Great Escape

Hey everyone. Just wanted to write & express my deep gratitude to the staff @ the Great Escape in Madison. Back in September my home was broken into while I was out of town. Among the items stolen was my entire record collection. A collection that spans back to my grandmother and includes albums belonging to my parents, aunts, uncles, & from my travels over the last 20 years. Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Buddy Holly, Doc Watson, three Mono Dylan records, rare blues field recordings, Zappa, Monk, Coltrane, Hendrix, Gilberto, and a Cream promo just to name a few. The thief brought the collection up to The Great Escape in Madison & sold it to them. Their staff knew this was a rare lot & helped me get back all of my prized records- nearly $2000 in total value. I am forever grateful to them, & don't know how I ever would have replaced this collection! Thanks again guys! more

The staff of this store is rude and incompetent . They have little regard for their customers. I recently overheard the folks working there making fun of a customer who had just called and asked a question on the phone. They INSIST on defacing their pricier records (those priced above $9.99) with grease pencil, applying it ON THE RECORD ITSELF. Yes, they RUIN them this way. On the issue of pricing itself, they show ZERO CONSISTENCY. Don't shop there. I'm pretty sure that they hate you. I was contacted directly by the manager of The Great Mistake shortly after posting this review. I'm sorry to report that he believes that he is powerless to stop the use of grease pencil on records. Let that sink in...he said he CANNOT do anything about it. This amounts to the destruction of our cultural heritage, as there are a finite number of records in the world. This is not the sort of establishment that serious collectors should patronize until they get their act straight. I will say that the manager was very apologetic regarding the staff's attitude toward customers. Problem is, this is a case of actions versus words. Guess which one wins? more

So I have been going to this Great Escape store for decades. Heck, I remember when they moved it from beside Burger King to where it is now. Back in the day this store was a great place to shop and a great childhood memory of mine (my first experience was probably in 1982 or so). Lately however, I have been very disappointed with my shopping experiences there, to the point that it is no longer a ""destination"" store for me, but more of an afterthought if I happen to be in the area or have nothing else to do (unlike the far superior McKay's which IS a must). Sad really when I think about what once was :( First off, this store is always overstaffed with people who either don't want to help or think that their commentary behind the counter amongst themselves actually has some sort of value to the customers who can easily overhear their every negative word, usually revolving around such hot topics as ""this movie sucks"", ""I thought the original comic book edition was better"" or ""customers are so stupid"" all ironically while the AM hits of yesteryear are oozing out of the speakers with Bee Gees or Little River Band classics. While in one sense this makes for a hilarious backdrop, it really is unprofessional (and uncomfortable) to hear such negative talk in earshot of the people who pay their paychecks and bills! Last time I was there, I heard people in the parking lot talking about how bad the staff is. They were referring to one employee as the ""rock-n-roll Bozo"", apparently because of his long, clownish curly hair and another employee as ""Long Duck Dong"", I'm guessing because of his Asian heritage. I say this not to embarrass anyone, but to paint the realistic picture of how they are viewed by the public at large. So think of the Jack Black character in the movie High Fidelity which isn't unusual in this type of setting, and that's basically what you are dealing with. So even with this type of attitude, I could deal with it if they were at least accomodating when you need something. They are not. If anything is behind the counter, out of arms reach, or not priced yet, forget getting help! What you get is ""check back in a few days""or ""uh, it doesn't have a price on it"". We are in a recession, money is hard to come by, yet a willing, paying customer is standing in their face and they are basically turned away. Turning down money in a recession is not only ignorant, it's mind boggling! My advice is get off your ass, put out the stock you haven't yet (God knows there's enough people there working at any given time to do it), pull the discs and comics from behind the counter to the edge of the counter if someone asks to see them and get your price gun ready to roll if something doesn't have a price tag on it! You may actually sell something! How hard is it? Well apparently at the Great Escape Madison, it's very difficult. I also want to take this time to praise the folks at the Charlotte location of Great Escape. Tammy is amazingly more

On my recent day of record shopping in Nashville (June 15), I made the short drive to The Great Escape's Madison location and ended up spending the majority of my day here! They always have some good vinyl, and occasionally some really good vinyl, and this day turned out to be the latter. As with most vinyl stores these days, there were lots of average titles too. I frequently stop at Great Escape Madison when in Middle Tennessee, and this day I believe I bought more good stuff and spent the most $ I ever have at one time here. The selection is not always as good as it was this day, but it is worth the drive to see what they have. more

Great Escape has 3 record stores in Nashville / Madison.\r Main store off Broadway has many rare records. Good selection of rock and country. Some promos at times. Sales are often and twice a year blowouts. More on the common side on CD's. \r \r Half Price store is open Friday's and Saturdays only. Great deal, if you come early. Some Ebay sellers are there at opening. $1 records and $1 CD's up to $4. Best place to find record deals in Nashville. \r \r Madison store has good deals but the better selection is at Broadway.\r \r By the way Bowling Green, Kentucky has a Great Escape too. \r \r Madison Store has a good selection when the Broadway store could not sell it they move the record to Madison. (July 18, 2006) Pros: GOOD DEALS to be found. Price is good. Cons: Some of the records have been there for years, More turn around. Comics take up to much space. more

This store isn't as big as the downtown store, but it is much easier to get to. They sell used CD's, comics, dvd's, old records, and lots of cool stuff. This is my souce for cardboard packing that I use for shipping photos. more