Record Hunting in Boston: Looney Tunes

If you're a music lover and vinyl record collector living in or around Boston, Massachusetts, chances are that you've paid a visit (or several) to Looney Tunes Records. Located at 16 Harvard Avenue in Allston, this is one of my favorite independent record stores in Beantown. I can easily spend a couple of hours here on a weekend afternoon scouring through bins and stacks of records while engaging in conversation about all things music and more with Pat McGrath, Looney Tunes' owner for over 40 years. 

I first discovered Looney Tunes around 2008 when it was still located at its original address on Boylston Street just adjacent to the Berklee College of Music. I remember being amazed at the large selection of classical and jazz records, not to mention heaps of records of other genres. In 2012, the store closed after being at this location for over 30 years. Much to my delight, it reopened in 2017 at a new location in Allston.

You'll find the entrance to Looney Tunes in a small courtyard just off of Harvard Avenue. If you're walking along Harvard Avenue and reach Cambridge Street, you've gone too far. Look for the signs out in front ("Looney Tunes Gallery - Records Vinyl Albums - Bought Sold Traded"), or better yet, listen for the music belting out of the outdoor vintage speaker. Then follow the music down the flight of stairs to the garden level and voilà - you're there.

Most vinyl record stores I've been to don't have much classical music. The ones that do either have a small assortment (often relegated to a bin in the back, next to the soundtracks or easy listening sections) or a large mass of dusty, tired records (sometimes dumped in the basement), priced at $1 or less in an effort to get rid of them. In most cases, the records are disorganized and, basically, unloved, because the owners either aren't well versed with classical music or think that most of their customers will not be interested.

Not so at Looney Tunes. Owner Pat McGrath takes pride in his careful curation of the classical selection at his store. In fact, Looney Tunes was named as one of four noteworthy classical record shops in North America in the Autumn 2006 issue of the International Classical Record Collector. 

There's an entire corner in the back of the store that is dedicated to classical records. The bins are primarily organized alphabetically by composer, and there are also bins for "audiophile" classical. Below the bins are shelves of classical box sets, while up overhead you will find some showcased box sets on display, like a French Columbia set of Beethoven string quartets or an EMI set of Samson François performing Chopin solo piano works. Almost always, you will also come across additional, not-yet-filed, stacks of new arrivals, just awaiting for someone to explore them. Opera box sets, nearly all of which are pristine, occupy their own dedicated shelves further up in the store besides the jazz section.

While the selection varies from week to week (there is always more being added), you'll find everything from RCA Living Stereo, Mercury Living Presence, London FFSS/FFRR, EMI, Angel, Decca, Capitol, Columbia (CBS), Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Supraphon, Westminster, Telefunken, Archiv, and much, much more. You'll find historic mono recordings. You'll find Japanese reissues. Everything is very reasonably priced.

Pat has an incredible wealth of knowledge not just of classical music but of all kinds of music, artists, recordings, and recording history. Importantly, as a music lover, collector, and gifted musician himself, he's listened to so much music over the decades and will be more than happy to share his thoughts and impressions with you. He'll be the first to tell you that if you want to know which recording or pressing sounds best, don't just trust a reviewer's critique. Listen for yourself.

He also will guide you to "bargain" records that sound equally good if not better than the expensive originals. As an example, a couple of months ago, I came across a copy of Henryk Szeryng's French Odeon box set of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in a new arrivals box. Many of you know that this set sells for a lot of money on the used LP market. Pat saw me eyeing this and said, "Get the CBS Odyssey reissue. It sounds great and is only $15. Unless you really want to pay $750 for the original."

On another occasion, I was interested in finding a good recording of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Pat recommended the historic mono recording with Kathleen Ferrier, Bruno Walter, and the Vienna Philharmonic, a well-known reference performance. We found copies of the 1953 London 2 LP box set, the 1968 Decca Ace of Clubs reissue, and the 1968 German Telefunken-Decca reissue. Pat said to me, "Let's listen to all three and find out which one sounds the best." After sampling them on the store's turntable (Pat will advise you to stand in front of the large stuffed Peppa pig hanging in the center of the store, where the "sweet spot" is between the two widely placed speakers), we agreed that the Telefunken-Decca reissue sounded the best of the three, and that's the one I brought home that day.

Pat is a polymath and can engage you in conversation about pretty much anything ... literature, art, politics, theatre, film, history, philosophy, you name it. As I alluded to above, he is also a gifted musician, and if you catch him at the right time, he might just pick up one of the many guitars resting against the record bins and start playing and singing over a blues progression. He also recently produced a film documentary, "The Road to Ruane" (directed by Scott Evans and Michael Gill), about the late Boston music impresario Billy Ruane who passed away in 2010. "The Road to Ruane" was highlighted this past spring at the 2024 Boston International Film Festival. 

On weekends, you may run into Jules, a young, professional writer who also works part-time at Looney Tunes. She usually sits quietly back by the classical section. Jules will very kindly point out the new piles of classical arrivals. If you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of her cat Jane, who sometimes emerges from a hidden corner to take a nap atop a stack of records. 

If you ever find yourself in Boston, I urge you to check out Looney Tunes. Make sure you carve out some time in your day because it's very easy to lose track of time sifting through the treasure trove of records there. Pat McGrath is someone who truly loves music and records. I think it makes him happy when you find music that you love, too.