Used CD stores in Dallas Area

I'm heading down to Texas to visit the family this coming weekend (they live in Plano north of Dallas) and am interested in going to some good used CD stores in search of some good finds. Can anyone recommend some good places to go in the area?

 

I am interested in this thread too since I will be going to Dallas in July.

I would definitely check out Half Price Books. They have multiple locations in the area. They have a good selection of vinyl and CDs. Others on this forum also recommend them.

Personally, I would stay away from Bill's. Even though I have not been there in quite awhile, the last time I was there was not fun. Even though he had a lot of vinyl and CDs, nothing - I mean NOTHING - was priced. When I took things up that I might be interested in to get a price, I ended up leaving most of it there. I had the feeling that pricing is based on how you look and what he thinks you will pay. I will never go back.

 

Here is one that I know about. It's not in Dallas, but it's between on the line of Arlington and Grand Prairie, on highway 360.

http://www.foreveryoungrecords.com/index.php

 

Yep - I have been there too. Last time I was there, they had a good selection of vinyl which can be kind of expensive depending on the album. I can't remember what the CD selection was like. It is worth checking out, but I would probably go to Half Price Books first.

 

this was going to be my suggestion.

also, CD Warehouse is a buy/sell/trade place that you can find hidden treasures in. i'm lucky enough to have one less than 2 miles from my home.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...tlif130039685239010&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

 

I didn't know if they were still in business. Our 2 stores here closed several years ago.

Sadly, this thread got moved to the Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide and will probably not get as many responses as it would have in the Music Forum. Oh well......

 

Why did it get moved?

 

Dallas used CD stores I like...

Ok my friends...
First rule of shopping for music in DFW... avoid Bill's. In all fairness, I have avoided him for years now, so it could be something has changed, but he used to have all his good stuff un-tagged, then would just look at you and call out a (high) price at the register as if he sized up your net worth. I doubt you will find any deals to be had in his shop.

Not much in Plano these days, you could check out the Half Price Books location there, but it is pretty slim on CDs last time I was in. See #2 below.

1. Entertainmart (north Dallas location at Preston & Alpha) - Used to be they had a great selection of used vinyl and mostly priced $5-$10. I was a regular there over the past few years, but starting in January they began clearancing their vinyl out. Not much left now, but a very large used CD selection, and they have a lot of it marked down to $2-$5 (I think they are reducing their CD stock). You will probaby get the best price on CDs here right now, so check this one first.

2. Definitely go to Half Price Books, but make the drive to the east Dallas location on Northwest Hwy, it's their flagship location. Sometimes I get good finds in their Plano, Frisco, and North Dallas locations but those are pretty hit and miss. I suspect they ship anything good or collectible to the flagship store, because the quality of used CDs and vinyl in those other locations really dropped off the map a couple of years ago. Be sure to ask to see the "collectible" stock behind the counter. You may very well find some collectible OOP CDs at standard used prices.

3. CD Source (Lovers & Greenville in east Dallas) - not too far from the Half Price Books flagship. Very cool local store, and good guys working there. Large used CD selection, and great prices. They don't seem to save their collectible stuff for Ebay either, it's on the shelves at regular price. They have been adding vinyl over the last couple years, so that selection is slim now, but prices on the new and used vinyl that they do have is very good.

3. Forever Young is a giant store (mostly vinyl) but you will pay top dollar, definitely a cool place to spend a few hours, but probably won't find any great deals there. The owners seems like a real nice guy and very helpful. The store is overwhelming, though...give yourself some time.

Those are my favorite spots if CDs are the focus. If looking for new vinyl, add Good Records (on Greenville) to the list as well. List price, good selection.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions!! Can't wait

 

they are dwindling. there used to be 12 or more in the DFW area. there was a really cool one in Hurst that had a nice selection and the owner had these really cool live photos from various DFW area concerts of the 70's and 80's. i guess he or someone he knew was a photog and had negatives to make all thsee cool reprints. i grabbed some really cool Motley Crue and Randy Rhoads pics a few years back.

 

CD Source on Greenville at Lovers.

 

Ha. I just commented on Bill's in another thread. Surprised he's still open. Figured after I was there 20 some years ago the tax man nailed him.

VVV was also a great place in Dallas. Has to be closed now?

 

exactly, but I should add that Arlington has an Entertainmart, as well, and there's a half-price books near that location, so while you are visiting Forever Young, scamper over to those stores

 

Hey, anything new in the Dallas area CD/LP shopping scene?

 

I just spent three days on a CD shopping/vinyl perusing vacation in the Dallas area, including an excursion to Denton. I did not have a chance to get to Fort Worth.

