Barnes & Noble stores carry vinyl.

I went to B&N last week and I was very surprised to find a very large selection of vinyl. They had some really great titles too. I was really impressed by what they carried. I thought the prices were decent too. When there's a new release I really want I may go check them out first before ordering on amazon.

 

They have a nice selection, but most of it is from the major labels. As someone who has not kept up with these LPs as they have been released, I need to do some research before buying (e.g., mastering, source (analog or hi-rez digital), pressing quality). Case in point, I nearly walked out of Barnes & Noble yesterday with the 45 rpm Brothers in Arms LP since Stan Ricker's name was on the ad sticker on the front. Reading up on this release, however, it is not so well regarded compared to the original Warner LP or the MFSL 45-rpm release. So, I passed on the Ricker version.

 

I'm about 50 miles from State College and get there a few times a month. There are quite a few vinyl locations some in antique malls in Bellefonte and surounding areas and a few in town. The best is Stax Of Trax on Beaver Ave. inside Websters Books which is a private owned store below street level so the place has a funkiness about it...very cool and old school. They have live music,poetry,dance,etc. from a small stage and eats/drinks along with ample space for vinyl . Majority is used titles but the hooka shop on College has about 50-50 new/used. Prices are pretty good at Stax Of Trax maybe just 5-10% more than say Jerry's in Pittsburgh but the owner cleans and bags them and grades fairly. All the other locations aren't quite as good price for condition. As far as B&N,yes,I did see vinyl at the State College location and Altoona,Erie,and Pittsburgh. Also at Guitar Center in Monroeville where they treat the vinyl just like they do their crappy guitars. They had the cardboard bins stuffed so tight you had to remove a dozen just to flip thru. That place is a prime location for another Night Of The Living Dead.

 

When I was in NYC a couple of months ago, the Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue (second floor) had a massive range of LPs. I even bought some lol.

 

My local one has a great selection and entire wall and 3 end caps devoted. I picked up a few MFSL titles I would of never purchased without my B&N Membership and coupons which combine for 15% to 30% off. Lots of new stuff on Muse, Captured Tracks, and some Fat Possum reissues. All Sub Pop are from $13.99 to $18.99.

Bought all the Beatles LP's in Mono they had in stock.

Wish the carried stylus, cartridge and bearng oil.

 

Just found out Saturday that my closest store now carries vinyl, not a huge amount but one 12-foot racks worth. Didn't even look at prices, just assumed they were high, standard for B&N...new CD area shrinking down to a corner rack, but the discounted CDs section was an entire aisle now, $4.99-7.99...they had all their Genesis remasters for $7.99...

 

I stopped into the B&N in Manchester, NH just to kill some time while I waited for my car to be repaired. They had a huge selection of vinyl. This was not a token few LPs, it was a serious selection. I was so surprised I had to take a picture. Multiply what you see here by three and you have the approximate size of the rack. They also had a few end cap displays with themes like "music of the 70s" and so forth.

I know the "vinyl revival" is a thing, but as someone who watched every mainstream retailer abandon vinyl in the late 80s-early 90s, it is still weird for me to see this. I have real doubts about the sustainability of this (and I'm not saying this because I don't like vinyl, I love it).

 

Good to see B&N are stocking vinyl but it might be best to stick to the in-store releases. This is how B&N's mail order packaged my Tull LP. Someone actually bent the LP to fit in the undersized box. The idiocy level is off the charts nowadays...

 

A Barnes & Noble store in my area displays LPs like this. They used to be CD shelves. I agree concerning sustainability. Floor space comes at a premium, and CDs obviously are not selling well enough to warrant all this shelf space, but I am doubtful that LPs are selling well enough either.

 

11

Wow. That's pathetic.

 

Amazing!

 

I stop in the Hadley, MA store from time to time, and they have 2 vinyl displays - one in the main aisle leading to the back of the store, and another big section in the music area. The interesting thing is that they had some exclusive colored vinyl versions (similar to the Newbury Comics ones). This may or may not mean anything to the members, but I thought I would mention it. I saw a Grateful Dead and a James Taylor colored vinyl, and several more I don't remember.