Peoples Records

New location is great. More room. Not moldy smelling. I smell records before buying and I have only found one moldy one in the new location. That is good. Great turnover. Always people bringing stuff in. New arrivals all the time. Helpful and knowledgeable staff. Place to eat next door. Friendly dog. I’ve been there enough that the dog recognizes me, I think. This place is big on 45s but that isn’t my thing. Beware of parking tickets. Good listening station, or they’ll play something for over the store speakers.

People’s is an alright record store, but its not my favorite. It’s a great location, but the space is very small and can get crowded with as little as two or three other people inside. I just started collecting vinyl not too long ago, and I’m more interested in LPs than 45s. If you’re into 45s, then this place is probably a gold mine. No other record store in the area even comes close to the amount of 45’s this place has. As far as LPs go, their R&B/Soul and jazz selections are decent sized, but the rock and other selections are fairly underwhelming. What I like is that their prices are pretty fair on a lot of stuff, and I can usually get a good stack of records for fairly cheap. The staff there is also really friendly and if you buy a bunch of records, they will usually round the price down and give you a little bit of a deal. What I don’t like, and others have mentioned this in their reviews, is that anything of decent value that comes it goes directly online. I’ve heard one of the guys say this to a customer who was asking for James Brown LPs. They have LPs from some of the more popular artists, but its usually not the albums you are looking for. I understand that the whole point of the business is to make money, but it takes away from the experience of going to a record store vs. going online if a lot of the really good records are never even made available in the store. Still, I’ve found some great stuff in the under $ 5 range. Most of the records are around that price, but I’ve seen some garbage quality stuff marked for $ 10+ just because its a popular group or album. I don’t mind paying a decent amount for a good record, but not for a good record in poor quality.
My word of advise would be if you find something you really want, make sure you inspect it well and listen to it on their turntable in the store before you buy it. Its great that they let you do this, as some shops don’t have that available. I’ve probably picked up close to a dozen LP’s in the two times I’ve been to People’s and the majority of them have been fine, but I’ve had a couple that I blindly bought and once I listened to them at home and heard how awful and crackly they sounded, I really regretted not giving them a preview before paying for them.

This place is amazing (specifically the new location). Tons of cool Detroit 45s of all genres, great collectible jazz at reasonable prices, and the most badass collection of 78s I’ve ever seen. Seriously, they have a stack of Blue Note 78s from Miles, Monk, Bud Powell… just awesome. Also saw a copy of Bud Powell on Roost in V+ condition… didn’t ask the price because I did’t want to be tempted.

So if you’re trying to find new records or records that are ultra popular, People’s is not the place for you. If you are a music fan, looking for great records that few people have even heard, this is the place to go! The owner, Brad Hales is so knowledgeable and friendly! You’ll never know who you might run into at People’s, many DJs (local, national and international) come here to comb through the store. Prices are good, especially if you’re buying lots of records.
I love people’s, it’s almost a museum of music that people should hear with a focus on Detroit 45s.

How wild you are about this store depends on how into 45s you are, particularly rare 45s. If you’re looking for LPs, look elsewhere.
On a recent visit it was a struggle for me to come up with a handful of records I could buy. People’s is heavy on 60s and 70s R&B and Jazz, which I like, but many times when I could find an LP I liked in the racks, I’d have to put it back due to condition issues. Lots of badly scratched records, records with evidence of water damage, pretty beat looking records in general. I suppose some folks are okay with that, but I’m not, and I don’t have to settle for it with used vinyl.
Shopping here, it is also pretty clear that a lot of stuff just goes to eBay or Discogs. I actually heard the clerks talking about that too, so I’m not pulling this out of thin air. I’m sure many of the more desirable records, or anything that would sell for more than $ 10 gets sold online. When record stores do this, there really isn’t any reason to me stopping in, because all the good stuff has been cherry picked out of the racks.
I understand the store has a second location in Detroit that may be a different experience altogether, but shopping here didn’t really make me want to go through the trouble of checking it out.
For R&B and jazz vinyl, I’ll just stick to Street Corner in Oak Park.

