Tower Records
Liquidated its U.S. stores in 2006 after bankruptcy; the brand later returned online.
Russ Solomon grew Tower Records from a corner of his father's Sacramento drugstore into a cultural institution, with vast, stay-open-late stores — the Sunset Strip and Greenwich Village locations chief among them — that treated records as a way of life. Famous for its yellow-and-red logo, knowledgeable clerks, and the magazine Pulse!, Tower was a hangout as much as a store. Crushed by CD downloading, big-box discounting, and heavy debt, Tower liquidated its U.S. stores in 2006.
Known For
- Sprawling late-night record stores
- The yellow-and-red logo
- Sunset Strip and Greenwich Village flagships