrepresented in this category, but local legends Goldstocks are hanging in there.

Best Head Shop

1. Northern Lights Smoke Shop

2. Orion Boutique

3. Déjà vu

Each establishment has its partisans, but Northern Lights heads the list.

Best Cigar/Tobacco Shop

1. Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe

2. Edleez Tobacco

3. Smoke Shop

Your perennial favorite—Habana Premium—wins again.

Best Holistic Shop

1. Crossroads Gifts & Wellness

2. Honest Weight Food Co-op

3. Hippies, Witches, & Gypsies

Crossroads in Schenectady specializes exclusively on health, wellness, and divine inspiration, and apparently inspiring readers to maximize their voting.

Best Art Supply Store

1. Arlene’s Artist Supply

2. Michael’s

3. Savoir Faire

Arlene’s wins big again—and with a large overall vote total reflecting the store’s high standing in the arts community.

Best Bicycle Shop

1. Downtube Bicycle Works

2. Plaine and Son

3. Troy Bike Rescue

The Downtube folks are the experts at all things cyclist, recognized by readers with their yearly win.

Best Toy Store

1. Toys ’R Us

2. G Willikers

3. Ta Da!

Wow, Toys really are Us, going by their voting score. But if you want something really special, why not try the locally owned runners-up?

Best Jeweler

1. Hannoush Jewelers

2. Kay Jewelers

3. Northeastern Fine Jewelers

It was close, but the family-run Hannoush Jewelers edged out the national chain.

Best Day Spa

1. Kimberley’s A Day Spa

2. Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness

3. (tie) White Sands Massage Spa, Roosevelt Baths

For our readers, Kimberley’s in Latham has the magic touch.

Best Musical Instrument Store

1. Parkway Music

2. Drome Sound

3. (tie) Guitar Center, Collar City Guitars

Parkway Music turned it up to 11, proving that they meet your musical needs with a 100-vote victory margin.

Best Apple Orchard

1. Indian Ladder Farms

2. Goold’s Orchards

3. Golden Harvest

Indian Ladder in Altamont won by a bushel load. That Rosie (the Highland heifer) really knows how to get out the vote.

Best Farmers Market

1. Troy Waterfront/Winter Farmers Market

2. Schenectady Greenmarket

3. Saratoga Farmers Market

Is it the selection? Is it the location? Is it the live music? Is it the fact that you’re guaranteed to run into someone you know? With the Troy Farmers Market, it’s all of the above.

Best Produce

1. Honest Weight Food Co-op

2. Troy Farmers Market

3. (tie) Price Chopper, Hannaford

They’re both so good that we’re guessing Honest Weight beat out TFM because it’s indoors year-round.

Best Shopping (Plaza)

1. Stuyvesant Plaza

2. Clifton Park Center

3. Mohawk Commons

A wipeout. Not. Even. Close. Stuyvesant Plaza dominated this category by more than 300 votes.

Best Shopping (Mall)

1. Colonie Center

2. Crossgates Mall

3. Wilton Mall

On the other hand, while Wilton Mall was a distant third, your loyalties to Colonie Center and Crossgates are more closely divided.

Best Shopping (Downtown)

1. Troy

2. Saratoga Springs

3. Albany

You really enjoy the compact, pedestrian-friendly downtown retail offered by Troy and Saratoga. Sorry capital city: Albany wasn’t in the running.

Best Shopping (Outlet)

1. Lee, Mass.

2. Lake George

3. Woodbury Commons

Lee has a lower sales tax. Lee wins.

Best Supermarket

1. Price Chopper/Market Bistro

2. Hannaford

3. Honest Weight Food Co-op

The perennial winners are one-two again, while Honest Weight, looking more like a supermarket in its new location, takes third. But really, have you people ever tried Shop Rite?

Best Health Food Store

1. Honest Weight Food Co-op

2. Whole Foods

3. Uncle Sam’s Health Food

Honest Weight was once the only real health food store in the area; 35 years later, and they’ve once again won this category by a landslide.

Best Record Store (Used)

1. Last Vestige Record Shop

2. River Street Beat Shop

3. FYE

As interest in new vinyl grows, so does your craving for classic vinyl. And Last Vestige wins with its mind-blowing selection. There was plenty of love for Troy’s RSBS, too.

Best Video Game Store

1. GameStop

2. Pastime Legends

3. Jay St. Video Games

The national chain with the ubiquitous mall locations won, but Pastime Legends and Jay St. both received strong support from gamers.

