Used Record Stores (the good, bad, and ugly)

I decided to start this thread after one of my Audio Hardware posts turned into a discussion about record stores in Connecticut (since I purchased a good used turntable at Gerosa Records in Brookfield while visiting there in my old home state). I'm originally from Waterbury, CT.

It seems that certain stores get favorable ratings because they're fair and reasonable. I've had great luck at Connecticut stores, such as Gerosa in Brookfield, Replay Records in Hamden, Brass City in Waterbury (though I'm not sure if he has anything new or any huge quantities, it may well be worth checking out). I do recall a few other good ones, some of which are likely closed by now (there was one in Vernon, CT, but I couldn't find any info on that store).

The ones that seem to get the less favorable comments are the ones who don't have prices on their items (someone mentioned Merle's Record Rack). I just remembered another dealer in Stratford, CT (the store was owned by a guy who looked like the EVIL version of Mr Rogers of "Mr Roger's Neighborhood", with a V neck sweater, always smoking a cigarette, no prices on his items, and a "how much is it worth to you" and "you'll never find it anywhere at any price" attitude). I just found out, it was New and Oldies records, and they're under new ownership (apparently "evil Mr Rogers" finally retired, selling off the business). .......Another store not worth mentioning ("hall of shame") is Phoenix Records in Waterbury, CT (last I remember, run by a guy who called himself "The Professor") - most items there were overpriced, whether in NM or VG condition (racks were so overstocked from lack of "turnover", it was impossible to look through without pulling half a stack out). Many items that could commonly be found for a lower price (often much lower price) elsewhere. I got burned one too many times there (either on records in worse than stated condition, or ending up finding a much better copy elsewhere for less than half the price). Heck, I have a friend who told me of a Beach Boys "Keeping The Summer Alive" at that store for $20, yet I'd come across them all day for a mere fraction, even still sealed copies!

Perhaps you'd like to share your "recommended dealer" and/or "hall of shame" stories. Maybe some of these once-bad stores are now under much deserved "new management" or have since closed? Please feel free to post your thoughts.

 

I recommend Haffa's in Athens, Ohio, home of Ohio University.

They have a very nice selection of new and used vinyl,and the prices are fairly competitive. They also have a $1 bargain bin that I always find at least a few in.

The staff is knowledgeable,and they're more than glad to answer questions.

It's also located near a BW3's, so after spending time searching the stacks, you may have worked up an appetite!

 

There was a guy I used to see at every record show or music convention in the PA/NJ area. Long white hair and beard, usually in a dirty looking black t-shirt and sandals, and reeking of marijuana resin. He had some good merchandise, but it was always the highest priced stand in the building. We're talking $15 items priced at $40 type of stuff. And he showed up, time and time, at every show for years! Could his stuff have actually been selling? I mean, if you found something there that you just had to have, and feared you'd never see it again, maybe it'd be worth paying his price, but I could just never justify the prices he was asking for the quality of merchandise he had. That, and having to tolerate the pot smell around him!

We went to the Arbutus Fire Company record show last weekend to see good old Teaser5. It pretty much lived up to my expectations of it, which means it was pretty disappointing. It was one big Mitch Hedberg joke come to life: "They specialized in rare and hard to find records...NOTHING WAS ALPHABETIZED!"

I still talk up Andy at Record Connection in Ephrata, PA. as one of the good ones.

 

I am sure that my Midwestern compadres will agree that the Love Garden in Lawrence KS is a gem. Plus it's within walking distance of some of the best beer you've never tasted (Free State).

Cody

 

Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville. Md. is where I go for used records. I usually come out
of there with a few nice things. I miss the record stores in the San Francisco Bay area.
(lived there '75 - 2000)

 

Just took a road trip with a buddy to Lawrence the other weekend ( we go every couple a months or so ). Yep...Love Garden is a shining jewel among used vinyl/CD stores. I simply set a beforehand limit on what I will spend and never having any problem reaching that limit. The problem comes in pulling myself away and out of the store. We also check Keifs though this last time the manager told me they had pretty much stopped buying uh-oh. Still managed to find a few choice things. Last we hit Half Price Books and Records.

 

Agreed. I just found that place recently and love it. I can't help but feel that I'd have been better off finding the place a few years ago as he's missing some key titles yet has multiple copies of others, but it's still one of the best I've been to. I've not come out of there spending less than $100 yet, and that's not because his prices are high - there's just SO much to have.

 

I've just come back from the US where I managed to visit a used record store in all 4 states I visited

Best would be a tie between Shangri-La in Memphis and In Your Ear! in Boston. Both had a large and diverse range of records at reasonable prices, especially reasonable in the latter. Also the staff were very friendly. Only one quibble with Shangri-La - the 45s I bought had the price sticker on the deadwax, even sometime intruding onto the record surface! Surely this can't be good practice...