This is by far the best record store I have ever walked into. Their selection in all genres is impeccable, particularly in Rock N Roll, Soul, and Jazz. Coming from Toronto, I’m used to seeing unreasonably high prices for vinyl. Not so here, I found some timeless classics for under 10 $. Their bargain bins are astonishing, and as a Jazz fan who knows how hard it is to find quality jazz at low prices, I was floored to find albums by the liked of Lester Young, Stan Getz, and Oscar Peterson for 94 cents a piece. Owner was friendly and informative. Without a doubt coming back next time I’m in Detroit !

One of the best record stores in the midwest. Period.

People’s got what you need!

This is the best and nicest record store ever!!! My mans Brad Hales who owns the store is the coolest record store owner in Michigan. I really recommend this record store — (Peoples Records Rock) !!!

Full disclosure: High Fidelity is my favorite movie of all time. Today, at People’s Records, I just had a real life High Fidelity experience (minus Jack Black, maybe next time). After getting buzzed in, I had a great conversation with the two guys working there that ranged from the local real estate, bars to hit and of course music.
After reviewing some likes and dislikes, they took me upstairs where the records over $ 10 are (this used record store is a total steal, amazing stuff). I walked out with four Beatles albums to add to my slowly growing collection.
Now they focus mainly on the local oldies, lots of jazz, blues, soul, etc. with an emphasis on 45s, so when classic rock comes in it moves pretty quick, but they always are getting more in.
To Recap:
The Good: Take the earphones off and go retro. Dust off the record player, sit in your dad’s old lazy boy, smack your girl’s rump as she walks by and jam out to some classic vinyl. There I just saved you $ 150 in therapist fees. You’re welcome.
The Bad: Great local selection, I would love more rock, but the dude abides.
The Band This Store Most Resembles: Echo & The Bunnymen. It is perverse not to own some of this stuff. Get out there and enjoy it!

The store doesn’t have the same space, flow or easily searchable dollar bins that it had at their previous location, but Peoples has lost none of it’s killer selection of jazz and soul vinyl. That’s thanks to Brad and the rest of the crew who keep the everyday junk out of their bins. They list some of the rarer vinyl on Discogs and eBay like most of the other record stores, but, unlike Record Graveyard, that stuff is still on the shelf, so you still have a chance to snag it if you walk in.
The staff is pretty much hands off unless you ask for help, but they’re super nice and really know their stuff. Plus, they have been known to give a deal if you’re buying a stack of records. Not a huge selection of rock, but if you’re into jazz and soul (which you better be if you’re from Detroit), Peoples really gets it done.

wow, this place is getting five stars from everyone, I hate to be a downer but… their prices are just so freaking high. I bought a record here for nearly 20 bucks that was on ebay for a penny plus 3.99 S&H a week later. And maybe I’m just not hipster enough to shop here but always ignore me when I come in. I guess really, when it comes down to it, if you like music you could easily buy anything you’d get here off of ebay for a bit a less.

EVERY birthday/​holiday/​random day I need a gift for a friend this is my GO-​TO spot! Brilliant staff, great selections and a genuinely rad environment.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING PEOPLE’S!

I don’t even know where to start with the compliments.
I am pleased, excited, and proud to call People’s Records my favorite record store in the United States. And after four years, and eight migrations from the Southwest back to the Midwest, I have seen a lot the United States has to offer for 45’s (most of it involves every bad record by Lionel Ritchie). All of it pales in comparison to Brad and Andy’s generosity, patience and talent in the identification of classic and rare 45’s. Especially in a day where a small number of people that are actually collecting 45’s in the states.
People’s Records loyalty to Detroit and to their customers is honorable. I have picked up many records from People’s that I have spent years searching for (mostly Jazz and Soul). Now, of course there are a lot of records in this small business. And they are not entirely sorted… but do yourself a favor and offer a hand to go through the records. Grab a pile or two! There might be some gems in there. I guarantee you will get a screaming deal on some very hard to find records!
With that, if you have not checked out Peoples. Do it. Brad and Andy have always been accommodating and easy to talk to. If you come in with a great unpretentious attitude, you can expect the same in return. This is one of the few record stores left, where the owner actually cares about his store and his clients.
Thank you Peoples for providing me with wonderful records for the last four years.
Haters get to steppin’