Metroland Readers Poll '15: People and Places

 

Best Park

1. Washington Park

2. The Crossings

3. Thatcher Park

Whether due to the festivals, the tulips, the dog park, the neat way the light hits the trees at just the right time of day or, simply, its easy access for a quick sunlight picnic with a stealth bottle of wine in the middle of your work week, Washington Park crushed this category. 

Best Playground

1. The Crossings

2. Central Park

3. Washington Park

Pretty much everyone agrees that the best playground can be found in Colonie. We totally get why: They have some solid equipment and that cool, springy turf.

Best Day Trip

1. Lake George

2. New York City

3. Saratoga Springs

It warms our hearts to see an old-school, legendary upstate playground like Lake George take first place.

Best Bike Ride

1. Mohawk-Hudson

2. Corning Preserve

3. Zim Smith

We trust our readers on this one. You guys are a bunch of bike-riding fools and, according to you, the Mohawk-Hudson is twice as bikeable as the Corning Preserve.

Best Running Trail

1. Corning Preserve

2. (tie) The Crossings, Mohawk-Hudson

4. Zim Smith

However, when it come to running, you’re only slightly less enthusiastic in your preference for the Preserve.

Best Hiking/Nature Trail

1. Thacher Park

2. Five Rivers

2. (tie) Pine Bush, Plottenkill

Just can’t beat the Indian Ladder Trail. And no one did. You would much rather hike Thacher than even the educational Five Rivers Trail in Delmar.

Best Rock Climbing

1. The Edge

2. Albany Indoor Rock Gym

3. Thacher Park

We don’t know if we can condone rock-climbing at Thacher (is that even allowed?), but we’re pretty sure it’s safe at your other favorite spots.

Best Gym

1. Planet Fitness

2. Vent

3. Best Fitness

You all LOVE your P-Fit. But we wonder how often you actually go.

Best Tattoo Artist

1. Dustin Horan

2. John Abbott

3. Eric Brown

You’ll find No. 1 at the Dead Presidents Lounge in Albany, No. 2 at Ms. Dixie’s Tattoo and Pin-Up Parlor in Troy, and No. 3 at Impulse Tattoo in Glenmont. In case you’re looking.

Best Yoga/Pilates

1. Heartspace Yoga

2. The Hot Yoga Spot

3. Good Karma

Heartspace and Hot Yoga took this category easily, but Good Karma is the only local studio with a “flight center,” where students can do upside-down yoga.

Best Golf Course

1. Saratoga National

2. Frear Park

3. Van Patten

Local golf lovers don’t all care about fancier amenities such as those offered by the courses in Saratoga and Clifton Park, they’re just as happy to play on the municipal course at Frear Park in Troy.

Best Miniature Golf

1. Pirate’s Cove

2. Funplex

3. Oasis

Arrrr. . . . Oh, and by the way, Oasis in Troy has been closed for over a year.

Best Skiing/Snowboarding

1. Jiminy Peak

2. Gore Mountain

3. Whiteface

This was definitely a fantastic year for snow sports (if not for our collective seasonal affective disorder), and you overwhelmingly preferred to visit Jiminy and Gore to make the most of all that powder.

Best Ice Skating

1. Empire State Plaza Ice Rink

2. (tie) HVCC, Swinburne Park

We agree that it’s pretty awesome to ice skate right on the Plaza, but were surprised that the other indoor rinks didn’t get a little more love.

Best Bowling Alley

1. Playdium

2. Uncle Sam

3. Spare Time

This was a close one. Rock’N Bowl, Blacklight bowling, galactic bowling. Pretty much anywhere you can consume copious amounts of beer and call it a sport, right?

Best Pool Hall

1. Trick Shots

2. Golden Cue

3. Diamond 8

Golden Cue might be one of the oldest pool halls in the Northeast, but Trick Shots is by far your favorite place to sink your balls.

Best Bar

1. The Ruck

2. The Barrell Saloon

3. McGeary’s Pub

Y’all really, really love the Ruck. For so many reasons.

Best Hook-Up Bar

1. The Ruck

2. (tie) The Lionhart, Stout

4. Bootlegger’s

This was a landslide. Best bar, best beer, best wings AND best tail.

Best Gay Bar

1. (tie) Oh Bar, Waterworks Pub

3. Rocks

We love these places too, but where are the gay bars outside of Albany?

