I recently got to visit the best record store I've found around Atlanta, Criminal Records. The store is located in the Little Five Points neighborhood of east Atlanta and it's a nice mix of new and used vinyl, comics, toys, and just about everything...except trading cards.
It was pretty hard not to notice that they had changed out the signs in front of the store and had added a great map of Georgia that roughly shows where some of the famous musicians from the state are from. Musical greatness might be Georgia's greatest claim to fame and just taking a look at some of these names you may understand why.
Here's a breakdown of some of the most famous Georgian musicians. Many were born here and some made their names here. James Brown was born in South Carolina but got his start in Georgia. The battle for most important musical Georgia town is between Athens and Macon. Macon has the one two punch of Little Richard and Otis Redding while Athens has an amazing quantity of stars from R.E.M. to The B-52's to The Drive-By Truckers to Neutral Milk Hotel.
Here is a more comprehensive list of the bigger stars.
Allman Brothers Band - Macon
Black Crowes - Marietta
Drive-By Truckers - Athens
B-52's - Athens
Gladys Knight - Atlanta
Gram Parsons - Alanta
James Brown - Toccoa
Little Richard - Macon
Indigo Girls - Atlanta
Otis Redding - Dawson/Macon
Outkast - Atlanta
Ray Charles - Albany
R.E.M. - Athens
Widespread Panic - Athens
