Avalon Music

Vinyl section is pretty small. Hardly any punk rock. And the stuff they had was all fat wreck and epitaph. Nice employees though. And they had a decent bargain section. Just wish i would have found more than i do at half price books.

A really cool place with lots of interesting pipes, posters, stickers and other paraphernalia. What isn’t interesting is their standard selection of the same old boring reissues that you could find across the street at everyday music. Really cool place, just a bad selection of older collectible records.

Just bought a sweet cobalt blue water pipe and first thing I did when I got home was smmmaasshed my bowl piece by dropping it on the ground like a dummy. I came back and the man helped me get the pipe back rippin’ again for a great bargain. The gentleman at the counter was very low pressure and seemed to know that good glass will sell itself. Just took my first test of this beautiful and simple pipe and it works, well. Thanks Avalon!

Decent used vinyl and CD selection, lots of bootlegs. Expect to leave here smelling like incense.
Out of the two guys working there today, one was very friendly while the other was your typical rude hipster suffering from a lack of basic customer service skills and whose vocabulary does not include «hello» and «thank you». We unfortunately got the latter to ring us up. He spoiled an otherwise pleasant experience.

Avalon, I love you so much =) Your wonderful posters, Your extravagant tapestries, Your adorable stickers Not to mention your extensive and not-​expensive «other» half of the shop I spend about 50 bucks there once a month AT LEAST for the past 2 and a half years XD
The service is AMAZING. So friendly, constantly. Always helpful, and cheerful and easy going! Its hard not to just stand there and tell the other customers to go away, your having a wonderful conversation!

Saying these guys are friendly and low-​pressure is a huge understatement. I’ve probably spent a few hours in the last couple of weeks just hanging out there and looking around, and I spent about $ 2. I went back and they were JUST as helpful when I finally made a decent purchase, even though it was small. They’re great conversation, know their stuff, and EXTREMELY low pressure. I’ve never dealt with the music side of things, but it’s an EXCELLENT head shop. Protip: Look OVER the counter. Some of their best deals are behind the counter on the floor, just hard to see. You can get a decent smoking setup of any type for cheaper than anywhere else in town.

The best, absolute best place to get new music. The staff is very knowledgeable about many different genres. They guided me to finding the newest music that was right for me.
One employee, Neil, was very helpful. He provided excellent conversation about the pros and cons of many different rappers and why I might like certain albums over others.
Before today I was a devout customer of silver platters, but now all I see is Avalon.
They even introduced me to new genres based on my taste. I love rap, and they showed me rock that I now listen to just as much. Knowing that places like this still exist gives me hope for the CD industry, it’s certainly not dead yet

I noticed this store across the street from EM Music ’cause there was a large record in the window. With a few hours to kill before the Metric show, my best friend and I decided to do some more record shopping.
The store is a complete 180 from EM music, a refreshing cultural change.
There’s more vinyl. The décor is very stoner hipper which brings back memories of back in the 90’s when Granville Street (in Vancouver, BC) used to be a punk, grunge, skater cultured shopping district. It was like being in a time warp.
They had some RSD releases still, one in particular that I was looking for on RSD which was the Buble/​Ray Charles «Georgia on my Mind» that is supposed to smell like Georgia peach, however, it was sitting too long in the plastic sleeve, therefore, it smelt like plain vinyl with a faint peach smell similar to those Maynard’s fuzzy peaches. Still a good find.
I found in general their left over RSD selection to be more organized than EM across the street.
The store is divided in half; records on one side and rollies and bongs on the other. The store also had the smell of incense. I am very familiar with that smell as the Underground in Vancouver back in the 90’s used to smell like this, therefore, it was a trip down memory lane for me.
The staff are awesome and super friendly and have magnetic personalities, a complete 180 from what my best friend and I had discovered minutes before at EM Music.
Without the struggle for negotiation as I had to do at EM Music, they gave my best friend and I the Metric show poster. They were so awesome and kind about it that it shocked me. They really appreciated that we were like kids in a candy store.
Awesome selection of picture discs and posters on the wall. Too bad the Strawberry Shortcake picture disc was display only.

I bought my record player here and it was having some problems, so I took it back into the store to have them check it out. They replaced it for free, no questions asked! The guys who work here are super helpful and will go out of their way to help you find what you’re looking for. I mostly go here to look for vinyl. Their prices are sometimes a little bit more than Everyday music right across the street, but I don’t mind because I just like supporting this business and their customer service is way better. I’ve also found some pretty rare vinyl there, and if they don’t have what you’re looking for they are always glad to try and order it from their supplier.
This store is also a «head shop» so they have quite a nice selection of glass pieces and things like that.

Amazing vinyl selection, and my go-​to place for screens, papers and Christmas gifts for the stoners in my life. A no-​nonsense music store circa 1977, complete with friendly staff.

Friendliest music /​headshop in bellingham. I mostly go in to look at the glass bongs, pipes, stems, and percs.

Ok, so about half the store is a ‘head shop’ and with that they have the requisite Bob Marley posters and tapestries and whatnot, but I shop there for vinyl. They don’t have a massive selection like some of the stores in Seattle or Vancouver, but they are the nicest record store guys in town. Their used prices are very good and they have ‘ok’ prices on new vinyl. You’re not going to save money by shopping at Avalon but to me that’s not always the goal. It might cost a few dollars more verses buying vinyl online and I’m will to pay that to help keep a cool independent store around. Is it a destination if you don’t live in Bellingham? Maybe not, but it’s the best record shop in town if you’re local.

haven’t been in a while, but i do love their glass pieces and it seems like i always walk away happy!

This place is primarily a music shop, but they also offer some really intriguing glass art. And by glass art, I mean bongs, pipes and hookahs. They have an amazing music collection, though. The most important artists to listen to, including some rare finds (EPs, singles, import CDs you can only find online, etc.). They also sell gynormous posters of everything from Al Pacino to Radiohead to Monet to lesbians making out. Ah, a typical hippie store with above average music. Also, I once went there to find a local musician’s latest album and the guy took down my phone number and told me he’d call when he could «find the album.» Naturally, I though he would throw the scrap of paper in the trash the moment I left the store. Two weeks later, I recieved an unknown call on my cell and it was him, telling me he was holding the new Kristin Allen-​Zito CD. That is not a man with short term memory loss, kids.