Vinyl shops in Denver?

I`ll be in Denver next week. Any suggestions for record shops to visit?

 

Twist and Shout on Colfax without question.Not only is it Denver's best record store it has free parking in the garage out back-a "rarity" in Denver for sure!

 

"Black + Read" has a great selection of vinyl. It should be considered a must visit along with "Twist And Shout". "Angelo's is good for cds but the used vinyl is pretty lame. Overpriced and beat to hell.

 

Ah thanks. that describes most of the record stores in Portland, too.

 

Twist & Shout for sure. Wax Trax is not far from there either. Independent records on Colfax is also downtown. These plus Black & Read are the best for used vinyl.

 

Twist, Wax, Black and Read are all must stops. Check out Barts in Boulder if your up here as well.

Fwiw I buy more lps at Wax Trax than anywhere else.

 

Twist and Shout
Black and Read
Wax Trax
Independent

 

Thanks guys!

 

I agree. all good shops. you cannot go wrong with any of em.

 

Forgot Indy has really been stepping it up lately. Stop there too. Right near Wax Trax.

 

I haven't been to Independent Records in years! Only been to the one in Denver once. When I lived in Colo Springs in the late 90s their selection of used vinyl wasn't really that great. Glad to see they're stepping up their game.
I see you live in Lafayette. My best friend lives there. It's a nice little town.

 

I've never been to Independent on Colfax. I too lived in the Springs in the late 90's early 00's. I still go down there a few times a year. While the vast majority of the vinyl there is still garage sale quality junk they have improved greatly. Unfortunately they now are focusing on their Medical Marijuana dispensary and the selection of new cds has gotten very slim. And when in the Springs you can't forget Earth Pig. Even though the owner died a while back his son is keeping the flag flying!

 

As a native, here is my take from a vinyl perspective:

You can hit the first three together, pretty close proximity. If ambitious, leave there, take I-70 west to Wadsworth, then north to Black & Read, from there you can head on to Boulder and make a whole day of it!

1. Twist And Should, lots of great stuff, but very proud of it too (pricy), they know vinyl, you will not likely find a deal here, you'll pay market price or more, I buy here versus online often, it costs a bit more, but I can see what I'm getting. The stock changes constantly.
2. Wax Trax, best all around Denver vinyl shop for reasonable prices and stock not being stagnant.
3. Independent on Colfax, getting better, but still not a huge vinyl selection. I find a few rare gems here from time to time, I always stop in.
4. Then, head northwest, Black And Read, best hidden gem vinyl shop in the area. They price some stuff (mostly metal and 50s jazz) ridiculously high, but everything else is very reasonable. I can blow an hour or two here every few weeks, and I always find a pile of stuff I need.
5. Go west to Boulder, as mentioned, Barts is cool and quirky, but you gotta stare at jam-packed shelves of spines, no flipping in bins. The stock doesn't change that much either, he has a ton of vinyl, just no where to floor it. Bart and Greg are great guys though, and it is not unusual for visiting (touring) artists to drop in. Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings shopped a while back..
6. Absolute Vinyl on the east side of Boulder is hit and miss, he only stocks VG+ and NM stuff, so you won't likely find a dud here, and he'll haggle, remember haggling? Doug is a nice guy, really knows music too, but stock doesn't change enough to warrant frequent visits for me, but really worth a drop in if you are in the area.
7. Albums on the hill, I shopped here in the 70s, but its not the same. Andy is a great guy, and he recently cleaned up the vinyl room. It's an improvement, but it's been well picked. And, he prices everything according to highest asking price on Amazon (weird choice for a vinyl buyers guide, but, whatever, you'll see Amazon printouts inside the sleeves justifying his steep prices). Sad, as this was the greatest store back in the 70s along with Trade-A-Tape which was a few doors to the south back then.
8. Angelos, mentioned before, must have a new guy pricing the vinyl, and he is doing his best to scare you away from every buying anything. Quality lately is mostly crap (less than VG) and anything remotely interesting is priced at $29.99 or up. I don't even bother going in anymore.

 

Not trying to derail but when I lived in Boulder from 2000-2003 (when he had his older and much larger location) I used to drop in there at least once a week and built up a good portion of my vinyl collection. I can't count how many times I would ask Bart a question/try to talk records, etc. and every time Bart would be a dick to me. I've heard he's really cool from a lot of people so maybe he just didn't like me lol.

 

When I visited, I went to Wax Trax and Twist and Shout.

I LOVED Wax Trax. Very reasonable prices -- tons of used vinyl. Feels like a neighborhood record shop should. I could spend hours here digging through the used section.

Twist and Shout is a cleaner and neater shop, but as someone mentioned, its definitely pricier. Used stuff is on the higher end of discogs prices. Even new audiophile stuff is expensive ($65 for 45rpm 2LPs, about $10 markup on MoFi releases). While scanning their catalog, I even saw a few used records that were more expensive than new vinyl prices at stores in my area.

