Of course I don't go to those anymore (quiet, young 'uns! The adults are reminiscing!) but what is or was your favourite? For me it was The Sound Cellar in Dublin's Nassau Street. A veritable shrine to hard rock and heavy metal, which you reached from a small doorway, down a narrow staircase past a wall plastered with concert tickets and posters, getting darker and more smokier as you went, till you ended up in a basement that was badly lit and from which the thump of drums and the pulse of bass issued, along with the wailing of guitar solos and the growl of vocals with the odd keyboard solo thrown in.
A wonderland of metal, and you could browse through the albums, talk to the owner, listen to the latest releases or just chill with your mates. The owner, a guy called Tommy, was totally into the scene and would make regular weekly trips across the water to England to pick up all the latest imports, so if you wanted something you could ask him and he would get it for you. Unlike most record stores then or now, you could if you want ask him to put on an album --- new or old --- and he'd play it. You weren't expected to buy it (though he'd be happier if you did and would always try to convince you to buy something) but if you did the prices were always reasonable. He was (probably still is) always up for a discussion about music.
Hours would go by there, and I learned a lot just hanging around. It's still there --- probably only selling CDs now --- but I just don't buy albums in a shop any more. I hope he's still doing well though. Hope he's still alive: he was about ten years older than me I think, so he probably is.
The other one was Freebird, where you could pick up second-hand albums and often rare ones too cheap, and where when you bought the album they would let you examine it for scratches and marks. See any record shop still in existence doing this now?
I miss those places. Anyone else any stories about their favourite hangout?