Good used vinyl/CD stores in Washington D.C.?

Hey folks, I'm making a birthday trip to D.C. later today, and I'm treating myself (and subjecting the family) to some record shopping. What are the must-visit stores? Thanks!

 

Joe's record paradise in Rockville.

 

CD Cellar in Falls Church and Arlington. Great stores!

 

As noted earlier, Joe's in Rockville on Gude Drive, is the place to be. Be sure to go through the bins behind the counter for the really good stuff (etiquitte says you have to ask for permission). If you're really up for some hard core browsing while you're in Rockville, try the Second Story Books warehouse on Parklawn Drive. Lots of junk to wade through, but I've often been rewarded for my time with some $1 gems. Found some great used music books as well.
Happy birthday!

 

Thanks, guys. Now to roust the family out of bed (these great sleep-in holidays) and get going. Anyone been to the new Red Onion record store on 18th St.? Looks small but cool.

Here's the plan if the family holds out:

Arlington: CD Cellar and Orpheus Records
D.C.: Red Onion
Rockville: Joe's Record Paradise

Then a birthday dinner at Legal Seafood. Not too shabby!

 

Another vote for Joe's Record Paradise. I was there last Saturday and found some nice LPs, as I usually do. If you have enough time, check out the understock as well; there are usually some gems or better copies lurking beneath the racks.


Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

CD Depot in College Park--biggest selection of cut-out and used jazz, blues, rock, country, soul, etc in the Mid-Atlantic...

9039 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740

301-982-3472

 

Skip Groff was one of the best vinyl dealers in Rockville, but that was 20 years ago and I don't know if he's still in business. Anybody know?

 

On line only.

http://www.yesterdayandtodayrecords.com/

 

The closing of Y&T's retail store years ago was a real loss. Every Saturday morning, I headed down Rockville Pike to see if Skip had the new British import album that I had learned about during the week. He always did. The fact that Best Buy is directly across the street from where Skip's store used to be makes the loss even more painful. I often have to show the helpful salespeople there on the BB website that they DO have a new release in stock and, if I coax them just right, they'll actually go to the back and find a copy that I can buy.
The times they are a changin,' I'm afraid.

 

Please report on Red Onion.
I work downtown, but get lazy and hate to hunt for parking!

And you going to Legal by the Verizon Center?
Looks like the one on K Street closed!

http://www.legalseafoods.com/index.cfm?zip=20001&cd=location

Happy birthday! Enjoy!

--tob

 

I haven't been there yet but I have been wanting to scope out Record & Tape exchange in Fairfax...that's pretty close to DC right?

http://www.rtxrecords.com/

 

The Record and Tape Exchange has a pretty good selection of vinyl at reasonable prices, and I've found a few gems of the CD shelves too. Their only drawback is that their boxed sets are a little pricey. The CD cellar in Falls Church is definitly the place to go for CDs in Northern VA (I haven't been to the one in Arlington yet). I always find a couple gems every time I go there.

 

Really? I usually leave empty-handed. I have gotten a few good items there, like a target copy of Elton John's "Breaking Hearts" for $2, but those are exceptions.

Honestly, I think the answer to the thread's title is "there aren't any", at least in terms of good CD stores in the DC area. I've lived here my whole life but have always had much better luck shopping when I go out of town...

 

I would agree about CDs.

There were many great used CD stores in the late 80s and early 90s. Then suddenly most of them died during the late 90s. Everytime I go looking for a used CD at either CD Cellar, RTX, or CD Depot I leave empty handed. YMMV.

RTX is OK for vinyl. The only great store for vinyl in the whole DC area in terms of price and selection is Joe's Record Paradise.

 

I used to frequent a Record & Tape Exchange on Rt. 1 in College Park, MD, and bought well over a thousand albums there. Any connection between the two stores?

 

I was happy to find Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville after moving here from
San Francisco - I miss the many great used record stores out there!

 

Yes, they are related, but the Fairfax store is the only remaining location and has a new owner. Once upon a time, when they were owned by the previous owner, they had a store in Annapolis as well. By the way, the Fairfax Record & Tape Exchange still has it's warehouse of LPs in the basement of the original College Park location. My friend and I had a chance to visit the warehouse in the fall of 2006 and we each came away with a box of LPs.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

I know of two locations that RTX College Park had. In the '80s it was located in a house north of campus, on the west side of Rt. 1. In the early '90s it moved south, closer to campus, to a strip mall on the other side of the street.

Is the basement in either of these locations or was there yet a third location?

 

I was going to ask the same thing.

I remember buying LPs at both of those locations. The one on the strip mall I knew was related to the one in Fairfax, but there was no basement in the mall. AFAIK. They lost the lease around 2001.

 

Sad. I think the last time I was there was on a trip to visit my folks in March of 2000. I only got a couple CDs that time, but the digibook version of the Philly Sound box for only $15 was one of them!

The old location was practically my home away from home. I started going there in the summer of '88. I was living in the sprawling Springhill Lake apartment complex down the University Blvd. in Greenbelt, and I'd swing by RTX once a week or so. Then, in Jan. '89 I started at Maryland and got a job at TGI Friday's at the same time. I worked 30 more hours a week and as a waiter always had cash. I'd fill my belly for free on breadsticks, cream of brocoli soup, and fries off of customers' plates (BEFORE they were served ) during my shift, and after it, blow $30 or $40 at RTX. The Trouser Press Guide to New Wave (or whatever it was called) was my bible at the time, and I could find almost any album that looked intriguing in the guide--indie label, import, OOP, whatever--at RTX for between $3.99 and $5.99. Sounds implausible, but it's true. I think (a) being in a large college town with (b) a radio station to boot is what made it possible. Because of the riches there, I never left the Alternative section. A blessing and a curse, I imagine.

It wasn't quite the same when it moved, though it was still good. However, by that time I'd changed my allegiance to Vinyl Ink in Silver Spring, and was buying UK indie-pop imports as soon as they landed on these shores. (And that store was one of the few places in the States many of them did land.)

Good times, good times.

 

Vinyl Ink was a great place for vinyl.

 

Orpheus murders 'em all where vinyl is concerned. I go there quite a bit and Rick has everything. He gets the entire Classic Records catalog and he also stocks rare and unusual gems. Somehow, he also seems to know exactly what's there all the time. You can just ask if he has something and he'll know...on the spot. I can't recommend Orpheus highly enough.

Ed

 

The warehouse was in the basement of the original store location, which is the house north of the College Park campus. This location is currently located next to a 7-11 convenience store. I can remember shopping at that location as far back as the late '70's.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Wish they would reopen that location. I remember buying a Muddy Waters Chess LP there back in the late seventies.