Record Exchange

Great shop! Knowledgeable staff, always good for conversation and info about music.
The selection is fantastic! Grading of vinyl is well done! Prices are good (of course some great higher priced collectibles on the walls).
Location and parking are good.
Another of my regular record shops.

The fact that this place exists in Salem is perplexing but awesome. Record Exchange is one of the increasingly few record stores that knows how to maintain a well-​curated inventory. And even more surprising, they don’t charge astronomical prices for their records. I saw two Suede records there and I couldn’t believe that 1.) they were in Salem, MA and 2.) they weren’t marked up too high hell.
Unfortunately when I was there, I didn’t have a lot of time before they closed. But next time I’m in the area, I hope to have an hour or so to dig through everything and take some goodies home.

Probably my favourite record shop in the greater Boston area. Stumbled in here by chance when in Salem for a weekend and found a whole bunch of gems. There are tons of vinyls here, and they haven’t been picked over the same way they are in the city. Paul the owner describes his prices as «the lower end of fair» and I would agree, you feel like you’re getting great value for the records you buy here. Highly recommended to check this place out!

It blows my mind that I shopped here for the first time in 1984. The Record Exchange is a flat-​out institution.
I recently went in for the first time since the ‘90s. Unfortunately, I only had an hour to shop — I could have stayed all day. Great, great selection, very fair prices, excellent staff (Paul and Barrence are straight-​up dudes), and tons of cool posters, promo items, rarities, etc. on the walls. All of this, yet totally non-​claustrophobic. In short, Record Exchange is everything you could possibly want from a record store.
Plus, I left with a solid stack of vinyl, which is always a good thing.
Here’s to another 30 years.

I used to shop at this store frequently back when I was going to school in Salem in the ‘90s, but haven’t been in too often since then. However, I recently jumped on the vinyl-​revival bandwagon, and thought I’d go see what I could find.
What I found was a lot. First I looked through the bins up top, and ended up with a nice pile of ‘80s synth-​pop/​rock. Then, I discovered the shelves below the bins. At first I thought that it would just be overstock, mostly doubles or triples of things that were represented up top. Nope. In the lower shelves I found a treasure trove, including two Europe-​only EPs by my favorite band that, even having been a die-​hard fan since the early ‘80s, I had literally never laid eyes on before on American soil (including one I’d never seen before in person anywhere, period). Astoundingly, I did not pay over $ 7 for either one of these.
With all the great records I found, I ended up spending twice the limit I’d given myself before walking in, and that was after making a lot of hard decisions and putting a bunch of stuff back. A couple of the not-​so-​rare records I felt they maybe could’ve let go for a buck or two less, and that’s pretty much the only reason this is a four-​star review instead of five.
The guy who helped me out (and priced many of the records that didn’t have a price sticker on them) was cool. He was knowledgeable about the bands I was buying and engaged me in conversation about them, even though they were a far cry from the type of music that the store’s usually playing and seems to specialize in. In short, I didn’t get any of the ‘record store guy’ attitude, which was nice.
All in all, it was a great experience that I look forward to repeating soon.
[My haul from this visit (all vinyl): ABC, «The Lexicon Of Love» /​Duran Duran «DMM Mega Mixes» (German EP) /​Duran Duran, «Mixing» (Italian EP) /​EBN-​OZN, «Feeling Cavalier» /​Naked Eyes, «(What) In The Name Of Love)» 12″ single /​Andy Taylor, «Thunder» /​Thompson Twins, «Runaway» 12″ single /​Wire, «Silk Skin Paws» 12″ single]

This is a great record store if you are a fan of music. Well they seem to specialize in Classic rock, jazz, blues and a mixture of other music. It’s not a large store and it is packed pretty tight with piles everywhere, that being said it is organized. The really good stuff is put on the wall that can be seen when walking into the store. They also sell DVDs and CD. The prices are reasonable but can be pricey on the more hard to find. They don’t negotiate on prices. You won’t find many newer albums, maybe in the CDs collections but not records. They do have a lot of great classic rock music albums and new stuff is always arriving. The only real issue is I enjoy heavy metal and my girlfriend listens to hip hop and indie rock, but this store does not carry much in the genres except some older classics. Our search continues. For metal heads: They were playing a Judea’s priest album when I came in one day, so they have some early metal records but you won’t find anything much newer in metal than the 1980s maybe early 90s. Which is fine since I still listen to early stuff but some one younger may think its grandpa music.

I absolutely love so much about this place, but I have to give it three stars only because of a serious qualm.
First, the great:
Amazing selection, especially the rare gems on the wall. There are real finds in the uncategorized section, as well. Employees are friendly and some know A LOT about this stuff — and they LOVE music. So that’s awesome.
The not so great:
A lot of the categorized records have price tags that are not the actual prices. And a lot of the uncategorized records are not priced at all. There are two problems. One, the process of bringing a record up to the counter is frustrating in that it gets looked over and many times someone else is called on the phone to determine the price, which is solely based on the title and the description over the phone, which is not always accurate (in my opinion). Second, why would anyone want to go to the counter and pay MORE than the price sticker? This often happens.
So my three star review is an opportunity to explain my qualms and ask that they please price records before they put them out. Otherwise, this is a five-​star place. And a rockin’ one, at that.

