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From The Desk Of Cowboy Junkies: Best Indie Record Stores Part 1

When Margo Timmins strolled up to the microphone in her low-cut black cocktail dress, wrapped in a scarlet shawl, with a rusty shock of hair draped over one eye a la Veronica Lake, even if you’d never seen Cowboy Junkies before, there was no mistaking her star power at the Villa Montalvo’s Garden Theatre in the summer of ’09. Timmins and two of her brothers, Michael on guitar and Peter on drums, along with bassist Alan Anton, have been doing the slow boil as Cowboy Junkies since 1985. As its name implies, the Toronto-based quartet specializes in quiet, ultra-slow tunes that might sound comforting to strung-out cowpokes hunkered down around a campfire after a long day rounding up stray dogies. Cowboy Junkies will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with Margo.

Peter Timmins: I have spent countless hours between load-in and soundcheck searching out independent record stores across North America. Here are two of my top four:

Soundscapes, Toronto
Located conveniently down the street from my house. The store owned and operated by Greg Davis has the inventory of a great record collection. You don’t have to sift through the Nicklebacks to find Nick Cave. There is no crap or clutter, just the best collection of CDs, DVDs, books and vinyl.

The Sound Garden, Syracuse, N.Y.
This store, which I discoverd recently, is full of crap and clutter with many hidden gems at incredible prices. A large store with generic blackened walls, this is a cross between a head shop and Newbury Comics.

Video after the jump.