For the vinyl enthusiasts


When traveling to different cities, I like to track down local record stores. I live in the Detriot area. There is a wonderful store dedicated to used vinyl. Car City Records in St.Clair Shores. on Harper Road Between 9 mile and 8 mile.

They have an awesome selection, If you like classic rock, jazz, alternative or classical. They have thousands of titles to look over. They also sell a very limited selection of used titles. I have had very good luck with the used records. They average between $5-$10 dollars. Very clean records for a used shop. I would guess that about 70 percent of the music I find there is very playable.

I am asking other vinyl enthusiasts to list their favorite record shops in the cities they live in or have visited.
128x128johnjbarlow
Sebastopol California, Incredible records, mostly CD's but in the past 6 months or so it has added quite a lot of vinyl and for me is only 5 minutes away
Flint, Michigan..."Jelly Bean", 3 stores and thousands of used LP's (around $3 for the most part.

They are also on-line.

Dave
Philadelphia...
In the city:
Philadelphia Record Exchange, 618 S 5th St (215.745.4151)
...(large collection of all types of music)
Book Trader, 7N 2d Street (215-925-0517)(great for classical)
AKA Music on 2d Street between Market and Race Streets

In the western suburbs:
Gold Million Records, Lancaster Ave (Rt. 30) in Bryn Mawr
Shady Dog Records, Lancaster Ave (Rt. 30) in Berwyn
.
I go to the Wooden Nickel on N. Anthony Blvd. (just off Coliseum) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. They have a good selection of some new but mostly used vinyl at very reasonable prices.
Minneapolis, MN:
Cheapo Records at 1300 W. Lake St.
Landspeed/Roadrunner Records, 4304 Nicollet Ave. S
Perhaps, just as helpful, would be stores to avoid. There are two major vinyl shops in Denver: Wax Trax (cool name) and Twist and Shout. Both suck. When you walk in the door to either dingy, odoriferous establishment, the clerks are wiping the new stock with a greasy felt cloth. The manager at TnS is arrogant and unpleasant. I've had the best luck by far on the 'net. So long brick and mortar.
Amoeba Music and Rasputin Records in the San Fransico Bay Area. Both Have multi locations. Amoeba has a great store also in Hollywood.
Flipside Records in Pompton Lakes NJ. Only open Thurs., Fri. and Sat.. Great atmosphere. Owner is a great guy.
Good thread! I was working in Toledo for nearly 18 months (finished up the project last June) and made weekly trips to Ann Arbor, Michigan. PJ's Records was probably my favorite due to the very nice clean stock of used lp's as well as new stuff. Mark and I discussed White Sox-Tiger baseball on many occasions. I also scored quite a few nice lp's at Encore Records. PJ's was more expensive ($7-$11 average) than Encore. Encore's stock seems endless though, tons of albums of all genre's. I made it to a great place in Grand Rapids (on the corner right off I-69) too. Never made it up to Detroit though. Allied Records in Toledo is an okay place if you're trying to buld up your collection, though you really have to look at his stock.
In New Jersey,The Princeton Record Exchange.Once truly a great place,but still worth a good peek,especially for JAZZ titles,and pop.The Classical section is low on audiophile stuff,but there is a wealth of one dollar bargains,like Londons(British)etc.
Soundwatts--can you give an address and phone for Flipside. I'm a Jersey resident and haven't heard of it. It would be nice to check out a new venue. Thanks.
In Cincinnati, Shake It Records in Northside. Modest new collection, large used collection.

Then you can go up the street to the Comet for Cinci's "best" Jukebox, or to the Northside Cafe where you might hear the Wolverton Brothers or run into Jack Whites "drummin" sister.
In the metro Detroit area, there are 2 vinyl outlets on 9 Mile road west of Woodward Ave in downtown Ferndale. Record Collectors and another store across from it.

Also, in Southfield area, Street Corner Music located at the corner of Southfield Road and 13 Mile road sells both new and used vinyl.

If you are in the Saginaw area, there is a used vinyl outlet "Record and Tapes" located on Court street.
Flipside II Records

973-835-8448 120 Wanaque Ave, Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442

Dan Dondiero is the proprietor
Yeah, my old stomping grounds: Princeton Record Exchange... haven't been there for 6 years as I have moved to GA. Only problem was those pesky price stickers that had some kind of unbelievable glue, impossible to remove without tearing up the cover.
Most of the worthwhile, used LP shops in the DFW area are now gone. In Dallas, the most worthy LP shop for new, indie releases on vinyl: Good Records on lower Greenville Avenue. There are two other stores with extensive collections for used vinyl but they are overpriced IMHO. You might also visit the Half Price Books store on Northwest Highway. Sometimes it will have a few gems for a reasonable price.

