Value Village [Mississauga Ontario]

I have finally been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take this blog international! I had 4 nights spent in Mississauga while I worked in nearby Brampton.  My first stop here at Value Village was a pleasant accident.

I was told we would be working somewhere between 11am-11pm everyday so I wanted to make sure I had beer available to myself because the last thing you want to do after a 12 hour shift like that is to find out that there are no nearby places to get alcohol.  So I got off the plane and immediately took an Uber toward the nearest Beer Store.  I stopped for a delicious lunch I will not soon forget (and often miss) at Watan Kebab.  Then as I rounded the corner into the strip mall which housed the Beer Store, I saw Value Village.  I had already laid out a couple places on the map that I planned to try and make time to see but somehow I had missed this.  I wasn't even 100% sure that it was a thrift store initially.  And even if it was, did they have vinyl? I'd learn quite a few things pretty quickly.

Yes, it was a thrift store.  I had a hunch that this place was somehow affiliated with Savers and I later found that I was correct.  In fact, there are actually a handful of Value Village stores in the USA.  I also just realized I have been to one before, in North Carolina a couple years ago.  And as you can see above, yes, they have records and plenty of them!  Most interesting were what I immediately recognized as Canadian pressings of two vinyls I already own.  I was tempted to buy one or both of them but left them both behind, to some small amount of regret I still continue to be haunted by.

The pseudo hype sticker on the Roger Miller album immediately made it stand out to me.
Same for the yellow A&M box logo on Whipped Cream.  Both Canadian, through and through.

At a level not recently seen, or perhaps ever, this place had so many Goddamned Engelbert albums it was staggering.  Because I have some sick form of OCD I had to lay them all out on the floor in order.  The fact not revealed by this photo is that there was heavy traffic all around me as I attempted to first lay them out, in as close to order as I could conjure up under the circumstance, then to back away enough to get the angle I wanted.  No one said a word but no doubt they were inconvenienced for my sick pleasure which is this blog!

And as a footnote, his non-Parrot releases, save for the live album which I have of course categorized incorrectly.  You NEVER see 'Love Letters' in the wild, this was overwhelming to find.  Bear in mind these were all scattered through the bins so I don't know that a singular donor brought them here, perhaps all of Ontario just loves Enge that much? Does Enge love them right back, just as much? With the close proximity of vinyl, beer and kebabs, I know I do.

Charlotte Thrift Store Assault

I was scheduled to lay over in Charlotte on my way to Mobile Alabama. Plans were derailed by horrid Chicago snow which delayed my departure and caused me to miss my connection.

Without a moments hesitation I left the airport in search of vinyl. With over four hours to spare I knew I had time to do some serious diggin'. 

A glance at the map revealed three stores in less than a half mile radius. Took me about 20 minutes to tear through them all. The first two were adjacent to one another in a large strip mall. 

VALUE VILLAGE

I hate this style of rack so much...clearly designed for magazines, it forces you to bend the vinyls to see what is in the back. Didn't buy anything but found the three up front which I own....these are NOT normal thrift store finds and gave me great confidence and zeal for my remaining hunt. 

GOODWILL

Located directly next door, this was a big place and full of volunteers rooting through giant bins of used clothing, sorting like mad. But while I immediately found the CDs and books (the usual neighbors of vinyl in every thrift store), there was no vinyl to speak of!

I eventually did find the bin way in the back...and it was loaded with funds!  I don't generally look at used 45s unless they are well organized but there was a nice stash of jacketed 7 inches mixed in with the usual scuffed stacks. I grabbed two, largely because they were in their original label sleeves. One by the other not named Diamond, and a second by Dan/John. 

But the Engelbert rarities continued and culminated with the early 80s double disc, never before seen in a record or thrift store. Original inner sleeves and generally excellent condition to boot! I also found Roger's third in stereo (mint!) but alas I already own it. Catch and release!

COMMUNITY THRIFT

Taking its name from one of my all time favorite stores (a little closer to home), I did not buy anything here but contemplated one and marveled at another (as seen below).  Just had to manually add the comp which causes me further regret for having left behind.  Ouch.

They had an air tight policy on bringing bags into the store. I have no problem with this and have often offered my bag without being asked.  While they didn't use clothes pins, they fully padlocked my bag in a cabinet and gave me a ticket to prove its mine!

I'll be in Mobile in a few hours and hopefully can pull off the rare feat of vinyl hunting in two noncontiguous states in one day. Stay tuned....