Amoeba Records

Business Week has a nice article on my favorite record store:

More than selection distinguishes Amoeba. The company doesn't take retail display allowances from record labels, so the CDs that get displayed are the ones staffers enjoy. Those 520 staffers know their stuff: Before being hired, each one must listen to a random box of CDs, then brief Weinstein on the artists. Employees make between $9 and $20 an hour, with Amoeba paying half their health insurance premiums after six months. After two years Amoeba foots the entire bill.

I can spend hours in their stores, the used CD collection is unbelievable. Here is a 3-store chain that employs knowledgeable and passionate people, and pays them better than their national chain counterparts. Best part of it is, they are making loads of money doing it.