Record stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Connecticut!!

The Sanford store, although convenient for me (I sometimes work about a mile down from there), is very small. I hope the Biddeford location gives them some more space.

 

They're going into the former book store near Target, which was a good size space if I recall. Not Scarborough big, but bigger than Sanford.

 

Outside of the Portland stores, anything worth looking into in Maine? I've been to Color Sound Oblivion which is pretty neat, Bull Moose obviously, planning a trip to Deep Groove after the holidays.

 

Dave at Deep Groove is a hella nice dude.

Record Connection in Waterville used to be a solid spot, but changed ownership and location. Sadly, I can't recommend it these days. Record Doctor (I think that's the name) up in Bangor is a nice spot.

Don't know of too many others, so I'd be curious if anyone else comes up with some recommendations.

 

If I were driving that far north I’d just go south and hit up Boston stores.

There’s a store in Rochester NH I can’t remember the name of but they had a decent selection (pricing was a little meh but enough digging found some gems)

 

Well, you asked for Maine spots, so I gave you Maine spots.

The store in Rochester is Skele-Tone which we talked about recently upthread. Used to have great success there about 4-5 years ago but these days, hardly worth a visit as most stuff is very overpriced.

The places in Portland are, in my opinion, still pretty good, especially compared to other places I've been to throughout the US. I feel lucky to have 'em local!

 

I like Moody Lords in Portland but it’s one of those stores where I walk out empty handed more often than not, but still some gems occasionally.

Skeletone I went when they had a sale so some of the prices were okay but yeah I remember being prettt appalled at the asking price for some stuff.

 

What is the selection at Color Sound Oblivion like? I've heard that they're very niche focused.

 

Pretty much exclusively 80s goth/new wave/etc and metal/industrial of all sorts. When I was there I picked up a Soft Moon record, a Divine single, Icicle Works LP and some Eurythmics singles. Worth a visit if you’re into those types of genres.

 

Looking at their web site/instagram this place looks interesting. Didn't expect to see any place local with Throbbing Gristle in the bins. It's about 90 minutes away but I will have to make a trip up at some point.

 

It’s super tiny so build a day around Portland too or something. You can touch every record there in under an hour probably

 

Does anyone have favorite spots in the Providence or New Haven area for used records? A few months ago I stopped by Music Research Library in Providence and found some fairly priced jazz LPs. I was making plans to head back there today but just saw they have temporarily closed. I will be driving from west of Boston to NYC so looking to make a couple stops. I am debating between taking 84 and stopping at The Good Kind of Records in Vernon CT or taking 95 and stopping in Providence and maybe New Haven.

 

You should go to Round Again, Olympic and In You Ear.

 

The Good Kind in Vernon is awesome. Also Redscroll Records in Wallingford is great as well.

 

Thanks for the tips. I haven't been to In Your Ear in Providence in more than 20 years. I remember once stopping in before a Sonic Youth show at Lupo's and found myself browsing for records next to Thurston Moore!

 

In Your ear has moved to Warren RI. It's about 10-15 mins off 195.

 

I agree that both of these are worth a visit, although Vernon isn't exactly close to New Haven (nor on the way to Providence). Wallingford isn't too far from New Haven.

 

Thanks again for these recommendations. They were both great stores. I had less time than I hoped to browse but plan on going back to both. I was shocked by the size of Redscroll. I visited the years ago when it was in a much smaller location. I only had a chance today to look at a fraction of their records but I picked up 5 Willie Nelson LPs, Dylan's "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" LP and 3 pre-war jazz LPs. The total came to $33!

 

Circling back (a little late) but I stopped into Deep Groove a few weeks back. Found records from King Gizzard and Tina Brooks that are not out of print or rare or anything but definitely elusive and extremely difficult to find (a) in general and (b) for reasonable prices. Also grabbed a couple others, will be checking them out more frequently--jazz section alone was very impressive.

 

Finally stopped in this week. Not that biggest selection. But worth a gander. I picked up Here Comes Shuggie Otis, Gremlins OST, Pablo Moses - Reggae Greats and the Telarc pressing of the Atlanta SO’s Carmina Burana (a great recording that I found at a thrift store last year but only with record 2!). All for $5 each. Well worth the stop! And they were really nice.

 

I stopped into the new Bull Moose in Biddeford yesterday and had an experience similar to when Portsmouth relocated. Similar selection of new vinyl, weak on CD, very strong on movies both new and used. I wasn’t familiar with the Sanford store, so can’t say whether it’s the same inventory in new space or if they’re going to expand the inventory to scale over time.

One thing I did appreciate, or more specifically my back and knees, is that the racks do not go to floor level, which made searching a much more pleasant experience than in Scarborough or Mill Creek.

The store itself was very busy, being next to a Target and TJ Maxx is going to draw a lot of foot traffic. Unlike Portsmouth, their site selection team hit a grand slam with this spot.

 

There's a record store opening up soon right across the street from my apartment in Beacon Hill. It turns out that it's Music Research Library, which I've never been to before but checking it out online it sounds like it's right up my alley, figuratively & literally!

 

Please keep us informed of when it opens and what you think of it.

 

i see i am about a year late, but i am looking for classical records, and will be up there in april. i don't know if any store could exist that specialized in classical music, 20th century or otherwise. but i live in florida where there certainly would never be one. and these stores that you and others have mentioned and that i can find on google maps, do any stock classical records, or do those reside mostly in the bargain bins unmarked and unsorted? i know this is a minority niche, but just have to ask. thanks

 

The owner of the Record Exchange, my local record store in Salem, MA, which is north of Boston and is accessible by train from there, is an expert on classical records and there’s a good stock of them there.