Ed. note: This is the latest in a when-I-feel-like-it series of meditations on “third places,” spots to spend time that aren’t home or work.

The best record store in St. Petersburg is Daddy Kool Records. Bananas Music has a better selection (actually an enormous selection), but something about Daddy Kool reminds me of record stores of my teens and twenties: dusty affairs with big selections of new and used CDs and vinyl.

What makes a record store a third dimension? As I wrote before, the barrier for entry falls at or under the cost of a movie ticket. In short, cheap, public ways to kill time.

A record store may not offer a lot of stimulus for the non-music fanatic. But, a person incline to purchase anything from jazz to country to hip-hop can spend hours thumbing through stacks. I fall into that category, and shudder to think how many weeks of my life I’ve spent digging through dusty crates of music. In college in East Lansing, Mich., I went to Flat, Black & Circular so much they could’ve charged me rent. After I moved to the Ann Arbor, Mich., area my disposable income went to Wazoo Records and PJ’s.

Wait, you keep talking about spending cash. That doesn’t sound like a viable third dimension.

Yes, I’ve dropped more than my share of ducats in record stores - and probably your share too. Just as often, I’d spend time but no money. The soft, dusty act of running my fingers through vinyl LPs offers a meditative comfort. The clacks of jewel cases as I speed through the used CD selection lends a sort of inspired energy.

Today, I spent $16 and two hours in Daddy Kool. If I hadn’t gotten greedy, I could’ve just as easily spent $8 (the theoretical threshold for a third dimension). The titles I bought today: The Coup’s fourth release
Party Music and The Replacements’ Don’t Tell a Soul.

A big-boxish mall store might have stocked both titles, but not for $8 a piece. A big-boxer also wouldn’t have offered the kind of personal service that a store like Daddy Kool can. The clerk at Daddy Kool gave honest, informed opinions on each. He also hipped me to a couple upcoming concerts he knew I’d want to know about. Of course, being on a first-name basis with the guy behind the counter helps.

Readers probably noticed that I opened this post with the term “record store,” even though vinyl long ago lapsed as the dominant format. Old habits are hard to break. As digital distribution grows into dominance, I hope iTunes Music Store and other sites don’t force me to give up the record story experience. It stands as one of my favorite third dimensions, and clicking through the tracks on a download site just doesn’t have the same feel.

P.S.: Daddy Kool will be moving from their Central Avenue location to a yet-to-be disclosed new storefront at the end of September. A developer plans to raze the whole block to put up yet another condo tower. I wish them luck with their move.