The First and Last Record Store in Little Tokyo

May 28, 2012 • Yosuke Kitazawa

Record stores are making a comeback these days, as evidenced by the number of new ones popping up in the past few years. Many of them are heavily curated, boutique stores where mostly scruffy men flip through rows of albums at 100mph without saying a word—not exactly a salon for discussion on the latest topics. But historically many record stores have served as community and cultural hubs. Dolphins of Hollywood on Central Avenue, Sound of Music on Whittier Boulevard in …