During my back half of high school and first year of college in the late-80s, I worked at a strip-mall store called Budget Tapes and Records in Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota. It didn’t pay much, but was definitely one of the coolest jobs around. When I started, CDs were still sold in “long boxes” and beta videos and vinyl were on the way out. And yes, we also sold tobacco accessories for use with tobacco and only tobacco. Tobacco.

So imagine my surprise when I was flipping through an old Rolling Stone magazine and found a full page ad for an earlier version of Budget Tapes and Records. Full page. Rolling Stone magazine. Daaaaaaamn. Also, it appears they were way cooler back then.

Note: Even though the Eighties-era Bismarck and Fargo stores weren’t as cool as the 1971 stores, they were still much cooler than the Williston, North Dakota store. Yeesh.

Another note: Hey! My old boss (and his brother) made it into Billboard magazine back in the day!

Whew. Lots of memories coming back from this gig, few of which I’d share here. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

The ad copy:

Spaced out Prices

Budget Tapes & Records

Los Angeles
Houston
Denver
Atlanta
Dallas
Phoenix
Denton
Colorado Springs
Austin
Fort Collins
Greeley, Colo.
Boulder
Nacogdoches
Raleigh, NC.
El Paso, Tex.
Athens, GA.
College Station Tex.

Albums
$2.59
Reg. 4.98
Where law doesn’t prohibit.

Tapes
$4.99
Reg. 6.98
Where law doesn’t prohibit.

Nation’s Fastest Growing Record Stores
For franchise information: (713) 522-0804 – C. Howard

R. Sharp (artist)