Obituary of my favorite CD shop: Stereo
Last December, the CD shop where I bought most of my collection closed its doors for good. I had seen it coming — the owner had been gradually winding down the business in preparation for retirement — but after nearly 30 years of shopping there, it was still a tough moment.
Stereo logo
This logo belongs to Periferic Records - Stereo Kft.. Back in the nineties, during my university years, I used to look for this logo at concerts, always hoping to spot a bearded man selling an incredible selection of CDs. Imagine my surprise when, in 2002, I attended a concert and discovered that the organizer was none other than that same bearded man — who also happened to be one of my second cousins!
From that moment on, I became a regular at the shop. The owner was a publisher of some of my favorite music, including Hungarian progrock and piano albums. Some standout names: After Crying, Vedres Csaba, and Solaris. While the shop specialized in progrock — with a selection unlike anywhere else — it also offered a wide variety of other genres.
When I received my first big paycheck, I went straight to the store and bought dozens of CDs. Today, streaming services like TIDAL and Spotify have recommendation engines, but back then, nothing could beat the personalized recommendations from the shop’s staff. More than once, I walked out with a free CD as a bonus, one of which became an all-time favorite: Townscream – Nagyvárosi Ikonok.
Unlike many music shops that play background music on low-quality systems, Stereo had StandArt speakers from Heed Audio. These speakers, almost as old as the shop itself, created an immersive listening experience. Though I often rushed in just to pick up an order, on the rare occasion that I had time, I would linger to listen — sometimes discovering new music to take home.
The website still exists, and you can get an ever shorter list of available CD titles by e-mail. In December, I spent most of my free time going through their list of albums, listening to samples on TIDAL and YouTube — nearly 1,500 albums in total. Through this process, I found some rare gems, including one CD I bought purely for its intriguing title: God-Sex-Money. Well, actually the description, “Recommended for Wakeman/Emerson fans,” sealed the deal :-)
Even now, whenever I’m near the old shop, I instinctively start walking toward it — only to remember that an important part of my life is gone forever. But it lives on in my CD collection and my memories.