Worst would be Round Again in Providence, RI. Owner seemed most annoyed that my friend and I only bought 1 record each despite being there about 40 minutes. Can't help it if the stock isn't up to much!

Tom

 

I recommend Record City here in Vegas. 3 locations pretty close to the strip. The have a "buy 4 items and get 25 percent off" thing going on right now. The prices have gone up most recently, but they're still ok.

I don't recommend Wax Trax on the west side. The owner isn't very nice.

Zia on the east side has an ok used selection. I wouldn't count on any gems in there, however. They have a pretty good selection of new vinyl.

 

Tomorrow I'm going to pay Concerto a visit again. A great indie/used record store in Amsterdam (and a short walk from the Carre theatre where I'll be seeing and hearing Emmylou Harris that night ). I always walk out with some great stuff, either some wonderful early CD editions (like Dennis Drake mastered Ella Fitzgerald CDs, non-remastered Stevie Wonder CDs) or some more recent stuff for good prices.
At times you can even score a DCC or MoFi. Makes me a happy man.

 

Good Choice!! A friend and I are going to Record Connection tomorrow; I haven't been disappointed at Andy's store yet. There is always something to find there and it is well worth the hour and a half drive from Baltimore.

Years ago, I used to see the guy with the long white hair and beard at the Maryland record shows. At the shows that I saw him at, he seemed to always wear an old tye-dyed t-shirt and was referred to by the other dealers and customers as Moses.




Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Joe's is my favorite record store and I try to get there at least once every few months.




Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

If it's the guy I'm thinking of (I won't mention his name - he once had a "first page" ad in Goldmine price guides as well as their publication - I believe it was Count's Castle? since I do remember a picture of a castle in the ad). He seems to change his outfit from time to time. Early last year, he had a "wizard hat" and goofy outfit, and other times, he's dressed in tie-dye, or some baggy pajamas. Not only is he a rip off (charging top dollar for supposedly rare records he might have), but some dealers had told me that some of their own records have disappeared right after he looked at them. Back in the early 90s, when I lived in Connecticut, he tried to rip me off, but I backed out of a deal at the last second (and glad I did - I ended up finding the same item in better condition for a third the price he was asking). Very strange guy indeed (about as strange as that "guy" dealer at the Lancaster, PA record show who one month, decided to show up dressed as a "woman" from that point forward).

Yeah, I agree, Record Connection in Ephrata definitely has a really nice HUGE collection to look through, though I have to wonder if they either manage to sell off certain "best titles" right away (because of their reputation as a big store with an otherwise good selection and customer base) or if they "pick and choose" what to sell elsewhere (online auctions or at the record shows)... Someone else I talked to mentioned this, but I can only speculate, since I don't know for certain (again, it's hearsay, so I'm not the latter info is exactly true or accurate). Sometimes, I've gone there, thinking I was going to find that specific item I was looking for, only to be surprised at not finding it in their huge inventory (notice the last quoted paragraph above, which mentions "missing key titles", which is why I raised the aforementioned questions about what might be happening to that part of his inventory). Other times, I'm surprised to find other items at reasonable prices and in good condition, too. Still, I make certain to bring a long "want list" there, because they're always bound to have at least several other items there (this way, it's never a wasted trip there). OH, and I should mention, a HUGE selection of 45s, including some newer ones, too (attn Jukebox owners).

 

I really miss Love Garden. When we lived in Kansas City (a scant half hour or so away), we loved those Saturday excursions to Love Garden, then usually to Free State for some lunch with our beer, then probably back to Love Garden...
Great place.

When we lived in Durham, NC, our favorite Saturday excursion was to drive to Chappel Hill and hit the Nice Price Books there (actually Carborro), then head to Raleigh and the Nice Price Books there, then back to Durham and a third Nice Price Books. Then it was time to grab a couple of six packs and spend the rest of the evening spinning our vinyl into the wee hours.

 

Vintage Vinyl in Evanston, Illinois is a jewel . . store is small, very small in fact, but knowledge and mail-order capablity is huge. Nice guy runs it, too, and has for decades.

And though it's not exclusively used, Jazz Record Mart in Chicago is a place you could spend months browsing.

 

Oh, and since I'm here in York, Pennsylvania, I forgot to mention IKO's Music Trade. His pricing is often fair to extremely reasonable (perhaps only his most collectable or "top shelf" items are priced higher, but often still reasonable). Even his "lower box" dollar items can have some great finds (whether one is searching for the cover and/or the record album). Great place to check out.

Then, there's the record store in Red Lion, PA (I forget the name, but the store owner is from the UK). As I recall, he opened last year and seems to have a good size collection of albums. He may not have prices on some of his items, but when I looked through the lower boxes (unalphabetized), most of those were from $1 to $3. The "upper rack" items are priced accordingly. I may be going there this weekend, to see if he has anything new.