Best Wine Bar

1. Lucas Confectionary

2. Wine Bar & Bistro

3. Mio Vino

Its big, big win shows, again, that Lucas Confectionary has become a central part of the happening scene in Troy.

Best Happy Hour

1. The Ruck

2. (tie) McGeary’s, Bombers Burrito Bar

4. Wheatfields

The Ruck’s the one when work is done. What with all the beer and wings and hookin’ up.

Best Bar Staff

1. McGeary’s Pub

2. The Ruck

3. (tie) Finnbar, Brown’s Brewing Company

Tess Collins and her staff are friendly, fun and great at their jobs. That’s why they always win here.

Best Strip Club

1. DiCarlo’s

2. Nite Moves

3. Double Vision

Newly reopened and reenergized, the “new” DiCarlo’s is as popular as the “old” DiCarlo’s.

Best Sports Venue (Spectator)

1. Times Union Center

2. Joseph L. Bruno Stadium

3. Bleecker Stadium

Given that the TUC is home to Siena basketball and Albany Devils hockey, this was a lot closer than you’d expect. Why? The Tri-City ValleyCats deliver a great night at the ballpark. A nice shout-out from Twilight League baseball and Metro Mallers football fans, too.

Best Bar/Restaurant to Watch a Game

1. Recovery Room Sports Grille

2. Wolf’s 1-11

3. The Ruck

The name says it all: This popular chain is where you go to watch the big game(s).

Best Trivia Night

1. The Ruck

2. Bombers Burrito Bar

3. Nanola

Who’s the “Canadian sprint canoeist” born in 1946 who has the same last name as the winning establishment in this category? Wolfgang Ruck, of course.

Best Public Official

1. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko

2. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan

3. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Have we got a Democratic readership or what?

Best Citizen Advocate

1. Alice Green

2. Masai Andrews

3. Angelica Clark

Institutionalized racism was the civil rights issue this year, and your favorite advocates were all involved in organizing Capital Region responses to events in Ferguson and elsewhere. Dr. Alice Green took first, no doubt, due to her many years of service as founder and executive director of the Center for Law and Justice, and countless other achievements and recognitions in the areas of civil and criminal justice as well as community organization.

Best Animal Advocate

1. Steve Caporizzo

2. Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

3. Brad Shear

With his Pet Connection segments and off-air charity work, the ABC 10 meteorologist is generous in his efforts on behalf of animals.

Best Local Charity

1. Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

2. (tie) HUGS, Rescue Mission

4. Ronald McDonald House

You love your pets just slightly more than you hate cancer and homelessness.

Best Swimming

1. Grafton Lake

2. Lake George

3. YMCA

Outdoor lake swimming wins. The YMCA has that year-round thing going for it, but it also has all that chlorine.

Best Campground

1. Moreau State Park

2. Lake George

3. KOA

Go north, young men (and women). When the Capital Region goes camping, we like to get the hell outta town.

Best Suburb

1. Delmar

2. Colonie

3. Clifton Park

Compact, old-school Delmar wins again. And why not? Location, amenities, shopping and public transportation options are all first class.

Best Downtown (Living)

1. Troy

2. Saratoga Springs

3. Albany

Troy is the happening place to live, and you think so by a wide margin.

Best Downtown (Partying)

1. Troy

2. Saratoga Springs

3. Albany

Troy’s margin of victory was slimmer in this category. You may not afford to live in Saratoga, but you can apparently afford to drink there.

Best Up-and-Coming Neighborhood

1. Troy

2. Downtown Schenectady

3. Delaware Avenue, Albany

An entire city is not a “neighborhood.” Y’all are Troy crazy.

Holiday Gift Guide: Kids Stuff by Kathryn Geurin

We tend to have a knee jerk opposition to electronic toys in our house, favoring puppets and kazoos over Let’s Rock Elmo. But we are perfectly willing to acquiesce that good electronic toys can engage kiddos in open-ended play, and prepare them for a techcentric world—without making parents rip their eyes out and stick beans in their ears.

