Strictly Discs

The basement is a used vinyl laced dream! Crazy the amount they have in there. The selection is outstanding both new and used. Give yourself some time to peruse the bins, you will never know what you will find. I always head to the New Arrival crates first and always find an interesting title or two (or seven) that I may have forgotten about. Pricing is mostly fair and their grading is typically spot on and just about every used piece of vinyl I have purchased is marked with a price. Their buy 12 get one free (new and used) is a good deal as well, just sign up and they track it for you in their database. The Staff is friendly and cordial (I think other reviewers give them a bad rap) offering suggestions to new (and old) music that in truth I never have or never might have heard of.
One of the more fun things they do is the occasional crate digs where they team up with local businesses and bring in crates of a certain type of genre to those business’ and have a sale. One last fall was one leaning heavy on the Punk side at a local clothing store and near Christmas they had a Christmas Album themed Crate Dig at a new local bar (gave my wife an opportunity to sit and have a drink while I dug). Kind of a cool idea.
Without a doubt the best music shop in Madison, bar none.

I’m not sure if I just hit Strictly Discs during a bumper crop or what, but they had tons of AMAZINGLY rare records on the shelves! I got original New Jazz pressings of Eric Dolphy’s «Out There» and Mal Waldron’s «The Quest» plus a couple of sweet Blue Notes and an assortment of 70s small label albums.
One nag — the listening station isn’t in the best shape.

I love this place — don’t understand why some reviews say bad customer service because I have had nothing but good experiences with everyone here. Such a cool store, too! If you are into records, this is totally the spot for you (who wants to order stuff online, when you could go to such a fun place and actually touch and feel what you are buying?) I have ordered through them when something wasn’t in store and it’s always been a quick turnaround, easy process. Love the $ 1.99 grab bag — such a fun add-​on for the vinyl lover in your family. Just left the store with a free holiday CD with purchase… And it’s great!

This is my favorite record store in the Midwest and I travel to Madison a couple times a year just go dig in the basement. Prices are super fair, grading is spot-​on, staff is really nice. The stacks are easy to flip through and they don’t put bargain bin vinyl in with the rest of the used stuff. In the past few years, I’ve only had one visit that was a bust where I didn’t find anything. Selection is great, and getting on the mailing list is a must. The used vinyl alerts help me know when it’s time to make a trip!

The main strength of this place is the deep selection. Between their constantly changing used inventory and their impressive flow of new records, I almost always find something here worth having.
The problems are two. 1) The used records in the basement are mostly unmarked. Browsers are forced to bring records to the staff person, who when checking online for current prices suddenly seems more like a greedy dealer in vintage goods than a chill record store clerk. So you have to decide what records you are seriously interested in, then take them to the staff, and then sit there and make decisions how much you can or want to spend, then awkwardly wonder what to do with the records you’ve decided to leave. I prefer stores that price their goods once and then let them sit in the bins waiting to be discovered, rather than this up-​to-​the-​second market rate. Too much of a hustle. This process makes the store as much about the money as the music.
And 2), as noted by others, the owner of the store is particularly pushy. The very first time in the store he asked if I were looking for something specific. Once I told him yes, I’m looking for a certain Don Pullen record. He says, oh we don’t have that but we have this, and this, and this is really great and rare… Well, thank you but I didn’t ask for those. Just say you don’t have what I’m looking for, and ask if I am I looking for anything else. Another time I had four used records by one artist priced and then decided to take two of them. First he says I missed out on two other records by the same artist, that they were just snatched the day before. Do I need to be told that? It’s in the nature of shopping for used records – we’re always missing out, every second of every day. Then this guy has the balls to ask me why I’m not taking all four – «Is there a reason you’re not taking all of them?» Well, it’s actually none of his business. He doesn’t know my collection, my budget, and my priorities. Whatta schmuck.
Go to MadCity. Selection not as deep but still good and zero attitude.

A great selection of new releases, emphasis on indie labels. On the used side, the CD selection is light; best go for the vinyl. Their «floor» selection is best in the classical and jazz departments. In the rock/​pop, selection is fair. Soul/​RB selection is poor (but this is the case for a lot of used record stores). Best bins to browse are the new arrivals. They seem to get a lot of first pressings and other rarities and if you know what you are looking for you can snap them up. Condition ratings are spot-​on; I’ve purchased over 40 records and only one has been over-​graded. Expect to pay a premium on popular discs/​artists that move quickly. For those who complain about prices: the store is doing the job of browsing online ads, thrift stores, garage sales, and getting things cleaned up and on the floor for you. Their prices are fair, based off Goldmine. And there is the buy 12, get 1 free program they have. Overall it’s a good shop.

