Digital Underground

I love this place. I’ve never found another place like it. Although the era of CDs is pretty much over, this place still thrives on the fact that it carries some of the most difficult-​to-​obtain material I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I don’t think they really restock some stuff, which is disappointing if you lose a CD. They also have a pretty good collection of band tees.
The only thing I wish they sold was posters. I would love some reprinted vintage gothic rock posters.

Digital Ferret has is a great selection of goth, industrial and metal music. They also promote avante garde musical performances happening locally. There should be more CD stores like this.

A massive amount of darker alternative music. Also caries related products like books and magazines, collectibles, t-​shirts, and local art. Knowledgeable staff and larger store space are a plus.

Didn’t spend that much time in here, but stopped in with a friend of mine to buy tickets to Dracula’s Ball. He and I were both thrilled that we didn’t have to pay the $ 10 surcharge had we gotten our tickets through Ticketmaster, and even though Digital Ferret’s website said they had a limited number of tickets, we were happy that they had at least 2 left. From browsing around the CD selection it looked like it was mostly metal/​hardcore, which I’m slowly getting into, but we had other stops to make that day so we didn’t spend too much time browsing around, so I plan to check out the rest of what they offer the next time I’m back there.

May as well be the first to base to drop a review on the new location. I stopped in for their Fourth Friday art gala which featured the art of Larry West (quite possibly the only person with a mohawk to ever run for mayor), and as I walked in I instantly realized how much better the new location suits them.
Space was a serious issue for their old location because it seriously felt like the aisles where sandwiching you in after awhile, and they rarely had enough room to show off their clothing, books, and other items. But the new location is at least twice the size and gives them the much needed space to sell the other items. and as Fourth Friday revealed it gave them the chance to do a lot more like showcase art and bands.
if your not into goth/​industrial music (I’m recovering from it myself) then you’re probably not going to be down with a good 75% of the merchandise. But they are well stocked with plenty of obscure 80’s music (Remember «Rock Me Amadeus» by Falco? Apparently he has has 8 – 10 albums. who knew?). And they have plenty of music by the likes of Bjork, Patti Smith, and Ladytron to go through. And it’s a great spot to go for random gifts like Star Trek Vinyl and Cthulu dolls. So while it might not be for everybody, Digital Ferret does have enough to make it great.

I heard that they have a new location and are no longer on 5^th street. That is the shop that I have visited a couple of times.
This is a shop that specializes in goth/​industrial type of music. The most goth I get is from Bauhaus, The Cure, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, I am also big on Japanese music, including their goth/​industrial music (but not as much as other types of music). I was told by a coworker about 5 years ago that this place carried Japanese CDs. I’ve been here 3 – 4 times since then. I do not know if they still carry Japanese CDs.
The outside of the store made me feel uneasy, as if you weren’t into their particular scene and didn’t look the part, you would probably feel like an ass in there. So far, the folks have been pretty decent.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found copies of well known visual kei artists like MALICE MIZER, Gackt, and Dir en grey. If I remember correctly, these were the actual Japanese releases, not the cheap Chinese bootlegs so they were priced correctly. If you buy a Japanese CD from a site like CDJapan or HMV Japan, they usually run between $ 30-​$ 45 each, so the prices weren’t cheap but at least the CDs were there. Also, one of the times I was there one of the workers informed me that they do carry albums of other Japanese rock bands, but the German release so they aren’t as expensive, running the normal CD rate of $ 15-​$ 20 dollars. I think they have the German releases of Japanese bands like MERRY, MUCC, D’espairs Ray, possibly more.
Aside from Japanese CDs, they also carry Japanese DVDs. I purchased the Japanese import of MALICE MIZER’s Merveilles concert DVD for $ 70 (it was worth it, it’s an amazing show). They also have some Japanese magazines, stuff you can already find in comic shops or Hot Topic, like Gothic Lolita Bible (they may also carry other Japanese magazines, like Shoxx, but I didn’t see anything like Fool’s Mate).
I hope to stop by their new location and hopefully they still have Japanese CDs and DVDs for me to buy.

These days, Digital Ferret probably does most of its business on its mail-​order website, but, as the cashier herself put it, you have to store the merchandise somewhere, so you might just as well keep an open door.
Most of the stuff in the store is gothic and/​or industrial, and you find find most of it anywhere in the city. They have some generic metal, as well, but, like I said, their real business is this super-​obscure stuff, a lot of it imports.
Don’t expect to be treated like a king/​queen in the shop. Customer service doesn’t really go with the gothic schtick.