While tablet computers have a ways to evolve yet, their multitouch interface is an amazingly accessible introduction to the nearly limitless world of computers for the younger set, and kid-friendly apps abound. While we hesitate to recommend a “toy” with a price point that starts at $500, we do recommend crayola’s iPad-compatible Crayola ColorStudio HD ($29.99) if you already have a tablet, or will be tucking one under the tree. ColorStudio HD comes with an iPad stylus that looks like a Crayola marker, but which unlocks the accompanying ColorStudio app’s “paper,” coloring pages, music and animation. Little digital artists can mimic a variety of media—crayons, paints, pencils, markers and more. The app can differentiate between the stylus and tiny fingers to encourage creative manipulation, and kiddos can save and e-mail their creations straight to Grandma. Of course, the virtual version doesn’t replace real finger paints and markers, but it’s a great introduction to digital art, and—parental bonus—it’s mess-free. Although you might want to consider encasing your iPad in an Otterbox ($79.99), which will render it nearly indestructible, before you hand it over to the kids.

And while you may still fumble with the DVD remote, your budding computer programmer will likely take off running with SmartLab Toys’ ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover ($69.99). At first look, this little guy resembles a bevy of other toy robot buddies. This charming little rover has the potential to dance, navigate courses, deliver a treat to a pet or a personalized message to a family member, even carry a soda or guard a bedroom. But tech-savvy kids need to unlock that potential by actually programming ReCon themselves. The accompanying manual is an engaging intro to computer programming that starts out simple; the more advanced robot tricks motivate kids to keep learning.

Legos meet Light Brite with Laser Pegs, an award-winning glowing construction toy available in a variety of  different sets starting at $25. Once a single Laser Peg is connected to the power source, each block added to the ensuing creation feeds the next piece low-voltage current, which illuminates each peg with colorful LED lights. While model kits are available, the pegs themselves encourage the exploration of color and light and the construction of whatever you can imagine.

Of course, when it comes to toys, endurance says a lot about quality and fun, and what’s old-school to you is still new to a kid. Colorforms 60th Anniversary Edition ($49.99) is a rerelease of the original set that launched the beloved brand back in 1951 and earned a place in the Toy Hall of Fame. With 350 bold geometric stick-ons, a reversible two-sided playboard, and a bit of Colorforms history packaged in a spiral-bound book, it’s a nostalgic gift for adults and still a huge hit with kids.

Books and games remain go-to gifts for us, and a handful of top game manufacturers—including Colorforms creator University Games—have teamed up with classic children’s-book brands to create lines of fun, beautifully designed learning games featuring favorite storybook characters. University Games has partnered with Eric Carle and Mo Williams in a series of games based on Don’t Let the Chicken Ride the Bus and the colorful creatures from the Wonderful World of Eric Carle. You Hoo Can You Moo ($10.99) is a favorite in our house. Similarly, Briar Patch has a line of Goodnight Moon and Madeline games, and I Can Do That! Games has teamed up with Richard Scary’s Busytown, Curious George and Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat I Can Do That ($19.99) challenges kids to tackle feats as whimsical and wacky as the cat himself. Bundle a fun new game with a classic book and you’ve got the best of both worlds.

And just about as classic as it gets, eeboo’s Sidewalk Games ($8.50) is a clever packaging of traditional games including Skelly, a coin rolling game, London Calling, a fusion of hangman shuffleboard, and Potsy, a strategic sort of hopscotch. The set includes a rolling coin, sidewalk chalk and a book full of rules, game history and facts about the region of each game’s origin. Not all the games are well-suited to an upstate New York winter, but you can roll coins in the kitchen or paint a canvas Potsy court to ward off cabin fever in the living room with old-school flair.

And, of course, kids will forever delight in the enduring simplicity of wooden blocks, a bag of old scarves, homemade play dough, a tin can drum and a wax-paper comb or a shoebox full of tissue paper, buttons, paint chips and glue. Or give parents and kids alike the gift of a winter outing with theater tickets, museum memberships, or a velvet sack full of arcade tokens.  

Readers Picks PEOPLE & PLACES

Best Park

Washington Park

Thacher Park

The Crossings

 

Best Playground

The Crossings

Washington Park

Central Park, Schenectady

 

Best Day Trip

Lake George

New York City

Saratoga Springs

 

Your Opinion Counts

 

VOTE in the Metroland Readers Poll!  

