Bop Street Records

Incredible selection, but this is the first record store I have been into in over 10 years that still exclusively uses a price guide to price records upon checkout. The only real guide for records anymore is eBay auctions. Typically the price is a minimum of $10, and don't be surprised at a $50 pricetag on an album that typically would sell for $15 anywhere else. And all of this is pretty interesting, considering that these guys actually DO sell a lot of their higher-end items on eBay! Dave will regale you with stories of celebrities who have come through and bought stacks of records. While these are undoubtedly true, the folks at Bop Street should keep in mind that the majority of record buyers in Seattle aren't members of a big-label, multimillion-selling rock band on tour. For those of us looking for good-condition copies of things, it does help that they have a listening station at Bop Street. However, should you find a record that skips, and decide to take a chance on it anyway, they will still charge the price listed in the book for a mint-grade copy. If you contest the price, they might knock a few bucks off. This is a funny practice, as it shows where the business ethics are lacking. I have been a record dealer, myself, for 20 years. And no, I'm not a competitor, and have no store set up in Seattle. I am a collector as well, and, while I look for good prices, I don't begrudge fellow dealers for charging what the records are truly worth, at least in a general ballpark amount. But really...a $5 album is a $5 album, and a $500 album is a $500 album, and price should always depend on condition. Here's an example. Let's say I go by the book in pricing records. Someone brings a record to the register at my store. It looks mint, and books at $20 mint, but the customer says it skips. I would put it on the turntable behind me and test it to verify that. more

this place has everything you wish to find. They have Vinyl and they have tapes to CDs. You can just imagine an artist or song and just arrive here with just that little inkling in your head and mention it to the staff and they'll have it. They have two floors and if you are a music junkie you will love just flying through these cds trying to find oldies and newies just the same! more

If you are an avid music fan and truly know what is good and what is not, you should go to this music store. Since I do not know a lot about which albums might be worth it to get, I get confused digging through the piles looking for something I know. If you like negotiating, you can get good deals, but I like to save the hassle and go to somewhere more organized. more

Bop Street has an insane amount of records (and a few used cd's which are not worth going for alone) spread out over two floors (three rooms). The Vinyl on the upper level is well organized where as the lower level is sort of organized but really better suited for those willing to dig a bit. My main complaint about this place is the fact that they don't price anything on the shelves but rather tell you how much they're willing to let it go for, sometimes this is great because you can talk them down but most of the time I just get this feeling that they know that I must want it if I'm asking, and thus they'll try and get as much as they can for it... come to think of it, this ALWAYS pisses me off. This place is good if you're a collector. more