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Electric Fetus

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2000 4th Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55404

612-870-9300

http://www.electricfetus.com

10 User reviews Write A Review

Best CD Store (New)
Award Winner 2011

2000 4th Ave. S. Minneapolis MN 55404

2011 | Best CD Store (New)

The Electric Fetus is a musical gem, not just a music store but a Twin Cities institution. Founded in 1968, it has weathered time, a changing music industry, and even a tornado, and it is still the place to find that CD that no one else in the Twin Cities seems to have heard of. The Fetus boasts upward of 65,000 titles in its inventory, running especially deep in rock, jazz, R&B, and hip hop, and its friendly, music-savvy staff will happily order albums for customers when they're not... More »
2010 | BEST CD STORE (USED)

There are used CD stores that have larger selections than the Fetus, but in an age when most heavily involved music fans get their music online (legally or not), selection isn't really the point. A CD store isn't a conduit for acquiring music anymore, so much as a mecca of local music culture. Shopping at Electric Fetus, you can bump shoulders with members of some of the Twin Cities' best bands--and if you're there on the right days, a few will be manning the checkout counter. The... More »
2010 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Yes, the store smells fantastic, a blend of hippie soaps and patchouli and incense that sticks to a shopper's hair for hours after leaving, and yes, the creaking floorboards and exposed-brick walls and posters make it a beautiful and homey place to kill an afternoon. But the ambiance of the Electric Fetus is only icing on the cake. The real reason music diehards return to the store time and time again is the massive selection of CDs. Compact discs, remember those? The Minneapolis mainstay... More »
2009 | Best CD Store (New)

As much as pundits and bloggers obsess over the slow death of the CD as a marketable product, you never have a problem finding a crowd of browsers and buyers at Electric Fetus. And not just on days when they have one of their vaunted in-store performances, either: With a 41-year history and a sterling reputation among Twin Cities music fans, it's always a great place for a new-release acquisition trip or just a spontaneous impulse-buying spree. You can find everything from inexpensive... More »
2008 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Whoever first observed that location is everything obviously never stepped inside the Fetus. Our community's most venerable purveyor of pre-recorded audio media couldn't be tucked into an odder pocket. How to explain its 40 years of glorious success? "Parking, parking, parking!" maybe, or better still, "inventory, inventory, inventory!" Sure, Cheapo boasts more square footage, Treehouse and Roadrunner have way more to offer adventurous listeners, and neither Vital Vinyl nor Fifth Element are... More »
2007 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Fetus offers the sort of knowledgeable and attentive service that one rarely finds at stores of its size. If you're trying to hunt down a CD, you won't get a sighing, "If it's not out there, we don't have it," but rather an escort to the proper section, an escort who, if that first measure strikes out, will research the album's availability, check the store's basement inventory and used section, and generally take great pains to get you that damned record. If you're looking for an extensive... More »
2006 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Though it hosts its share of in-stores and attracts music geeks of various passions, the Fetus isn't a hangout; it's too big and busy for proper record-counter breeze shooting. (Or to trot out an old joke: No one goes there anymore--it's too crowded.) The store's non-hangout status is possibly a point against it, since superstores and the internet have delivered near-fatal blows to record-store culture, which has historically been good for scene cultivation. Fortunately we still have... More »
2005 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

This 37-year-old retail pioneer doesn't have the mom-and-pop vitality of Treehouse or Fifth Element (or its younger self), but for eclectic music lovers, the Fetus can't be beat. Here you'll find the Twin Cities' best and deepest selections of jazz and R&B--winding racks with a smart blend of recent fare and catalog essentials. The store's rock section is also extensive, and we're grateful that it's not broken up into sub-genres like it is at Cheapo (where one has to decide whether MC5... More »
2004 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Dig if you will past issues of Best of the Twin Cities, and you'll find the Fetus is the perennial champ in this category, which is fitting, because the one-stop by 35W acts as the sun around which all the legendary Minneapolis independent record stores orbit. Still, after all these years, we should probably come up with another category for the place---like best staff, best stocking stuffers, best paraphernalia, best posters, best place to get inspired, best place to meet and fall in love... More »
2003 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

"We cater to the lifestyle of the music geek," a clerk said on a recent visit to the Electric Fetus. Absolutely true. As you walk in, you're greeted by the smell of incense (warning: this might trigger flashbacks in those born before this date in 1970) that once wafted through the headshops of yore. The first music you see after passing through the pipes and posters is what the geeks seek most: new releases. Hundreds of 'em. Add those to the catalog discs filling the bins and you've got... More »
2002 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

Long before High Fidelity, music-store clerks had generated a bad rep, sometimes justified, sometimes not. The Fetus maintains a high-quality staff (many members of which play a major role in keeping the local music scene wobbling along) and consistently restocks its wide-ranging shelves (which feature the most expansive jazz, rap, and rock selection anywhere in the state). Not only can these folks often answer the most specialized question you have, they can answer your ultra-dumb ones,... More »
2001 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

We know you don't really need to be told for the umpteenth year in a row that the Electric Fetus is the best damn music store on the planet. They have an astounding selection, sub-Best Buy pricing, a staff that's low-key enough to let you browse for hours but be instantly available if you should need their encyclopedic knowledge of music. But there's another reason we frequent the Fetus almost as often as our neighborhood watering hole. These guys love this stuff as much as we do--maybe... More »
2000 | BEST CD STORE (NEW)

The reputation of this local retail landmark (and multiple Best-of winner) precedes it. Yes, staffers at the Fetus still know everything--or, at the very least, a hell of a lot more than you know--about records. (And if they don't, they'll fess up.) Yes, the shop still stocks a blindingly eclectic and infinitely tasteful selection of CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and videos. Yes, its low-pressure vibe and listening stations place it among the city's top three storefronts for a three-hour browse in... More »

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citypagesbestof | Minneapolis, MN | 145 Reviews

4
| Wed, May 6, 2009

Whoever first observed that location is everything obviously never stepped inside the Fetus. Our community's most venerable purveyor of pre-recorded audio media couldn't be tucked into an odder pocket. How to explain its 40 years of glorious success? "Parking, parking, parking!" maybe, or better still, "inventory, inventory, inventory!" Sure, Cheapo boasts more square footage, Treehouse and Roadrunner have way more to offer adventurous listeners, and neither Vital Vinyl nor Fifth Element are touchable in dance music and hip hop, respectively. But the Fetus has incomparable range—especially in rock and jazz—not to mention a ridiculously sale-infested calendar, an unusually fertile used section, steadily swelling vinyl bins, and a dazzling array of gifts and "lifestyle accessories" that has served as ancillary customer bait since the store opened its doors in 1968. At a loss for a last-minute wedding gift? Pick up a copy of Harry Smith's sumptuous Anthology of American Folk Music ($80.72), and toss in a scented candle and/or bong. You'll have the lucky couple thinking you're the smartest thing in the universe for the rest of their natural days...unless they split and have to decide who gets which discs.
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chrisfrost508 | Minneapolis, MN | 4 Reviews

4
| Thu, September 17, 2009

Good place to pick up movies, music and random shit. Get your tickets here for a reasonable price.
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patricia_lopez56 | Norwood Young America, MN | 2 Reviews

4
| Sun, September 6, 2009

Pretty cool place,it's got a bad rap as a head shop.But that's not fair.
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