Like this place… TONS of records, two floors worth, a place to listen to them in the basement… and just awesome if you are Team Analog like I am. They also have a shelf with cheap records in the landing. Monroe St. has become an overcrowded nightmare of what it was when I was in high school though… parking can be a pain and trying to cross the street may be fatal.

Strictly Discs is a great place for those looking for some quality vinyl. Those working there can be a bit off-​putting (rather dismissive), but it’s tough not to want to support a great local business.

One of my favorite stops when in Madison. The basement is Vinyl Junkie heaven…

It’s a small, tight store. They have a decent selection, but nothing overwhelming. I like to go in and browse on the off-​chance I might find something rare – and occasionally I do.
The location isn’t the most convenient. Parking in that neighborhood sucks. Be prepared to walk at least a block or two to get to the store.
I never like the music they’re playing whenever I’ve gone in, but I find that to be true about all music shops. Usually whatever hipster-​ass-​hipster is working wants you to know that he/​she is far more avant-​garde about music than you, thus he/​she needs to bust out the most obscure, cacophonous jazz record you’ve never heard… and never will want to hear.

This is a great place if you love vinyl! To get started they have a vast selection of used vinyl downstairs and I always find something I’m looking for. The staff is very friendly and knowledgable on anything related to music, vinyl, and music playing devises such as record players.

Regarding CLASSICAL discs, this place is great for vinyl and CDs. Really organized and serious. However, their prices are through the roof. I kept asking them if I could try the crack they are smoking to see if the discs would seem like a better deal. They are strictly nuts. That said, I am sure they are the best place in Madison if you put out of your mind that these are used!

They have a large selection of music. That is the only good thing about this place. I used to frequent this place but now I’ve stopped due to the fact that I’m treated like crap when I’m just browsing. The prices are not listed on the vinyl, you’ve to ask how much it is and they look it up on-​line how much it is selling for and finally decide how much to rip you off. The vinyl grading system is on the Poor side.

drink a beer while you browse :)

My favorite music store in Madison, or anywhere else I’ve lived. Friendly staff, great selection, and an amazing ability to find anything you can think of within a few business days.
What more could you ask for from your friendly neighborhood record shop?

Like others, I’ve got to admit – the owner is a bit sketchy. He’s always been fairly friendly to me, but I can see that he’s a bit pretentious and judgmental about what I buy. And to top it off, he’s always trying to sell me more than what I came looking for. Not really into feeling pressured like that.
The only reason I do go back is because they do have a pretty great indie collection and a great stash in the basement. I also like the plethora of listening stations.
If the owner wasn’t such a tool sometimes and if the staff were more inviting, I might spend all my time there.

sure, I like buying music online but, nothing beats some chill time just browsing discs and looking for something new. Groovy selection of discs and vinyl… two thumbs up :)

I frequent three records stores, strictly discs being the most frequented. To me they always seem rather friendly and there is indeed a women working there who happens to be extremely helpful herself. They’ve managed to get a hold of some pretty obscure stuff for me in the past so I tend to use them for my special ordering but the also have one of the best new vinyl selections in the area. They recently opened up their basement area for browsing so you can find tons of records down there now, previously they only brought up select stuff for sale and would let select people go down there.

Honestly, the last time I went in this store was in 2003. There’s a few reasons for this. One is that although the owner has always been friendly, he comes off as slightly oily and creepy.
There used to be this bearded asshole who worked there that may still work there that told me that the reason no women worked there was because women don’t know anything about music.
But, mostly I don’t go into Strictly Discs is because they never have a damn thing I am looking for.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the owner of Strictly Discs was the personification of Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. It’s almost an exact match, except Snooty Music Guy might actually be worse.
Phew, I feel much better with that being said. Other than his attitude, his store is well stocked with rare CDs and vinyl, if you’re into that sort of thing. You can listen to any record before buying, but he won’t offer it — you’ve got to ask for it.
Also, he’ll order anything you’re looking for, but with the internet, can you just cut out the middleman and do it yourself for less moolah? Just saying…