Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to scour their sonic-led memories to pull out the three albums anchoring their musical tastes.

As a vintage picker, store owner, designer, baker, and the kind of person with nonstop creative energy, it’s no surprise that the woman behind Whistler’s Velvet Underground shop, Amy Rafferty, has eclectically cool taste in music. From blacking out explicit language warnings to nostalgic walkman albums, check out some of her “OG favourites”…

Fugees | The Score

I got this CD as a Christmas present when I was 11. I think I wanted it for “Killing Me Softly” but when Mum got it for me, and I started playing the whole album, she realized it had a bunch of swearing in the lyrics. She made me blackout the “explicit language warning” with a marker and try to return it to the store – so embarrassing! Thankfully, they didn’t buy her dodgy story and I got to keep it! It’s been one of those albums that grew on me as I grew up. Different tracks resonated more at different parts of my life, and I still love it to this day.

The Doors | LA Woman

I think I actually had this album on tape – I probably stole it from my Dad’s collection. I remember listening to it over and over on my walkman during long car trips to the snow. Like Fugees’ The Score, this album grew with me and meant different things to me as I grew up. When I had my clothing brand, I used to stay up drinking and sewing all night (I called them “sewing benders”). This album was a key part of those nights and my creative process.

Nirvana | MTV Unplugged in New York

When I was 10, my parents had some people squatting in a rental house they owned. When they eventually left, they left behind a bunch of their belongings, including a Nevermind CD. That was my intro to Nirvana. Throughout my teens I was super into R&B (like Ja Rule, Eminem, and Boys 2 Men); then, in my 20s, I was all about rap. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I got back into listening to Nirvana and found MTV Unplugged on Spotify. Something about the classic Nirvana style with the acoustic vibe is what does it for me.

Follow @shop_velvetunderground on Instagram to stay up to date on pop-ups, events, and updates on the newest brick and mortar, opening soon!