Harrisburg, PA Record/CD shops?

I will be traveling to Harrisburg, PA on business in November with just a little bit of spare time on my hands. Any recommendations for record/cd shopping would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...

 

Unfortunately, Harrisburg is a case of what used to be. There was a fine little shop there back in the 80's and early 90's called "The Record Outlet", and later "It's Only Rock And Roll" where I spent a good amount of time and cash. Sadly, all gone, and all Harrisburg is left with is the standard mall fare, ie, FYE, Media Play, Sam Goody and Border's Books.

While your in the area though, if you can take some extra time, I'd suggest getting on the PA Turnpike and heading out to Ephrata to a place called "Record Connection" It's about an hour's drive from Harrisburg (I live kind of in the middle of the two), and Andy's got a nice selection of new and used CD's, impressive prog and power pop sections, but probably most importantly, giant vinyl album and 45 rooms. If you can take the time to drive there, it's well worth your trip.

http://www.recordconnectionpa.com/

By the way, depending on when you'll be out this way, there's a Thanksgiving weekend record show at the Valley Forge Convention Center, just off the turnpike close to Philly. I've been going there every holiday for about a decade. It's kind of hit and miss from year to year...last year was horrible, but on a good year, nothing in the area beats it.

 

I agree with Reechie that you should definitely check out Record Connection; I usually visit there several times a year. After missing the last several Valley Forge Thanksgiving shows, I'll definitely be heading there this year. You're almost guaranteed to find something there; I always have.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Highly recommend Record Connection. When I used to live in eastern PA, I used to travel there periodically. I added a lot to my collection that way.

The Valley Forge record show is Nov. 30-Dec. 1 this year. I, too, always found something there. Lots of people attend, some very good dealers, but too many bootleg video tapes for my liking. If I were running a record show, they'd get the "thanks but no thanks" when they tried to apply for tables. And if they lied on their application, I'd sue 'em for misrepresentation.

If you're going to be in Harrisburg the second Sunday of November (or the second Sunday of any month), the Keystone Record Collectors show at Lancaster Catholic High School is worth a look.

 

There actually was a pre-show bust last year, got rid of 90% of the boot dealers. Unfortunately, it almost gutted the place of dealers, lots of empty tables, and tables covered up by tarps as "evidence". It'll be interesting to see if the crackdown continues this year. Maybe it'll weed out some of the dreck, and bring in some newer legit dealers.

 

I'd love to see that. There's no shortage of dealers on the East Coast, and it is probably the most heavily attended show out there.

Because of the nature of collectible stuff, you can never be sure that 100 percent of the material you have is "clean." But you sure can weed out those people who have close to 0 percent "clean" stuff, or even the 50-50s. I can usually scan a table pretty quickly and see who's selling legit stuff and who's got boots/counterfeits/repros.

I'd heard about the bust second hand. A rumor was floating around Cleveland during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame record show that this show wasn't going to happen this year ... but it's in the Goldmine record show calendar.

 

Over the weekend....

When I lived in mid-central Pa, the place to go on a Sunday was a
flea market on the outskirts of town called, I believe, Silver Spring or something like that. Always found a few useful things, very large market both indoor and out. Perhaps our central Pa friends could refresh me on the highway it's on since I've long forgotten, been ten years since I was there.

Best!

 

That one's nice, but I still pine for the days when it was held at the old Columbia Market House. It's never quite felt "right" since they moved all those years ago...