Electric Fetus Ranked Among The 10 Great Record Stores In America, According To Spin

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis' iconic record store, Electric Fetus, has been ranked among the greatest record stores in America.

That's according to music website Spin, which put together a list of 10 of the greatest record stores in America. While there's no particular ranking of these top vinyl stores, the Electric Fetus is listed third from the top.

"Strange name, cool place. So cool, it was apparently the last record store Prince visited before his passing," Spin writer Jolie Lash said.

The list was released in honor of Record Store Day returning June 12 and July 17. Reckless Records in Chicago, Illinois, Music Millennium in Portland, Oregon and Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California are some of the featured stores.

The Electric Fetus opened in 1968, and those who run the store admit that the origin of the store's unique name has been lost to history. As a possible explanation, Lash noted that Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album was released in the same year as the store's opening.

In 1972, the store moved from the West Bank area of Minneapolis to its south Minneapolis location, and eventually expanded into Duluth and St. Cloud.

The Duluth location closed in May after 33 years of business. In addition to the pandemic, the Electric Fetus cited a water main break, road construction and the "changing retail environment" as causes for the closure. The St. Cloud location closed in 2014.

In the announcement of the closing of the Duluth location, the store said "we've decided to focus on our Minneapolis location exclusively and advance and evolve that store."

In 2018, Rolling Stone called the Electric Fetus one of the nation's best record stores.