Here is a tip: if you are in Southern California, do not miss Lou's Records in Encinitas. It is one of my favorite stores in the USA. Reasonably priced, high quality used vinyl. Just be prepared to while away 1/2 a day, looking for those used LP gems.
By the way, any Las Vegas residents here? I am traveling there next week and will have approximately 6 hours to shop for used/new LPs. However, I will be staying at a central location on the strip without a car. I do not mind taking a cab, please just post what the approximate fare would be.

Many thanks,
M
For LP's (not classical) in suburban DC/Maryland, Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville.
Austin, TX.... Waterloo Records, one of the best indies out there mostly CD but the vinyl is growing. Backspin lot's of good used stuff. CD Exchange, lot's of used LP's, punk rock and indie stuff. How could I forget Antones... R&B, Rockabilly, blues, etc.

Lot's more I didn't mention.

Chris

PS Anyone know of a good place in Houston or Dallas?
Washington DC area, Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville, MD. I never leave without WAY too many LPs. Great jazz selection (my primary interest) and very reasonable prices, all things considered. Dave
Houston has Vinal (not Vinyl) Edge on Veterans Memorial and Black Dog Records on Sheppard near Hwy 59.
It's been a long time since I've been to Tuscon, but there was an excellent store for classical called Jeff's Records in town, and a large one with tons of stuff of all genres on the main route heading out East--Plato, do you remember the names, ever visit them?
If you're In Toronto, check these places out:

Rotate This (Queen & Bathurst)- Mostly new and some used vinyl with an emphasis on ROCK and a selection of jazz, R&B, reggae, etc. Very cool and helpful staff.

Slinky Music (Queen & Spadina)- Mostly new and some used vinyl with an emphasis on dance floor friendly music and a choice selection of hip hop, R&B, jazz, reggae, etc. Very cool and helpful staff.

Play De Record (Yonge & Dundas)- Definitely a DJ shop, but with a choice selection of new jazz, soul, funk and rock with a dance floor friendly vibe. These guys source out some really cool, obscure stuff, that I will never see anywhere else. Very cool and helpful staff.

Criminal Records (Queen & Spadina- across from Slinky Music). These guys have the best prices in the city for rock and a small amount of jazz. Very enthusiastic staff.

BTW, these shops are not all catering to audiophile types, so vinyl gets opened and handled, so you can sample the wares before you purchase it. Just ask at the counter before you open any sealed vinyl as policies vary from place to place and you may find the staff not so cool and helpful after you open something you shouldn't have. If the copy's sealed, they may have it on CD for a listen.

For strictly used stock, check these out:

Vortex (Yonge & Eglinton)
She Said Boom
Babel (Queen & Ossington)
There's several shops between Rotate This and Slinky Music, that makes for a nice walk and digging session.

Enjoy.
I made a typo when I initiated this forum. I stated that Car City Records in St.Clair Shores MI, had a very limited selection of used records, and I meant to say new. Their specialty is used, I would guess that there is well over twenty thousand in stock.

Great response to this one. I think another should be posted soon to find out about other cities, and maybe other countries.
Thanks for all the input.
Chicago: 1) Dave's Records on Clark St. 2) Reckless Records on Milwaukee Ave. 3) Second Hand Tunes on Clark St. 4) Jazz Record Mart on Wabash Ave.
More from NJ, in Montclair Absolute Vinyl 11 Midland Ave. 973-746-7775, in Kennelworth is Izzy's Records http://www.izzymusic.com they also organize record shows and are in the process of moving so check out their site for location updates. If you are further south a great stop is The Album Hunter 105 West Main St.,Maple Shade 856-667-4715. I have found great stuff at each of these stores.

On the national front:
I found a great resource for record stores throughout the US: http://www.recordcollectorsguild.org/index.php?name=Web_Links&req=viewlink&cid=25

ENJOY!!!!!
In New York, Academy Williamsburg on North 6th St. in Brooklyn, for all genres. Academy 18th St. for classical, W. 18th St. between Fifth and Sixth in Manhattan.

Patrick
I live in SF Bay Area and closer to San Jose.

My Favorites:

Analog Room San Jose
Rasputin several stores in BA
Ameba SF and Berkely
then those small shops that sometimes have a gem
Minneapolis-
record collector's co-op 3755 bloomington (great selection of 45s).
hymies 3318 e. lakes st.
cheapo 80 snelling ave (st. paul).
treehouse records 2557 lyndale ave.
Im sorry, the link to finding record stores was supposed to be http://www.recordcollectorsguild.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Web_Links&file=index&req=viewlink&cid=24

Enjoy!