Contributed by Jason Tushinski

I love used book and music stores. Love them. But I must admit, I'm usually terrified that the second I walk into one, some snarly employee/resident snob will give me a quick once-over and politely ask me to leave the store, my cool quotient being far below the acceptable level.

Of course, this has almost entirely to do with my own ridiculous neurosis than anyone else's idea of who or what is or isn't cool. But at Babel Books & Music, located at 123 Ossington Avenue between Dundas and Queen, I was struck by the realization that the people who work there do so for the same reason I visit: they love books, music and culture just as much as I do.

This fact alone is one of the keys to Babel's success. When I popped in recently, whip-smart Babel employee Lisa Pereira told me that the passion to share amazing (and often overlooked) books and music is what drives Babel's co-owners, Tim Hanna and Randy Harnett. "We have a vested interest in what we sell, because we like it," Pereira told me.

What interests the folks at Babel is as varied as one could imagine, from firebrand essayist Gore Vidal's collection United States: Essays 1952-1992 (Pereira's current selection), to various books on Pop Art, not to mention the titles that fill the sex & drugs section located at the back of the store--and that's just scratching the surface.

Going beyond the surface is where one will find the random, eclectic and downright weird--precisely the stuff that defines the cutting-edge, while keeping thoughtful people interested. It is those people who Babel ultimately caters to, the ones who crave the stimulus that comes from discovering something wonderfully weird and new, be it a rare vinyl from hardcore punk legends Agnostic Front, or just rummaging through old rockabilly records. As Pereira told me rather matter-of-factly: "it's a culture shop, not just for entertainment. It's going beyond the fluff. We don't carry mainstream garbage here--if we do, it's to be well-rounded."

Perhaps Babel's most endearing trait is the lengths that Hanna, Harnett and Pereira will go in hunting down hard-to-find books and records for their customers. Pereira told me that the owners would gladly sell a book or record from their personal collections in order to let someone discover an unheralded literary classic or musical gem. Pereira told me that a book or record "doesn't need to just sit on a shelf," but should be shared. By extending the life of their own collections, Babel's staff offers their customers something that is all too rare today--the willingness to bend over backwards to ensure that a total stranger has a great experience.