Good used CD stores in South Florida?

I'm heading to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami for six days next week and want to do some hunting. Any suggestions for good shops in that area?

 

Ft Lauderdale area

I'm not much in the market for used CD's, I go mostly for used vinyl. But the shops I frequent carry both, in Ft. Lauderdale, so I'll list them here:

The first three shops are not far from each other, all just a bit north of downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

All Books & Records, 917 N Federal Hwy, in the SearsTown mall at the corner of Sunrise & Federal. Probably the largest selection, but expensive. They're having a mega Summer Sale, though, 30% off, 40% off $80 or more. Absorbing the stock from another store.

5 minutes east of them is The CD Collector, 1930B E Sunrise Blvd in the Gateway Center east of Gateway Cinema (there's also a CD Collector off Atlantic Blvd in Pompano, 2767 E Atlantic Blvd).

North one exit on I95 is Larry's Records, 777 E Oakland Park Blvd.

West of Ft. Lauderdale on 441 is Offbeat Records & CD's, 51 State Road 7 (Route 441 just south of Broward Blvd). Closed MTu, W-Sa 11-5, Su n-4.

I've found something good from each shop. My favorite is probably the last listed, Offbeat Records, some good vinyl there, but they might carry only a limited selection in CD's. Got my Traveling Wilburys Vol 2 & 4 ½ CD there, though.

I hope this helps!

 

On visits to my folks down that way I've picked up a number of good things at the CD Collector in Pompano! Happy shopping!!

L.

 

You might also see if you can find a Spec's Music in that area. My local one has turned into a mini-goldmine lately for used DCC and MFSL titles. I just found a pristine copy of Elvis 24kt Gold last week and I found a copy of Jim Croce's "Gold" last night. I think Specs is all over Florida, but not sure. Good luck.

 

Great list, DanG - thanks!

Yeah, I found a few Specs when I was in Miami last May. Saw a couple of mildly intriguing things like the original non-remixed "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine" CDs but nothing remarkable. I plan to get a better list of their stores and make a more concerted effort this time, though - if I HAVE time!

 

I've been to Offbeat Records twice. Their CD selection is quite limited, but I've still gotten a few great used discs there. There is a huge store not far from Offbeat that I was in a few months ago. It could have been All Books & Records. They had an amazing volume of CDs, but very little worthwhile in my opinion. It's not just that they didn't have rare discs. They had very few recognizable titles. I wonder if they sell the good stuff on eBay or if the employees take all the good stuff.

There is a Spec's on Rt. 1 (Dixie Hwy.) not too far from Coconut Grove that was a goldmine for first pressings for me when I was there in February. It's worth a trip. South Florida also has it's share of CD Warehouse stores. Finally, check out The CD Collector. They have a couple stores that aren't too far from Offbeat Records.

One last thing about Offbeat Records. The folks there are all too happy to give you directions to other used CD shops in the area. They helped me out the two times I was there. Their specialty is vinyl, so I guess they don't feel threatened by the CD shops in the area and are happy to send you over to them. Gotta love that.

 

If you go to Offbeat ask for Sheila and tell her that Norm/Teaser5 from eBay sent you.
We go way back.
Also check out the Flea Market in Deerfield Beach on Sample Road. There used to be a booth there that had killer CD deals. I used to get sealed MOFI's there for $10.99 as recently as three years ago.
Have a safe trip!
Peace-
Norm

 

Norm, you may not remember, but you recommended Offbeat Records to me back in January 2003 when I was about to head down to Boca Raton on a business trip. I told Sheila that you had recommended the store to me, and she instantly remembered you. Nice people there.

 

You gots a good memory there son! I believe I did just that very thing.
Glad you had a good experience.

BTW...Oat: why in the world would you go to South FLA at the end of July?
No hot enuff in DC for ya?
Safe trip!

Cheers-
Norm

 

CD Trader on Sheridan St. in Hollywood (between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami) is great, definitely worth your time. All used CDs are $7.99 or less and they usually have a lot of interesting titles. On my last visit I picked up the import Thin Lizzy box set for $19.99 along with import copies of several of the 2-disc Elvis Costello remasters on the Edsel label for $7.99 each. PM me for more specific directions.

