Record Stores FAQ

1. What to look for

Typically, the "mom and pop" small stores, not the chains. The larger chains tend to carry just the completely mainstream stuff, and liquidate the non-sellers right away. Also, the chains don't usually have used items.
The harder to find the item (say, a tracked Lovesexy CD, or a mint Madhouse 12"), the more likely you're going to find it in an old, small, family-owned shop that's been around a while buying and selling items.

Originally I believe it referred to only unofficial live shows that were recorded, but the term generically now means any "unofficial" recording, live or studio. If the material is generally available or is composed of

Legally-speaking, yes. Morally, you'll have to decide for yourself. If you DO buy "bootlegs" or other unofficial merchandise (for example, t-shirts at a concert that are not printed/sold within the venue), realize that you're almost certainly breaking the law, and one way or another, taking money out of the artist's pocket.

Well, don't say "do you have any illegal recordings?" or "where are your bootlegs?"... the few stores that DO seem to have them tend to keep them in a section labeled "imports". Now of course, there are legitimate imports as well, usually singles, etc., pressed outside your home country.
Fewer and fewer stores are willing to take the legal risk of selling bootlegs, so it's rare to see them actually in a retail establishment (at least where I am, in the US West coast).

Hey, this isn't a "how to break the law FAQ", it's about record stores. If you want bootlegs, try eBay or alt.music.prince, or something. We don't condone them, we just acknowledge that they exist.