Best and worst record stores you have visited.

Visited a few lately,
WaxNFacts in Atlanta was a little unorganized, boxes all over but did find a good price on Los Lobos the Neighborhood for $6. Only had a few minutes there but could have stayed a couple of hours. Only complaint was one of the clerks was wiping a record off with a cloth, not sure if that's such a good idea, hate to think they "shine" em up but damage in the process.

DC Area:
Joint custody in DC. Good but small selection. Prices were about average(8-10) for quaility records. Small dollar bin.
Memory Lane CDs and Records- Located in MD.- All records were prices at 5,10,20 and 25, plus a few more expensive. Picked up 3 records for $20.00. But, the owner removed the clear polysleeves after he sold them to me. Now that's kinda cheap in my opinion. Dont think I will pay them a visit again.
Kemp Hill - Very small and odd collection, mostly soul R&B. Sells mostly CD's. I did find some records , a sealed Eddie Fisher, Cannonball Adderly comp. Not worth a special trip unless you want some R&B, soul or jazz CDs.

 

Los Angeles -
Best: Gimme Gimme Records Great selection and very fair prices, I go there once or twice a week and it's a rare occasion I leave empty handed.
Worst: The Record Collector No records are priced and when they are, the price for VG+ records is at the absolute top of the NM range. If you politely decline the owner will berate you, your profession, your taste and probably make fun of your dog.

 

Wow. Thanks for the heads up, I'll avoid this one.

 

I couldn't find much worthwhile used vinyl in Austin the last two times I visted (2013 and 2014). After reading all the reviews hyping Waterloo Records, I was disappointed with their selection of used records and how many crummy knockoffs they had from Mexico or Spain the bins.

 

Best, I miss

• Believe In Music
• Hoodlums Music
• Tower Records

Worst?

• I've never met a record store I didn't like

 

Really? I was there once and thought it underwhelming...I'll have to Check it out again.

 

Waterloo is down on my list for used vinyl. The last time I was there, in 2013, it still wasn't good for used 45s at all and albums were just okay. I like Breakaway, Friends of Sound, Antone's and End of an Ear all better for used records.

 

I miss Tower Records too. I always enjoyed their selection of music as well as books, magazines, and videos.

 

At the used record store I worked at in the 80's we used 100% cotton t-shirts <old and washed> and a special solution our owner concocted. Never had any complaints.

Nice to know WaxNFacts is still alive in Atlanta. Used to drive all the way from Charlotte just to go there and buy all the latest new wave/punk albums/7" & 12" singles. We had some pretty good stores in Charlotte but none on their level with new imports. They were awesome. The hard part was the long drive home before you could listen to any of them!

Now you just punch a few keys on your keyboard and have everything mailed to you.

 

best:

it's tie between sam the record man in toronto (all new but tons and tons of rare stuff and imports)....and repeat the beat in cleveland (quite possibly the best used store ever.)......alas, both gone now.

 

The best I have ever been to, because of the selection vs. affordability ratio, is Aux 33 Tours, but from the time it was just a floor space inside a permanent indoor flea market, in my own town.

The owner had likely recently acquired a very large yet impeccable, mostly rock (and some jazz) collection. I guess he was both waiting for the right frontage premises to become available in Montreal and wanting to make quick bread and an indent in the market. I almost have goosebumps just thinking about what I could find there, all neatly classified, and at what prices... UK and Euro imports... Original US pressings... Zappas... All NMs!... It was even manned by cool (unobtrusive) and friendly people! A dream joint I'm telling you...

Then it had to happen, about a year later they moved to a better, hipper place ...and also out of my budget! They are probably now the most successful record shop in Montreal.

 

Another enthusiastic vote for Banana's here in St. Pete, FL. Stunning amount of used vinyl in their warehouse which is harder to find than their "retail" store which has CD's and vinyl. We also have Sound Exchange here in the Bay area (3 locations) which also have a nice selection. Finally, do you guys see a trend in other parts of the country where these stores are also selling vintage audio gear? I picked up my Thorens t'table at Banana's. It looks like these stores are snapping up some nice used gear when they are buying people's record collections.

 

Yes, same here too, including at Aux 33 Tours. Very nice vintage gear to be bought there.

 

Been all across the country the past 2 years. These are the ones that standout to me:

Best:
-Double Decker Records (Allentown, PA): cool staff, fantastic used selection (including rarities on a regular basis), pricing that can't be beat
-End of an Ear (Austin, TX): large selection and variety of genres, nice used audio section
-Twist and Shout (Denver, CO): For number of genres and quantity this place is a must. It's huge (I hear Amoeba is much much bigger but haven't been there yet).

Instead of "Worst," I'll say "Least Enjoyable Experience":
-Black Plastic (Cincinatti, OH): When I visited, there must have been a renovation (or at least I hope). One wall was torn down, the whole place smelled like mold. Record selection was mediocre, and I really, really hated the large price stickers they put on the cover that clearly would not come off easily.
-Good Records (Dallas, TX): stereotypical record shop staff (ie. You don't exist), mostly new, common records (if I wanted to browse only new albums I'd shop on Amazon).

 

I agree about Waterloo, was very underwhelming for me.

End of an Ear was the best spot in Austin for me

 

There are 2 (no longer with us sadly) that will always be my favorites: Mickey Music in Passaic Park, NJ and The Record Shop in Bloomfield, NJ.

 

I agree on Good Records. Despite visiting Dallas often, one visit to that store was enough for me.

 

In Your Ear in Boston was really a disappointment for me.Parasitic mold, dark lighting to hide the almost exclusively scratched and counterfeit vinyl.Creepy dudes all around.(No sign of Jimmy Page!)
I ventured far beyond my realms into the depths of Warren RI and found a really cool In Your Ear store with much favorable vinyl conditions and cool people.Go figure!

 

Tom's Music Trade in Red Lion Pennsylvania. Great guy and a ton of cool vinyl. Just like a good RECORD store back in the day!!!

 

I used to go to Streetlight, but it was a regular store, not a house. Went to the one in Santa Cruz a lot, too.

*sigh* them were the days...

 

The best...Lost and Found Records in Knoxville TN.
Nice selection, fair pricing, and the owners actually treat you like a human being.
Bought a bunch of English Folk there.

The worst...Kiss the Sky in Batavia IL.
Thinks every record they have is the last one on the planet and can't be bothered to chew the fat. Sorry, I'm a very social person.

 

Favorites:
Jive Time in Seattle - Getting a bit overpriced but they always have solid stuff across all genres in really good shape
Jump Jump in Portland - Literally shopping in a guy's house, you just have to beat the professional DJs to the stacks
End of an Ear / Friends of Sound in Austin - Impossible to leave town without dropping serious coin at one of these
Good Records in NYC - Well curated and focused on Jazz/Funk/Soul/World/Hip-Hop, guys working there are great

Worst:
Bop Street Records in Seattle - Thousands of records, almost all of them incredibly overpriced. You can't walk in there and just browse without the owner coming up to bug you about "helping" to find something every 5 minutes. Just walking in there raises my blood pressure. It's a shame because they really do have a good selection but I'd never pay their prices.

 

Don't go here looking for Adele's latest album:

http://hyperallergic.com/65570/we-sell-white-albums/

 

Bear Tree Records in Sheffield city centre, UK. It is a new one but Joe knows his stuff.

and,

Rob's Record, Nottingham, UK.

Honest Jons, London.

Musics, Geneva.

 

Best: Fingerprints in Long Beach.