Used records, record shops and listening nights, explained before you go
From the crate in a shop to the turntable at home, we cover each step a record takes between buying it and playing it.
Three kinds of place for music, and how to tell them apart
We are a community group of record collectors. We run no shop, sell nothing and keep no events calendar, so this is a guide to the kinds of place a reader can visit, not an advert for any of them.
What a record store is
A record store is a shop that sells records. The Google listing for Music Connection gives its category as record store, and its hours appear further down this page. A lessons studio and a listening night are different kinds of place, and the shop guide sorts the three by what a reader wants to leave with.
Grades a seller uses
Used records are often described by a grade, and the scale matters. On the Goldmine scale, Near Mint means a record that has been played only a few times. Ask which scale a seller uses, and read Goldmine's grading guide. The buying guides take the grades one at a time.
Looking after what you already own
The care page covers storage, handling and sleeves for a record you own, and it says where each rule comes from. Condition at the point of sale is covered on the buying guides page.
Listening together is what this picture shows. It links to Music Connection, a record store in Manchester, New Hampshire.
What moves a price, and which figures we can source
Prices move for reasons a reader can check before paying. A record store's own website is a fair place to start when comparing prices. For Music Connection, that is musicconnection.us.
- A used record
- No price is printed here, because none could be sourced for used records. The grade a seller gives is the first thing that moves its price, and the buying guides explain how to read a grade.
- Singing lessons in Boston
- $50 an hour on average, in a range of $40 to $80, from a Thumbtack page for Boston private lessons that carries no pricing date. The source covers singing only, and other instruments and studios may price differently.
- A one-time Boston entertainment license
- $25 to $200, depending on venue size, applied for at least 14 days before the event, under the City of Boston's one-time license.
Questions to settle before a purchase or a listening night
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Are the prices on this site current?
Each figure names its source and the page it came from. The lesson range comes from one undated page, and no used-record price appears because none could be sourced.
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Which kind of place suits a first visit?
A record store sells records. A lessons studio teaches an instrument. A listening night is a gathering around records. The shop guide sorts them by what you want to leave with.
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Is sales tax due on records sold from a personal collection?
In Massachusetts, the sales tax is 6.25 percent on retail sales by a vendor. A person who is not regularly in the business of retail sales is exempt from it on casual and isolated sales, such as a few records from their own collection. Check the rule where you sell.
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Is a license needed to hold a listening night?
Playing records to a public gathering is a public performance under US copyright law, and owning the record or paying for streaming does not cover it. In Boston, a one-off public show needs a One-Time Entertainment License, applied for at least 14 days ahead. The sources here cover Boston only, so check with the town where the night is held.
What a music shop floor can look like
This walkthrough shows a guitar and music store's showroom floor. It is a video from another channel, and it is not footage of any shop this guide has visited. It is here to show what a music shop floor can look like before you walk in.
Why this guide points to one record store
Music Connection is a record store in Manchester, New Hampshire. This guide points there because a reader can check it before making the trip: its category, hours and public rating are on the Google listing below. Nothing here comes from a visit or a purchase, so the reasons are the ones any reader can check.
When the record store is open
Before you drive out to the record shop, check when it is open
Music Connection is a record store in Manchester, rated 4.7 on Google across 297 reviews, and its Google listing shows these opening times.
| Monday | 11 AM–5 PM |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10 AM–6 PM |
| Wednesday | 10 AM–6 PM |
| Thursday | 10 AM–6 PM |
| Friday | 10 AM–7:30 PM |
| Saturday | 10 AM–6 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–5 PM |
1711 S Willow St, Manchester, NH 03103 · (603) 644-0199
