I spent most of today (aside from tonight's show) adding up my deductions for my 2009 taxes. It's a long and tedious process, but at the same time it's rather nostalgic and a fun way to document the year. It can be a frightening recap, I've realized I spend money... a LOT of money! Luckily everything I love spending money on can be, in one way or another, a deduction due to the industry I work in!

I am able, for example, to take a percentage off of my tax payments for buying music because it's considered research. I can also write off the two new (and stomach-upsetitng-ly expensive) guitars I bought this past year. It's legit and, in a way, it's instilling my belief in a god. I've noticed one of my favorite things to discover in the different cities we play are the record stores. I buy a lot of CDs and I think it's because I've stubbled upon some of America's finest, and for the most part independently owned, music stores.

Here is a ranking of my top five favorite Record/CD stores I've spent a good protion of my paychecks in:

I've been to all three locations and I'd have to say my favorite is in San Francisco. But in general, I love Amoeba because of the selection it offers and the insanely cheap prices that you can find. I think it's safe to say I've contributed over $300 to Amoeba's yearly income. And you know what? I'm not ashamed.  Among my collection of Amoeba purchased CDs are most of REM's catalogue (and I found a lot of them for under $4!!) Green Day's newest 21st Century Breakdown and Volcano Choir starring Justin Vernon of Bon Iver

I went to two of the three locations in Chicago - both with an awesome selection. I'm not sure the damage I did at Reckless, considerably less than Amoeba because we were only in Chicago for two weeks, but I'd say it was easily close to $150. I've discovered so many great albums thanks to their selection and prices - most notably Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel"