Your cutout bin experiences

[aeroplane]

Most of you are familiar with the term "cutout bin" as seen in record stores and department stores.

For those of you who aren't, it is the process of cutting or drilling a hole into the spine of unsold (new) cassettes and compact discs before eventually marking them down to clearance prices. Typically this process is completed by putting all of these albums into a separate bin that is usually unorganized and kept away from regularly priced albums. (Perhaps this was also done with vinyl albums, though I never saw any of it).

You saw a lot more of this in previous decades than you do now, especially with the disappearance of the cassette as a viable music format for "new" releases. I bought a truckload of albums this way back in the 80's and 90's. Believe me, you can tell when you have them.

So my question is, what are some of the albums you clearly remembering purchasing from a music store's cutout bin?

What was the album? Where did you pick it up? When? How much did you pay? What was the format? Do you still own it?

All those memories are game and then some.

 

[LG]

I have seen those but I don't have any in my collection Aeroplane.

I am positive some of my old vinyl albums were from the delete bins, but most of those have long since gone up in smoke.

 

[Odysseus]

Indeed, vinyl was also staple of the cut out bin Aeroplane.

I scored several way back when. They were usually a mixed bag of well known bands and lesser known offerings.

For us around here, it was either Mainstream, 1812 Overture, Record Head (a mix of new and used), Musicland or Peaches. This would be between 1978-1986. With the exception of Record Head, all the rest are long gone.

It was sometimes a gamble to score an album from an unknown band or musician but I usually discovered my next favorite gem. Plus they were inexpensive to boot. A couple I remember are "Tomorrow" (1967). A fantastic album, chock full of psychedelic gems. One of Steve Howe's (Yes) early bands.

Another, in 1982, was "Time Of The Zombies", a double album collection of their unique back catalog. I only knew them from Time Of The Season, She's Not There and Tell Her No. The Zombies hooked me for life with that double album. It that was pure rapture, that one.

Interesting to note that all those records shops back then doubled as Head Shops as well. Those were truly the good old days....***:

 

[Soot and Stars]

Believe it or not I've found releases by The Barenaked Ladies, Team Sleep (Faith No More's vocalist side project), James Blunt, Phish, Bjork, Less Than Jake, etc. all in this format at my local dollar store! I'm always up for looking everywhere to get music deals and it pays off!

 

[Odysseus]

They have records or CD's at the Dollar Store Soot?

 

[Soot and Stars]

They have records or CD's at the Dollar Store Soot?

Lately, and it seems like it's based on a cycle of every couple of months like it's the albums that sold less than desired and had been ordered in a large quantity so they are sold to these dollar stores!

 

[Odysseus]

Hmmm, may be a few gems in there.

 

[LG]

I know what you mean Sooty, about seven years ago when I was shopping for groceries at Safeway, they had a bin filled willy nilly with CD's just thrown in a heap, but on the top was a copy of Styx's "The Grand Illusion", which I didn't have yet, so I picked it up, browsed through the rest and picked up a couple more, "Love Over Gold" by Dire Straits and an Abba's Greatest Hits compilation, all for 5 bucks. CD's were still about 15-20 dollars back then so I thought it was a great deal.

That is the only time in my life I have ever bought music in a grocery store...but the cases were perfect, not one hole drilled in them anywhere...which suits me just fine.

 

[Fever]

Two albums I remember buying are by City Boy-Book Early and Fotomaker.I think I bought them in the early 80s.

 

[Aktivator]

In the 70's and early 80's I went to a store in New Brunswick, Nj called Cheap Thrills. They sold rows of cutout bins, almost all albums in there were .99 cents and later on $1.99. There were tons of JEM imports in there I picked up almost every Brian Eno album in there and tons of Gong and Steve Hillage albums too. They all have the top right corner of the album clipped(hence cutouts)