Of course, to prevent myself from paying too much, I often compare "completed items" from my "want list" on ebay, just to see what the average selling price is, (so I'm sure not to overpay when I do find it). This is also a great way of finding out which dealers are charging "fair market value" for their items, vs those who are unrealistically pricing their items.

 

I've gone up to Record Connection several times with a friend of mine that is a record dealer who knows Andy very well, and I can attest to the fact that there are boxes and boxes of LPs in the storage areas of the store that have never even made it out to the store's floorspace for public consumption. It would be great if he could get those LPs out for the public to see, but I think that this probably won't happen until he can expand the store or sell off a lot of the LPs that have been sitting unsold in the store for a good while.




Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Atlanta area:

Wax N Facts - knowledgeable staff (can't be stumped), excellent selection, good prices. Not a lot of new vinyl.
Wuxtry - knowledgeable staff (rarely stumped), STUNNING selection, good prices. Not a lot of new vinyl.
Circle Sky - GREAT, enthusiastic staff, small selection (all killer no filler), underpriced used vinyl titles.
Their one-stop beats them up on new titles, so they are forced to pass that price along or choose to not carry that title at all.
Criminal Records - NO used. Excellent selection of new vinyl, priced slightly below Circle Sky on some new titles - but not all. Oh, they also sell comics. Their staff is very knowledgeable on some genres and easily stumped on others.
Decatur CD - their thing for me is the new import cd boxed sets of pre-rock.
They carry some new titles in vinyl, none cheap. Lots of used cds that run the gamut.

Wax N Facts & Wuxtry does not host concerts, but the other 3 do - Decatur CD has them FREQUENTLY.

 

Iko's is a really nice store and highly recommended. The store in Red Lion is called Tom's Music Trade, oddly named, considering the Iko's Music Trade name. Tom has some nice LPs, but so much of his inventory is not alphabetized/catagorized that sometimes I find it frustrating to navigate through it all.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

East TN Used Record shops:

Knoxville/ Lost & Found Records. Mike and Maria own this. Good selection of used and new vinyl. Very well graded. Fair prices. They have many more records at their house and they will bring stock from home and cater to your needs. They are very knowledgeable. Have a good used CD selection.

Knoxville/ Jay Nations. Sells used vinyl out of his home and also has booths at several antique malls. Very honest grading. Excellent prices. Very honest to deal with and pleasant. Very knowledgeable.

Knoxville/ Basement Records. Sell used vinyl and comic books. A few used CD's. Well graded. Tends toward slightly expensive. Very knowledgeable. If you need it, he's worth buying from. Anything more common is better purchased elsewhere.

Knoxville/ Disc Exchange. Mainly specializes in used and new Compact Discs. Has a nice vinyl section and specializes in new vinyl. Has a varying selection of used vinyl. Condition varies. Prices fair to bargain. They have some phono cartridges and accessories. I purchase from them regularly.

Knoxville/ McKay's Used Books, CD's, DVDs, and Vinyl. Specialize in used books and compact discs. Excellent selection and many nice bargains. Scratched and lesser condition items priced lower and prices are fair. Vinyl is variable in selection. Condition varies and tends toward inexpensive.

Chattanooga/ McKay's Used Books, CD's, DVD's, and Vinyl. The same commentary applies as Knoxville. Less CD selection now compared to a few years ago.

Chattanooga/ Chad's Records. Owned by Chad Bledsoe. Excellent selection of used vinyl. Grading honest and prices are reasonable but not runaway cheap. Knowledgeable about music and his stock. Pleasant to shop and do business with. Has an excellent used CD stock, graded well and priced reasonably. The best shop in Chattanooga.

 

I love threads like these.

How about some more stories about cranky and/or weird record store personnel? Good stuff!

 

gotta agree with Dave here. i've been to both locations on Sahara and have had great sucesses.

the stories are legendary.

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3718440068

here in SF, i'd recommend Amoeba in the Haight, Grooves at Market & Octavia, Open Mind Music in the Castro (but sadly, not for long. they're being evicted and are closing at the end of October) and 101 Music in North Beach.

later, chris

 

^^ click on the link i posted above ^^

later, chris

 

101 Music is one weird store! The main level is stuffed to the gills with old stereo gear, and there's usually a Miles Davis LP BLASTING on the store hifi. Down in the basement are millions of LPs, unsorted, all $5/ea. If you're willing to take the time, you can find some gems. Once I walked out with a copy of "The Village Fugs" on Folkways, their rare 1965 debut LP, and an excellent Hank Garland jazz LP.

Back in the '80s they were around the corner on Grant Street, and I once found a sealed mono Impressions LP in there for $10. That same night, the hippie chick that was working the counter ducked into the back room to get stoned, I could smell it.