Your Brief List of Neighborhood Video Stores

It seems like just yesterday we were lamenting the death of Blockbuster. Now that everyone is suddenly OVER Netflix and their fascist rate hike, here's a brief list of neighborhood video stores where you can walk in, talk to someone, leisurely peruse their aisles of soon-to-be-antiquated plastic discs and maybe even take one home with you for a couple nights if it suits your fancy:

Four Star Video, Bernal Heights: Owner Ken writes lengthy blog posts about what he's been watching lately. It's kind of like having a nice chat about cinema with the movie store geek from the comfort of your own home. They also offer an Netflix-alternative Kenflix plan: 10 bucks a month for one DVD at a time, but you can swap discs twice in a month.

Top Video World, Sunset: At Judah and 9th Ave, you can keep 3 DVDs out at a time for $25 bucks a month. A little steep, sure, but you can go retro with your porn browsing and if you ever have a late fee you can blame it on the N-Judah like everything else.

Le Video, Sunset: If Top Video World Doesn't do it for you, Le Video has a 90,000 films and a rent-two-get-one-free deal. You have to pick the third from the War and Western Collection, but you probably need to expand your genre studies anyway.

Lost Weekend, Mission: The touchstone of independent video stores keeps the Staff Picks section alive online. Beat that, mysterious Netflix robo-recommendations!

Fayes Video and Espresso Bar, Mission: The selection is small, but there's coffee and you can pick up a hand-packed pint of ice cream from Bi-Rite down the street to set yourself up for some nice, locally sourced "Me Time".

Superstar, Castro: Speaking of "me time", Superstar has an adult section that eclipses it's regular selection, but it's still got a massive mainstream and independent library.

Poppa Opps, Richmond: Way out at Balboa and 39th Ave, Poppa Opps is an all-in-one video rental store and authorized FedEx shipping center, because why not?

Gramaphone, Russian Hill: On Polk Street, Gramophone insists their "grungy style and friendly staff" makes them one-of-a-kind. And here we thought every video store had a grungy style by default. Also: a large foreign section and "up-to-date" adult section.

Film Yard Video on Divisadero in the Panhandle will still rent to you for now, but they'll sadly be closing at the end of the summer - which means there are deals to be had for the possessive types out there.

In the East Bay, Video Room Tape & Laser Rentals in Piedmont has survived long enough to hold on to it's retro-naming bonafides. Kids and dogs are welcome. Also: free parking!

Surely we missed a hidden gem somewhere. Let us know in the comments.