I made a mistake recently. I think I opened a door to a world of bad ‘80s music hurt that I had been trying to keep closed. See, I went to Prex, and going to the Princeton Record Exchange can be both a rewarding and a disappointing trip for me.

It was late November that I went for the first time in ages — so long ago that I can’t remember when. Frankly, that’s too long to miss out on one of the greatest used CD and record stores I’ve ever seen. The reality is, I go for the records. I go for the $1 bins that are stashed on the floor beneath all the expensive records and under the feet of customers there to pay big dollars for a nice clean copy of some Replacements LP. I sit on the floor and risk losing feeling in my legs for the chance to look through probably a few thousand $1 records (and occasionally there might be some nice Princeton University student with a skirt on). Since the ‘80s are pretty much made for the $1 bins, I usually only find a handful of records that I don’t own, even with a nice turnover and only visiting once or twice a year. So I usually really look forward to going only to walk away slightly disappointed at my take. This time, not only did I not walk away disappointed, I might have opened the door to something I shouldn’t have.

As I’ve mentioned before, I own a hard copy of all but one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the ‘80s. I own maybe three-quarters of the rock charts, 60% of the R&B chart, maybe half the dance chart and by default, I own the majority of the Adult Contemporary and Bubbling Under chart. The one I haven’t mentioned here is the ’80s Country Chart. About two years ago I got the Billboard Country Chart book for Christmas, thinking it was time to move the collection in that direction as well, but I quickly found out that not only did I not own very much that was on the country chart, but that pretty much every record ever made in that genre seemed to chart. We’re talking four or five songs from every record and artists putting out records every six months. We’re talking a billion songs that hit #1 for only one week, therefore creating a tremendous turnover. We’re talking opening up a can of something that I didn’t have the money for. And then Prex happened.

Someone must have sold their entire ‘80s country collection to the Princeton Record Exchange just in the few weeks before I came. One after another, there was a $1 record that I didn’t have. I had to pick up at least 150 of these puppies before I didn’t think I could carry any more home. I probably could have had another 150 if I really wanted to. And while this was an extremely rewarding trip, I think I’ve now opened the door to collecting country music – something that I don’t want to listen to and will simply break me if I try to get all of it. Damn Prex to hell for being such a great store.

I have no country music for you this week, though, as we trudge on through the muck that is the ass end of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, with more G artists. (more…)