Trading Post Music

They have a good selection of what they sell, friendly staff and good prices. I love how it’s tucked away up on a little hill, you could almost drive by if you don’t know where it is.

I have been going here since before they moved to get t shirts, great music, and incense selection. Prices are always fair, and staff is always helpful!

I used to go their all the time. Record selections is staggering. I did end up finding Judas Priest’s Sad Wings of Destiny on vinyl in a very good price. Video games has much to be desired but I do feel like music is their niche. Especially hippy jam bands like Grateful Dead, Phish, Sublime to name a few. T-​shirts a mix bag in its finest, there are some predictable stuff judging the store itself and some surprising selections (Dead Milkmen anyone?).
Overall, its a hippy dippy shop but I would recommend checking it out. Expect to have you cloths smell like insent, especially when you bought a shirt there.

Having been on a voyage to find a wealthy selection of jazz CDs from the slim selection at Integrity n’ Music in Wethersfield to (non-​existent jazz selection) Music Outlet in Enfield, CT to Turn it Up in Northampton, MA to random thrift sifting, all have been underwhelming disappointments. Trading Post has it down very well for the area, rivaling stuff not seen in even Book Off in New York City and they know it with an impressive selection of not just those ‘jazz 101′ greats but contemporary fusion, funk, bluesy I was looking for: Robben Ford, Joe Sample and/​or Crusaders (very difficult finds in stores), Frank Gambale, Lee Ritenour to name a few, especially those older GRP releases and even some obscure imports were here.
Immediately noted, Trading Post isn’t looking to score you any real deals on used discs, likely because they know collectors are looking to avoid predatory Amazon prices and having the item right in front of you. Deals, like ones you may occasionally find at Newbury Comics, aren’t really here though you may find something harder to come by, maybe an older print of a disc which I always prefer in my collection.
Most discs are planted at $ 6 and up, averaging in the $ 10 – 15 range. There were a few that were grossly overpriced, like a Hiram Bullock release from the 80’s — not something found easily but still too pricey, even if it’s a very rare street level finds. They offer a pretty fair buy 3 get 1 free, but you may spend more than it’s worth to get there.
I ended up snagging a $ 10 disc that was around $ 9 on Amazon and another that was a $.01 on Amazon and $ 5 here. The former was an older print and I find that particularly cool. Managed to save on the $ 4 shipping and mystery of not knowing what I’m getting, which is generally what keeps me from buying online.
LPs are a dime a dozen here, basically nobody cares about collecting them and there’s no shortage of the clunky medium you can find cheaper elsewhere but they have tons here they barely fit on shelves along with the occasional «rare» video game, don’t even bother with those.
Collectors beware: be prepared to pick up an array of spare case of jewel cases. The paramount of all complaints here is how they treat the physical pricing with many jewel cases which are ruined with large stickers planted right on the front. Follow Newbury Comics idea of individually plastic sleeving each disc (an excellent preservation practice I’ve found used widely in Japan) — a big project maybe but at these prices and audience, collector’s appreciate this and it ought to be implemented.
It would’ve been nice to see a discount section that may prompt more clearance and impulse buys or maybe stuff that just doesn’t sell. It’s not easy to blind purchase when something interesting is around $ 10.
Return value? I might return in a few months but I won’t stop in regularly unless there’s a little more incentive than B1G3.

Popping in a live Grateful Dead CD (or cassette) and driving up to The Trading Post in Canton used to be a real treat; something I did very rarely and usually during rainy weather. It was like walking into a Deadhead’s paradise! Albums, T-​shirts, bumper stickers, and just about every Grateful Dead show you could imagine available for free-​transfer, you had to pay only for the blank cassette.
How times have changed… the outside of the current building looks very cool. Once inside, it’s like walking into just about any ol’ music store, something which has become obsolete with the evolution of digital downloading. This is not to say it’s necessarily a bad thing, just different. They had one Grateful Dead CD and one Grateful Dead DVD in the whole store. Upon inquiring, I was told when they’re stocked, they fly right out the door. If they’re so popular, however, why can you not afford to restock it so that there’s something there?
In all fairness, I hadn’t been here for at least twelve years. I bought a couple T-​Shirts just to make it worth the drive up. And, oh, yes: the transfer service is no longer available since the material can be found online free-​of-​charge and cut directly to your computer.
That being said, I’d no longer go out of my way to visit the Trading Post, but I certainly wouldn’t just drive by it with my nose in the air. Worthy effort, after all these years.