Rasputin Music is the largest independent chain of record stores in the extended San Francisco Bay Area, California. They have a cult-like fan base in Northern California and sell many rare albums and videos, as well as new and used CDs, LPs, DVDs, videogames, VHS and Beta Videos, Laserdiscs, CED Videodiscs, and books.
The store was founded as “Rasputin Records” in 1971 in Berkeley, California by Berkeley entrepreneur Ken Sarachan. There are currently nine operating locations around the Bay Area: the flagship Berkeley store on Telegraph Avenue, San Francisco, Mountain View, Campbell, Concord, San Lorenzo, Vallejo, Fresno, and Stockton. Two additional locations have opened up in the Central Valley cities of Stockton and Fresno.
The original Rasputin Music store in Berkeley is known for low prices on both new and used CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records. Its selection of new vinyl is unusually rich, as is its selection of used CDs and DVDs. Rasputin often features in-store performances by top musicians and bands, one of the reasons why Rasputin remains a destination for music and DVD shoppers and a general Bay Area institution.
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