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Where do you buy new albums?

I live close to Ann Arbor and love to go vinyl shopping there on occasion.

Several months back, I visited Wazoo Records on State Street for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see a limited number of brand new vinyl albums, so I purchased a couple ("Inflated Tear" by Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Slim Harpo's "Sings Raining in My Heart"). What a treat - the first brand new LP's that I've purchased in years! Really brought me back to my youth. From my memory, they only had a crate or two of the brand new stuff, mainly classic jazz, blues, soul, and r&b reissues.

Also, this past weekend, I went to Encore Records on East Liberty, just west of State. I was picking up some inner and outer sleeves, and while the clerk went in the backroom to get my order, I poked around some vinyl on the floor nearest the counter. There were quite a few new, sealed albums mixed in. I don't know if they were inventory that the store purchased itself or something that someone brought in for trade, but it's not too difficult to find new lp's mixed among their used ones.

Hopes this helps!
 
The local place I go has a 8ft section of new Vinyl. I've found many bands have been issuing Vinyl, CD and MP3. In some case the Vinyl comes with a download code as well. I often buy the CD as well given the mostly LOW Mp3 quality.
 
I go to Amazon for new Vinyl and take my chances with eBay for vintage vinyl. There are a couple of shops (literally a couple) within 30 minutes driving but selection, obviously is limited. Been collecting some first pressing Jethro Tull that seems to only be coming out of the U.K. and have found quality to be hit or miss. I've learned to stay away from anything that is listed as VG+++ (the more the pluses, the sketchier the album tends to be). Sadly I've also received records that, visibly, have not a single scratch, rub or dust and yet there's a tick or a skip in a particular song. It's frustrating. Usually sellers are pretty good about it though. Thing is you can find anything these days. Back when I was a kid and searching for the elusive Back to the Beach soundtrack (I was a huge SRV and Dick Dale fan) I could never find it. I even worked at one of the last remaining vinyl sellers in the state! Then eBay came along and now I have two. :D
 
Freedom said:
I too, have had problems with Sound Stage Direct. :tears:
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Did you call/write/email/pm Seth? He is a member here, and he checks his pms frequently, if not daily.

He can't fix a problem if he doesn't know there is one.

I got a warped record from Seth, once, and he sent a replacement, right away, for the price of a toll-free call. Called his 1-800 number, and he sent me a new perfect copy.
 
Usually from independent punk rock distros, amazon and I just ordered 3 records from Soundstagedirect.com because of this site. Locally their is about 3 record stores. My favorite though is Spin Records. Spin has the smallest selection when it comes to LPs compared to Lou's Records and Gary's Record Paradise but Spin has more quality over quantity.
 
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I do use some of the internet sites like Amazon and such during the winter months. During the summer it's the Zia Records near UNLV.
 
I don't know if anyone here is boycotting Best Buy, but I have found some very cheep albums online. Plus if it's messed up you can take it back to the store. I picked up Green Day's American Idiot (2 lp by Stan Ricker) for like $12 - $15 a few months ago.
 
Luckily here in Brevard, NC we have a real treasure in Rockin Robin Records. You never know what you are going to find when you walk in the door. They are a small shop so they don’t have a big selection of new vinyl, but they are happy to order for you. Today I stopped by and picked up some old vinyl in near mint condition and a new 180 gram issue of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.

http://www.rockinrobinrecords.com/
 
A quick plug for Aquarius Records in San Francisco. It's a bricks and mortar store with a really great, very interesting, very informative website. Their taste runs toward the experimental, but I've discovered a ton of new music through their site; stuff always well packaged. To be clear: I'm not affiliated in any way with them, just a customer.

aquariusrecords.org

Here's the boilerplate from their website about what they stock:
Aquarius Records specializes in many genres... indierock, punk, metal (black, doom, sludge and all things in between), reggae, sixties psych, seventies proto-metal, international music, experimental electronic music, hip hop, field recordings, found sounds, country and bluegrass and avant garde music of all types.
 
Usually ear x-tacy here in Louisville and sometimes CD Central when I'm in Lexington. Both of these are great independent record stores.
 
johnnm said:
I've purchased new vinyl over ebay before, but have had mixed results. Some of the records were fine, others were badly warped. (I've heard the same stories from people buying on Amazon.) While I'm sure I can find all the music I want online, I'd prefer a brick & mortar store, if just so I can not buy a warped record again. I could probably just return the warped ones I bought online for new ones, who's to say the new one I get isn't warped? I'd rather not deal with the hassle if possible.

That being the case, what are some stores that sell new vinyl? I believe somebody said a Target(!) was selling near them at one point (unfortunately not near me.) Or do you only buy used vinyl?
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Someone has said the Best Buy sells records, but, if you're looking for vinyl from an independent record store, you could try Flipside Records near the corner of 14 Mile and Main in downtown Clawson. It's a bit of a drive for you, but if you ever go to Royal Oak for grins on a Saturday afternoon, you're only a couple of miles away.

Their new vinyl sales are a bit limited, and seem to be limited, largely, to audiophile re-masters (I did get a re-mastered Jimi Hendrix Are You Experienced? on 180 g vinyl for $18), but they also have a huge collection of used vinyl for you to thumb through.
 
There are numerous places in New England that carry new vinyl; the one I go to most is In The Moment in Brattleboro, VT. second to that is one of the several Newbury Comics I drive by in my travels. When I'm in Maine or New Hampshire, I love to go to Bull Moose; they have a ton. In Manhattan, I go to Bleeker Street Records.

Of course, none of these will help you in Ann Arbor.
 
haffy111 said:
maybe he is. i just bought " a love supreme" by Coltrane (180g reissue) and it came SUPER warped. Honestly, i dont even know how to return the record. it just seems like a huge problem. when i first saw the record spin, i was crestfallen as i saw its warpage and realized i was screwed out of some good money..............

i picked soundstagedirect.com BECAUSE they advertise here at AK. i was so excited to hear the record, and it seemed well packaged &shipped. it is stupidly warped i must say.
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Call Karen or email her and let he know and we can send a new copy to you, we do not know if the LP is warped unless you let us know.

no need to send the warped LP back


seth@soundstagedirect.com
karen@soundstagedirect.com
 
specialidiot said:
I would like to ask haffy111 if he/she contacted SoundStageDirect before posting?

Everything I buy from them comes with a note inside - if anything is wrong with the order to contact them right away and they'll make it right.
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Thanks, If there is ever a problem all you you need to do is contact us.

every box come with a thank you letter and contact information if there is a problem with an LP
 
Definitely go to your local record store. Usually they have pretty good deals. Urban outfitters sells some vinyl too, if you can stomach going in there. Ordering online is always the same problem: poor storage in a warehouse and insufficient packaging. A lot of record labels ship right to you. DFArecords, for example (no affiliation, just love their music) packs their stuff really well, and ships fast. I'm sure other labels are the same. Aditionally, I imagine large vinyl specific websites like insound.com, turntablelab.com, phonicarecords.com, etc, would also package pretty well.

I've had more luck on ebay than amazon. In fact every album I've ordered from amazon has been warped or messed up in some manner. It's really frustrating, but they usually do replacements if the vinyl is damaged. Ebay can be alright because most sellers understand vinyl, and how they need to package it. Just make sure you email them to ask how they are going to ship it beforehand.
 
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