I had a bad experience with the clerk there trying to inspect one of their used records. They had Dexter Gordon's Our Man In Paris (Music Matters) in the used section for $40, but the outer sleeve was sealed with their sticker (I know I could've gotten it for $45 tax-free brand new at Music Direct, but wanted to support a local store). It's understandable, as they don't want people throughout the store mucking about with their quality vinyl. But all stores in my area will let you inspect the record if you bring it up to a clerk who can "supervise" the inspection. So, I bring it up to the clerk, and they tell me I can't inspect it and would have to buy it blind. I explain that I understand why they sealed it with a sticker, but if I'm dropping $40 (with a no-returns policy...) I'd like a bit more assurance than blind faith. I even told them I don't even have to touch the vinyl, but just wanted to see it. They condescendingly tell me "it's sealed for a reason" and treated me like a child that they need to explain the facts of life to.

I had $400 worth of vinyl in my basket that I just left on the counter and left. I wanted to support a local store while I was in Denver, even with the high prices, but not with clerks like that. A no-returns policy on used vinyl that you can't even inspect is a bit ridiculous.

 

I suppose Wax Trax will be my first stop.

 

Wow! I can't believe they passed on a sale that large because of that stupid policy. I would've left too. I own my own shop selling vitamins and herbs and go out of my way to make sure the customer is happy. If I have to open a bottle of vitamins to show them how big the pill is (if they have trouble with large pills) and potentially have to eat the cost just to make them happy I'll certainly oblige, and most likely they'll be a lifelong customer because of it.

 

Twist & Shout is great - the classic music store, with all the goodies. Pricey,but worth it -

Wax Trax...I haven't been in years. They used to be *the* place to buy music. I remember moving to Denver in 1992 and being amazed at the variety and stock they carried. These days, it's a husk of it's former self. When you have no product from some of the biggest names in music, what's the point in even opening? Based on the comments here, I suppose I'll have to scout it out again, but on my last visit there (for CDs) they seriously did not have a single CD in the store that wasn't underground industrial or some dubstep/techno/rave act that I've never even heard of.

 

Absolute Vinyl is a must if you make it to Boulder. It's a very well curated small shop. Everything is graded (accurately) and I always find a bunch of records I've never seen anywhere else during my infrequent visits.

 

The best part was the incredibly sarcastic "have a nice day!" as I was leaving the store. Took a lot of willpower to not turn around and let the clerk have it.

I should note that there was one very friendly clerk that I talked to for a good half hour about music, shows and bands we liked at the beginning. He was a younger, tallish blonde guy. The two rude ones was a girl and a dark haired guy. My experience may have been the exception and not the rule, and I may have caught them on a bad day.

But you absolutely have the right mindframe, and I wish more shop owners were like you. In this day in age, with so many options to buy things on the internet, customer service and that personal touch goes a LONG way. The record store I frequent almost always prices their new vinyl releases $2-$6 more than online retailers and other stores in the area, but they continue to get my business because the owner is a great guy.

 

I am a regular customer of Angelo's in Aurora. They price vinyl by going off Amazon. The guy pricing the vinyl is a young guy who hasn't a clue what he's doing. He was trained by Angelo to use Amazon. I've seen them do it before. Can't speak for the other 2 locations. A few years ago I told them they needed to throw out all their used vinyl and start over. It was total junk.. That being said they did just buy 80 or so lps from me that were completely beat. Good titles but beat to hell. They gave me a good price.

 

On the morning of 11-12-12, when the Beatles' remastered stereo LPs were released, I walked into Wax Trax's vinyl store to look for those new albums -- any of them -- and saw not a one. I asked the clerk if they had any for sale, and he slowly replied, "oh, were those new ones supposed to be out today?" Short answer, they had none in stock, and they didn't seem to be aware of their existence. I walked out and went to Twist and Shout, which had numerous box sets and all the individual remastered albums EXCEPT for the White Album (The bastards! That's the only one I intended to buy that day! Oh well...).

However, DO go to Wax Trax when you go to Denver. While it has new vinyl, it seems hit and miss regarding newly-released LPs, at least those of more mainstream artists. It has the cheapest used vinyl in town, and a good selection of it, so if you want used vinyl, it's worth your time.

 

Wow, I feel like I've been given a People's History of Denver Vinyl Shops! I'm just looking for used, but thanks for all this info guys!

The way people are pricing vinyl these days drives me absolutely bonkers. The ONLY accurate measure of what something is worth is the average price of recent sold listings on eBay. This can be found in two seconds on Popsike. And don't even get me started on grading. There are thousands of delusional sellers on eBay, Discogs and Amazon with astronomical buy-it-now prices on records that aren't rare, and aren't anywhere near mint condition. This has become a rampant problem in the last two years. Record stores should know better than to follow suit.

 

I bet I'd recognize a lot of you folks by sight and vice versa.

 

It may sound bad but the biggest reason I shop nearly exclusively at Twist and Shout is the abundant free parking out back.When I first moved here I went to Independent down the street, parked at the strip mall across from it (with the Subway) even though it had a warning sign about towing.I figured they meant towing for long or overnight parking (as most strip centers do).I figured I could just head into Independent do a 2 minute sweep and leave.When I asked the clerk about parking there he said they'ed tow you within seconds and it was true- the place made the local news for just that.So, I'm glad I asked,heeded the warning,and left immediately.Beware....