Sonic Boom: A Music Lover's Paradise
Sonic Boom can be found in the Annex, close to the Bloor Street Cinema, and just east of Honest Ed’s and Bathurst street. This store prides itself on the brisk business of buying and selling used CD’s, DVD’s, vinyl and even audio cassettes and VHS tapes, but the quality, diversity and volume (particularly of the music) that comes through their doors beats most of its competitors hands-down. The owners of the store have reasonable standards for what they will buy, depending on turnover, popularity and condition, but will consider purchasing as long as the movie or album will play. They will clearly mark items with the label ‘scuff’ if they are scratched, and the price is lowered accordingly.
Though they do boast of an extensive DVD collection and make a point to order new music only available from independent labels in North America or UK-only releases, it is their used CD merch that is the most appealing aspect of the store. Regulars head straight for the unsorted bins close to the checkouts, where recent acquisitions are laid out depending on the day of the week they were purchased. There is no alphabetical or genre categorization, but music lovers delight in flipping through hundreds of albums to find gems, which are abundant (I seldom leave the store with less than three CD's). If you’re uncertain whether you wish to make a purchase (and the standard prices range from $7 to $9.99, which overcomes many doubts) you can sample potential buys at one of several listening stations to any used CD in the store. It’s not uncommon to find albums which were new releases that week or the week before, and the owners make a point of not filling their shelves with common, once-popular albums which often clutter up other used CD stores. If you’re interested in culling your own music collection, check out their website for the buying criteria. And the next time you feel like buying some music, head for Sonic Boom, where you can buy three albums for the price of one new CD. It’s definitely worth the trip.
Location: 512 Bloor Street West
Hours: 10 am to Midnight, 7 days a week, 364 days a year
Website: www.sonicboommusic.com