This is the best record store in Detroit, brad is a great guy who not only gives the customer a great deal, but also is completely honest and very genorous with those who come in to sell their records to him. This isn’t something you see very often in most record stores, especially when there are records worth hundreds or thousands of dollars involved… most buyers will give someone who doesn’t know the value of their rare records next to nothing and then sell it on eBay.
Everytime I am in detroit I come to people’s right away and never come out empty handed.

When you first walk in the store, they have 1 main room with racks & racks of 45s in these separate white shoe boxes with different titles like «Pop/​Vocal, Doo Wop, Garage, Punk, Indie Rock»). They have a very nice jazz section, but don’t forget to look around your feet because there’s more vinyl down there too. They have an entire wall with Motown 45s, too. Then, there’s the upstairs portion of the store where you have 3 separate rooms full of vinyl (1 room is huge, the other 2 are like the size small bedrooms). The 1 huge room is loaded with stuff that isn’t sorted much, but from my inspection of it today, looks like it’s mostly early dance music and r&b. Only go in that room if you have a whole hour to spend looking.
The other 2 rooms are sorted much better and in 1 of them you’ll find a cool section of psych rock & punk. It’s small, but it’s really cool stuff in that room!
Overall, I would recommend only going to People’s if you’re looking for Motown, jazz, and obscure punk music. If I was in the mood for punk right now, then I would’ve bought the whole crate (full of bands that I haven’t heard of).
Personally, I won’t be going to People’s very often because their selections are very limited. I found a lot of Chicago, Bee Gee’s and jazz LPs, but I couldn’t find the stuff I wanted like Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Airplane, Black Sabbath, or even The Doors.
*FYI, they only have a few new LPs. This isn’t a negative to me, but I just wanted to put it out there.

What an easy place to kill a lot of time sorting and sifting through years of albums.
The selection was pretty expansive to the past (I didn’t see a ton of recent stuff).
The staff was really friendly and kept a steady stream of browse-​worthy jams playing in the background.
As an added bonus (though I probably wasn’t supposed to), the store’s dog was incredibly friendly and fun to pet! :)

Picking one record store in Detroit would be really tough, but most of the time I have to do just that (unless I’m planning to spend an entire day driving all over the place). People’s is a GREAT shop, and it is as central as it gets re: record stores. If you are looking for a good place to make your first foray into the 313 record shop world, this is a solid starting point.
Staff are extremely nice and tend to give you a deal if you are buying multiple things. Nice dollar bins, organized by style (including 80s and punk).

Legit.
Staff is informative, helpful & friendly.
The vast array of merchandise is organized in a fun & creative manner.
They have sweet record players with speakers set up and ready to purchase out the door!
Two thumbs up.

What Detroit needs, besides a never-​ending spate of responsible leadership, is more records stores like this one.
My feet led me from an empty street into a room stuffed with music. Love when that happens! I stood still for a minute or so, flanked by boxes and boxes of vinyl records, getting my bearings as I inhaled that sweet sweet old-​record sleeve smell.
And what of the flanks? Lots of LPs, TONS of 45s, all genres. I have never seen so many 45s! Soul, jazz, R&B, rock. Dollah bins with Patsy Cline and other jewels (if you’re a DJ like me). Plus, the boxes are quite attractive in their own right, each boasting a colorful and eclectic paint job that identifies what treasures lie within.
For crate diggers, this place is a joy. Particularly if soul is your thing. Brad (the owner) is a cool guy whose knowledge of soul music is prodigious.
…and here is where I admit my weakness for in-​store pooches. Sigh. This one was friendly and non-​intrusive. It was hard deciding whether to continue petting her or dive into the free jazz section (it only took a minute or so before I predictably dove).
I really hope more shops like People’s sprout up amongst the scattered empty lots that are all too numerous in Detroit.