CDs:

For CDs, the best store was CD Source on Greenville in Dallas. That store has a wide selection that is reasonably well organized. The CDs can be inspected as you browse, so you don't have to take them to the counter. The two other stores that I found to be worthwhile are the Half Price "muthaship" store in Dallas on Northwest Hwy and the Half Price on the Road to Six Flags. None of the other Half Prices I visited (Plano, Frisco, Lewisville, Arlington store on Cooper Street) had much of anything good.

Recycled Books in Denton has the best selection of used classical CDs that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, they are very aware of the value of collectible CDs and sell them on Amazon Marketplace, so you will be lucky to find anything in that vein in their bins, though I did pick up a black triangle in the classical section.

The Entertainmart in Dallas had some early pressing CDs, but make sure and check the condition, as some of them look absolutely horrendous. Skip the Entertainmart in Arlington unless you have time to waste. The CD selection was pathetic there.

Good Records in Dallas had a smattering of used CDs, but most of them are not worth looking at and they are mostly priced at $8. Forever Young Records in Grand Prairie has many more CDs than Good Records, but it was tough to find anything good there and they are also asking $8. Mad World Records in Denton also had quite a few CDs, but I didn't find anything good there.

Vinyl:

If you are looking for used vinyl, do not waste your time on Good Records. They focus on new vinyl, so the used selection is pathetically small.

Forever Young Records is the opposite with a huge selection, including a whole room devoted to audiophile pressings. Unfortunately, they also have huge prices. I could not find a record in their non-audiophile rock/pop section that was under $15.

Recycled Books also had a good selection of vinyl, but they mostly know what everything is worth.

The vinyl selections at most of the Half Prices are small and uninteresting. For laughs, ask to see the "collectible vinyl" at the smaller locations. The Enterainmarts are even worse.

Mad World Records had a fair amount of vinyl, but as with CDs, I couldn't find anything interesting there. Perhaps, others have had more success there, but the store was a complete dud for me. At least they are located in a cool area of downtown Denton. Check out nearby Jupiter coffee if you are into the coffee shop scene.

 

I went to what I believe is the only used (maybe new too) music store in Waco today. It was awful for both CDs and vinyl. My advice is to keep on the highway rather than stopping if you are going to shop for music.

 

Funny but.....even though Waco is a college town...it's a college town for TODAY's youth. The only good stuff in there will most likely be from their DAD's collections that they've taken to trade in. You need to be in a town with generally older folk who were buying in the earlier days and who've given up their music in masse. Ya know, the older issues, not the brickwalled overloud new cd's etc...

And there's a better chance with the 'older' trade-in crowd...that they've taken a bit more care with their vinyl. I'd wager the older crowd had better equipment to play their stuff on, than the new vinyl trade-ins. It's just a hypothesis...kinda wish I worked at a good, active store right now to see the day to day trade-ins.

Well....find a store that is frequented by the most people, in a larger town and have the biggest selection to weed through. I find something of interest, in very good or better shape, each time I visit my locals. And that's at least 4 times a week !

 

OMG! I have lived here for many years, visited virtually all the stores you cited, and I couldn't have described each one of them any better than you did....you are spot on!


did you find anything at the road to 6 flags HPB? I have found a few treasures there (Anne Murray orange-face, Barry Gibb Voyager cd, Carly Simon "hello big man" target, for example), but I usually strike out completely!

 

I did actually find a few gems at the Road to 6 Flags HPB. That store was the second best of the Half Prices I visited. The staff is cool too, and there is a good Vietnamese restaurant nearbhy called Sprouts. I will be posting all of my finds eventually on the early pressing thread.

 

cool... if you remember, mention which ones were from that particular store!

and, BTW, your good taste in music doesn't extend to Vietnamese restaurants, apparently....you could have done much better a few blocks south, at Pho Palace

 

Yeah, I kind of knew that from the Yelp reviews, but it was close and clean inside, so I decided to give it a try and it wasn't bad.

 

definitely close to that HPB....basically the same parking lot!

BTW, what brought you to our area? I'm sure it was more than music shopping....although knowing you, can't be sure of that

 

LOL, well, it was really several reasons, one of which was admittedly music shopping. I also have friends in the area, and I like east Texas in general and hadn't been to the Dallas area for 13 years. I enjoyed my trip to Dallas, and in many ways, it was better than the time I spent in Austin, where I went after I left Dallas. If it wasn't for the winters, I might consider a move in the future.

 

Yay - then I might be able to find better stuff when I visit PHX!

 

Dallas is a better city to live in, despite most claims to the contrary...it's become a cliche to rate Austin as one of the most desired cities to live...it used to be, when I lived there 30 years ago....still not bad, but not great either..

the Dallas winter would be a plus in my rating system...rather benign, it's the summers that kick my ass! of course, Phoenix would rip me to peices