Video Games Holiday Gift Guide

Every kid (and adult) with an Xbox 360 is going crazy this year for the Kinect. The peripheral allows players to control games with their bodies rather than being restrained by any handheld controller. The initial experience is thrilling. Drive a car by holding your hands in the steering-wheel position, jump through obstacle courses, box, dance, etc., while the Johnny 5-looking camera that is the Kinect watches your every move and takes your picture. Unfortunately, the software Microsoft has released for use with the device does not utilize its full potential. Microsoft has hinted that eventually staple games from the rich 360 library will be compatible with the device, a prospect that is truly exciting: playing Call of Duty by pretending to shoot an imaginary gun, running, jumping and climbing in Castlevania and so on. But so far none of these complex games work with the Kinect. The current slate of releases is similar to the Wii’s simplistic, child-oriented games. This does Microsoft no favors, as the system has earned a reputation as the choice for hardcore gamers. Even though the device may appear on a number of gift lists you get this year, I would recommend holding off on a purchase until there is a worthy slate of games.

The Best Intelligencer: Ye Olde Tyme Radio Hour

The Adventures of Dick & VJ: “Enthusiasm”

INT. THEATER/AUDITORIUM

A well-maintained but humble theater with a proscenium stage, which is set and lighted as if for a performance though the audience chamber is empty. The on-stage scene is the main sitting area of the AIRSHIP JACQUES CHAPEAU, the dirigible headquarters of our heroes DICK, VJ and THE DOCTOR. It’s equal parts laboratory, tree house, and rec room. It has a retro-futuristic feel: It’s Victorian, with brass fixtures and velvet, but it’s the Victoriana of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne—with a wacky modern element, as well. Old-fashioned telescopes, astrolabes, globes, taxidermy animals, etc., are paired with oscilloscopes, reel-to-reel machines, lava lamps, a disco ball and obscure blinking consoles.

DICK and VJ enter. Their attire is clearly suggestive of human genitals, though it is not overly costume-like: DICK is wearing a close-fitting tan coverall, large furry boots and a purple crash helmet. The fact that the helmet is visorless allows us to see that he has only one good eye; the other is covered with a patch. VJ is wearing an even tighter pink one-piece with a thin but visible seam from neck to crotch, and a pearl crash helmet, which is visible under the hood of her floor-length jacket of dark brown, wiry fur. They are already in conversation as they come on stage.

VJ: I help with yours. I’m just asking why you won’t help with mine. It might be nice if you help me get it on. And it’d be really nice if you’d help me get it off.

DICK: You’re too tall. It’s too hard to reach. My arm gets tired. And it takes too long.

VJ: You’re always in such a rush.

She pulls her hood back to reveal the pearly helmet.

VJ (CONT’D): Look, there’s not much of a trick to it, if you’re gentle and patient. You just need a little pressure and some rhythm . . .

THE DOCTOR enters. He is dressed in standard professorial/scientist garb: white lab coat over tweedy suit and bow tie.

DOCTOR: Dick! VJ! Welcome back, welcome back!

He hugs them each in turn, but the hugs are as much examination as affection. He pries open DICK’s one good eye. He reaches around him and squeezes. DICK coughs once, reflexively. The DOCTOR parts VJ’s coat, gently. She shivers.

VJ: God, your hands are always so cold.

DOCTOR: So, tell me, tell me how was the adventure?

DICK and VJ speak simultaneously.

DICK: Awesome!

VJ: Eh.

DOCTOR: Anything unusual to report?

VJ: I think we could improve our teamwork.

DICK: Ah, Doc, VJ’s such a slowpoke!

As DICK speaks he is pacing around the HQ, fussing with things on shelves, nearly knocking things over, making odd sound-effects noises, and doing karate moves.

VJ: Maybe there are some books he could read? Or you could prescribe some exercises?

DOCTOR: Oh, Dick is just an enthusiastic young adventurer, VJ. You’re a new team.

THE DOCTOR pats VJ’s arm reassuringly.

DOCTOR (CONT’D): And, yes, there are exercises.

DICK has been sparring with a taxidermy bear, which he knocks over setting off a chain reaction of things collapsing.

DOCTOR (CONT’D): And if those fail a heavy-duty numbing cream.

END.

--John Rodat

 

Metroland Holiday Gift Guide!

BOOKS!

TOYS!

MUSIC!

DVDs!

GAMES!

TECH LIFE!

LOCAL/GLOBAL!

Pictures of fun stuff we recommend:

 

(If you're wondering about the TOP image, I didn't write about Holiday CD's this year, as is my wont. Go out and buy, in a local used record store, an old holiday LP like this Firestone tire compilation instead.)

UPDATED to improve layout.