Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Expedition to Sonic Boom
I had heard about a large, warehouse-sized used CD store somewhere in the city, but did not know where it was or what it was called until I read a piece about "Sonic Boom" in the last issue of Eye Magazine, which gave them a people's choice award for best used CD outlet.

It being a miserable rainy day, I thought I would go and head off to see what it was like and pick up a bunch of new tunes to rip for my hungry iPod.

Getting there was a breeze taking the TTC, despite the extreme sloppiness of the weather. Turns out it is in what used to be some non-descript department store a couple of storefronts west of the Bloor Cinema (somewhere else I haven't been to in ages).

It did not fail to please. a vast store filled with used CDs, and what must be one of the last major outposts of vinyl records and accessories from the previous analog era.

I started, just as everyone else seems to, by working my way through all of the new material that has come in during the past week, each day easily containing several hundred CDs of all shapes and sizes.

The prices were also easily the best of all of the used music shops I've been to in the city. In part that is due to their "we'll buy any used CD" policy, ensuring volume first, and also bringing in substantial variety as well. They also buy "scuffed" CDs, which means those which may look physically like a mess, but will likely still play perfectly well in most CD players. I read their FAQ beforehand, and there's a 7-day guarantee if things do not work out with a particular disc. IN any even, they all got ripped without any incident, so I am happy.

I ended up making most of my pop music choices from the things that had come in over the past week. I also snagged a couple of jazz recordings to please myself and hopefully Erika as well. This list of CDs I picked up are:

• Louis Armstrong: The Best of Louis Armstrong (one from the Millennium Collection series, which tend to be generic, but genuinely pick out some good stuff. The fact that it was remastered was the tipping point for me in getting this as opposed to any of his other CDs on offer there)
• Chet Baker: Stella by Starlight (have never had any of his stuff, and it’s about time I did)
• Ben Folds Five: Whatever and Ever Amen (something of a gamble; I like his stuff by haven't known which of his albums to get; this was there and it was cheap, what can I say?)
• Big Country: The Crossing (okay, wallowing in 80's era music; but remember that these guys were once lumped together with U2 in terms of their distinctive guitar sounds; probably the only album of theirs worth having)
• Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café (a real find as far as I am concerned; a late period album of theirs which I have found is hard to come by at a reasonable price)
• Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Sessions (something I used to have on record ages ago; fills a hole in my collection)
• Daniel Lanois: Acadie (something else I used to have in vinyl form ages ago, and have been dying to listen to again since)
• Hunters and Collectors: Collected Works (another descent into 80's retro, but worth it for having a fair copy of "Talking to a Stranger", and am interested in hearing what else they had to offer)
• Love and Rockets: Lift (later-era stuff from L&R that includes several songs that I’d like to add to my collection)

While I was there I also picked up a 45 RPM record adapter (the one provided with my vintage Sony turntable being long lost, likely during a move several years ago), and a dozen paper record sleeves to replace those that had gone moldy during a flooding incident a couple of years ago.

I didn't find all that I was looking for, and there are some higher prices on things that are the current trend (such as several copies of The Arcade Fire's two major albums that were used but on sale at near full-retail price), and there was less of a selection of classical CDs than I was hoping for. Presumably classical music collectors don’t tend to "recycle" their discs more readily than most collectors of pop do, or they get scooped up more quickly. Was also hoping for more comedy or kids discs, but other than the expected multiple copies of Weird Al Yankovich CDs, was disappointed at the relatively scant selection. They did have a decent selection of jazz however, well worth having a closer look at on a future visit.

A guilty pleasure, but a fun way for me to happily kill a couple of hours, and will happily be consumed on my iPod on the commute to and from work. Will probably make this the one and only spot I need to go to in order to buy CDs from in the future. The prices are good and the selection on the whole exceptional.