Sonic Boom Records

The Story

This store opened in Fremont on September 26, 1997, founded by friends Jason Hughes and Nabil Ayers, drummer of the band The Long Winters. The decisive moment came when they invited Death Cab for Cutie for an intimate show launching their debut album Something About Airplanes, putting Sonic Boom on the Northwest indie rock map. Over the years, artists like Nada Surf, Joanna Newsom, and Stephen Malkmus have performed free shows at the store. One of the most remembered stories is of drummer Janet Weiss, from Sleater-Kinney, plastered against the window of the original Fremont store, trying to watch a show so crowded that the audience spilled onto the sidewalk. It expanded to three locations in Fremont, Ballard, and Capitol Hill before consolidating into only the Ballard unit. In 2010, Rolling Stone named it one of the best record stores in the United States. It was sold in 2016 to Mike Pitts, a longtime customer of the store, who continues to run the business. Still active.

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