Jackpot Records 3574 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland OR 503-239-7561 www.jackpotrecords.com

Earlier this week I wrote about finding a favorite record, A Pagan Place, and triumphantly leaving the shop with my prize in hand. I was so giddy I forgot something. The next day I woke up and realized I had left my computer bag behind the counter. Yikes. Running in and reclaiming it was a beautiful thing. The people at Jackpot Records, one of Portlands very independent record shops, had very  carefully and kindly babysat the thing. Great customer service.

This record shop is one of  many on the Vinyl tour of Portland, Oregon. Just like in many cities around the world, we have many tucked away, peaceful gems that buy, sell and trade records, CDs and cassettes. Yeah, you can still get cassettes and take that chance. This store is really a boutique shop, quite small on Hawthorne street in Portland. The neighborhood is a sleepy hip place that reminds me of Berkeley back in the early 1980s. It features the usual, the rare, the not so rare, the playable records to replace the one you broke. Pricing is fair. Very small so it is just on a stop of the tour you will have to do that day.

The only improvement I could see is getting a slightly better turntable. I had trouble getting their model of Technica to allow me to sample off the tracks manually, it didn’t have the feature. I hate fighting a turntable.

I miss the days when all record shops had actual listening booths, don’t you?

If you come for a visit, look for the Portland Guide to Independent Record Stores brochure. There’s a great map that will go good with the brewery tour you will likely take. It kind of goes hand in hand.