 

Not sure if anyone cares, but I hit all the stores mentioned and here's what I saw. My objectives? General rarities - DCCs, MoFis, OOP odds and ends - plus specifically Elton John's "Blue Moves" and the unremastered Eagles CDs except "Desperado" and "Hotel CA":

All Books & Records: very unproductive. Lotsa vinyl, lotsa obscure CDs. I found so little by big acts - Eagles, Stones, Beatles, Who, etc. - that I asked an employee if they kept those artists in a separate section. Nope, he replied, and he then claimed that people never trade in classic rock CDs! That may well be true at AB&R, but he issued this like a blanket statement for ALL used CD stores, which is kinda nuts.

The CD Collector: a little better. Nothing exciting to me, though I did get a neat 5-song sampler from Elvis Costello's "Extreme Honey" - I never got that, and since this CD includes the two songs unique to that collection, I don't need it! I also almost bought the unremastered "Eagles Live" but haven't heard much good about that album so I passed.

Larry's Records: much more of a haven for vinyl than CDs, but I DID score the Eagles' non-remastered "One of These Nights" for only $4.95! It's a record club CD, but who cares - should still be the same master, right? Nothing else of interest there - pretty sparse CD assortment.

Offbeat: As promised, this is much more of a vinyl and collectibles store. They had some mildly interesting titles - like an old Euro "Hot Rocks" - but nothing that interested me. The CDs they had were semi-provocative but nothing I wanted, and they had little. Some cool other things, but nothing I desire to buy.

CD Warehouse - tried a couple of these with no success. A few almost-interesting titles but nothing I wanted to purchase.

Spec's - the best of the bunch! Hit five of these and came away with an unremastered "Eagles" and "Long Run" plus a copy of the OOP four-CD Jackson Five "Soulsation" boxed set in absolute mint condition for only $25. I wasn't dying for the latter, but I kinda wanted it, and for barely $6 a CD, this was a no-brainer. (CD Warehouse wanted $40 for it.)

One interesting footnote: some of the Spec's staff is onto the collectors. The same store with "Eagles" and "Soulsation" had an RCA "Changesbowie" for $12 - not steep, and I'd have bought it if I didn't already have it, but clearly marked up a little because of its collectible status.

That wasn't as bad as what I saw in the Stones section. They had TWO copies of "Sucking in the Seventies", neither of which seemed to be in great shape. However, they wanted $30 each for these! Dunno what they go for elsewhere, but this seemed steep - I'd like a copy, but not for THAT much!

Anyway, the CD-buying was acceptably productive - I didn't find any real treasure (though I'm really happy with the "Soulsation" discovery) but at least I snagged three of the four Eagles CDs I needed!

Actually, if I judge by what greeted my when I got to National this PM, it was hotter here than in Miami! Pretty nasty down there, but more humid here!

And why'd I go to FL? Where Madonna be, that's for me!

 

Did you make it to the CD Trader in Hollywood that I recommended? I've been to all the other stores you mentioned and it is by far the best of the lot. Just found a 4 CD bootleg Stones box set on the Great Dane label there a few weeks back for $19.95! They also had a bunch of the Beatles Unsurpassed Masters discs in the $5.99 section.

And how was Madonna??

 

Yeah, I did get there - forgot to mention it. Indeed, they had lots of boots - that was evident. Nothing that interested me, though.

Very good, though these were my 11th through 14th shows, so I didn't get too many surprises!

 

Stay away

Hey, this is one of my little treasures. Stay away from here!

 

You can have it! Like I already noted, I found nothing that interested me there. So

 

I've been to Ft. Lauderdale several times. I've never seen a great used CD store there, compared to other cities I've visited. And I intensely dislike All Books and Records. High prices for CDs that would probably sell for a couple of bucks in other places. A draining experience for me, trying to find something worthwhile. And as also said earlier, Larry's is quite good for vinyl. I think I've been to Offbeat, not bad. Selection matches the name of the store.