This is my local source of vinyl; I shop here almost weekly. The service lacks in knowledge and responsibility, so unless you catch the particular employee that knows your genre, best to do your research beforehand. While some of the employees do the best that they can, the owner can be recognized as Shadeball McGreedy. ALWAYS CHECK THE CONDITION OF YOUR PRODUCT! Never special order anything from here as they have a knack for f***ing it up or straight up forgetting it all together. That being said, the staff has improved since I first moved here, especially within the last year (2006). There is no comparison to the service level of "Real Records", the music shop 3 blocks North, as those folks (the store is mostly run by a man and his daughter) are exceptional at finding anything and answering any question about music you, and sometimes they, have never heard before. They will even let you listen to it before you buy. Both places are ridiculusly expensive. The Record Collector is often more reasonably priced, and occasionally you can find a steal. Often I feel that their selection is stale; I've been through the hip-hop section so many times I can spot all of the new arrivals in less than 8 minutes. To me this store is like a Goodwill...sure it's full of garbage, but if you keep an eye out, you can find things that you weren't necessarily looking for, sometimes for a bargain.
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