Siren Records
529 Ramona Ave., Monterey
(831) 920-2801, www.sirentrading.com
This fall, Siren gave up its 1,000-square-foot retail space to move next door into a spot with a third less room, but their well-curated collection of classics (Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, Metallica’s Master of Puppets, Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique) and rarities (Bob Dylan’s Finjan Club, a three-record David Bowie birthday concert where the legend jams with Lou Reed, Robert Smith and Billy Corgan) survives and thrives. With less overhead, walk-in customers can now score records at near wholesale prices – if they can find the store. The space isn’t advertised from the outside except for a few music posters and a life-sized Elvis photo that adorns the door. The savings are a worthwhile tradeoff for the store’s new fluid, irregular hours (10am-4pm Monday through Thursday, 10am-1pm Friday) and the fact most records no longer have price tags.