Goodbye Tower Records

I remember the first time I visited a Tower Records store. It was during a trip I made with my father to San Francisco. I was a San Juan teenager used to struggling to find a rock record at local stores. I remember going to La Gran Discoteca in la Calle Cerra and asking for an Elvis Costello record and seeing the face of the guy that worked there wondering what the hell I was talking about. And that was THE record store here.

So imagine my amazement when I first entered that Tower Records store and saw thousands and thousands of records. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was the most wonderful place on earth. I remember what I bought that day: a UK edition of The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" that contained a small booklet with photos. I also bought a classic single The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations". It was the disco era of the 70's but I was hooked on 60's rock. Here was a place where I felt at home. A place where I was not an outsider. Yes, Tower Records understood me.

I visited San Francisco several times and would always visit that store near Fisherman's Wharf. I had visited other record megastores during those years , but there was something cool and no-nonsense about Tower Records. There was a California laid back feeling to it, there was a certain honesty to them.

So I was saddened to read that Tower Records is closing all its stores. They couldn't face competition from Best Buy and Amazon and decided to call it quits.

So goodbye, wonderful, magical Tower Records. The teenager in me will always remember you.