Greatest record store ever.
Note I didn’t say «greatest USED record store ever.» This place is the real deal: amazing selection, owners who’ve been there forever and care about music, and prices that can’t be beat (most of the time).
I started coming here in high school, to buy vinyl. Cassette tapes in college. CDs since. It hasn’t exactly been a place for discovering artists, though I’ve found plenty of new records by artists known to me. Mainly it’s a place I go to browse, at my leisure. To flip through the stacks and talk shop with the guys behind the counter, who (to their credit) seem to recognize me each time I go in, even if only once a year. We seem to be simpatico musically, which makes it easy to reconnect. Today, I joked that Linda Thompson was still in the Richard Thompson solo section, «something she probably wouldn’t be pleased to see.» They countered that Linda and Richard seem to be more on speaking terms than they have in the past.
Today’s haul was typically eclectic: The Cure’s «Standing on the Beach,» a recently released official R and L Thompson bootleg, and Bob Mould’s «Black Sheets of Rain.» All for around $ 25. The music playing overhead was Ennio Morricone’s gorgeous score from «The Mission,» followed by some live Al Stewart. I could have browsed for another hour.
In the end, that’s why places like the ‘schange have to stay around. They’re more than just stores. They’re shrines. Long live The Record Exchange.

The selection here is pretty great. Prices are fair — not dirt cheap but definitely affordable. All of the albums I purchased were under $ 10 — ranging from $ 2 to $ 9. (I had been searching for Lene Lovich and Kate Bush albums everywhere and this place had quite a selection of both!) — The only downside was how long it took to price some albums at the counter. We were at the counter for quite a while. However, considering all the albums I found for such good prices, I’m not complaining. The man at the counter actually cleaned my boyfriend’s records for him after examining a small scratch on one album. Nice employees, nice prices, nice selection, very nice place.
An added bonus — there’s a chill vibe to the place. I’ve been to so many record shops where I’ve felt judged and out of place. Didn’t get that here at all. No arrogant vibes to be found.

I give this store an A for Organization. Or an O, I guess. I really liked how the LPs were all alphabetized by artist, neatly written on the dividers. Maybe I hit it at a bad time, but the selection was just ok for what I was looking for. Seems like they specialize in jazz/​blues.
I found the store to be slightly cramped and musty. Found it very similar to In Your Ear in Warren.
I intentionally brought cash to avoid grumbles from the (of course) grumbly record store guy, turns out I still put him out! He would’ve rather I used the card.
I guess I would recommend to anybody in RI thinking about taking the drive; save your gas, unless you are a hardcore record fanatic.

Gem after Gem!!!
Anyone into old school records/​cds used or new this is the place for you. I’ve been going here since i was in middle school when my uncle use to take me. He was a huge Jazz fan and always said this was one of his favorite places to go in the area. Still til this day i go here from time to time when I’m trying to find a rare/​older albums mostly ones that are out of print. If you can’t find it there the guys will even recommend other stores for you to go check out (any chain-​type music store would NEVER do that) which really struck me as music-​purist type thing to do. I highly recommend this place if your into Jazz, Punk or Classic Rock because they have albums, cd’s and memorabilia (sometimes autographed) galore. Yes its not located in the greatest neighborhood, yes it doesn’t have a ton of parking but for a REAL old school music store experience you come here.

Still love this place 3 years after my original review. They know me now and give me suggestions upon arrival. Plus they have expanded their new vinyl selection and have even more of the cutting edge bands than they did previously.

Huge selection. The employees are ridiculously knowledgeable about music, and will go out of their way to help you get what you want. It’s nice to see a local small music store that hasn’t allowed themselves to be pushed out of business by the bigger chain stores. And it’s clear that these guys legitimately love what they do, too, as opposed to the kids that work at other music chains who tend to either act like they’re better than you, or act like they’d rather be anywhere else.

I really wish after years and years as a record store, this place would get their shit together. Nearly every time I go in, I find something in the 7″ boxes; and always get the same answer when I ask how much: «oh I don’t know, the owner prices that stuff, he will be here Tuesday morning.»
Well Guess what? I wont be there Tuesday morning, I’m here now.
Salem Record Exchange has a great vinyl museum, its really too bad all those customers keep trying to buy stuff.

I like this place. It does not have alot of parking right in the vicinity but a decent amount within a stones throw. They have a decent selection– primarily vinyl and CD’s. Staff is friendly and they have a good base of regulars from what it seems like.

I have been going to the record exchange since I was in high school. Early on it was easier than heading to the mall. As I got older I realized how cool this place really is.
I try to stop in at least once a month and usually spend 45 mins or so, combing through the thousands of records, waiting for something to jump out at me. Rebuilding my parents record collection one album at a time. They’re always playing cool quirky records, and the staff is always friendly and appreciative of your business.
It’s the perfect haven to revist your past… the smell of each record brings you back to a simpler time… give it a spin.

The Boston-​area stores that I ranked lower could take a page from Record Exchange — it’s well-​stocked, organized, and has records that are actually worth buying.
After seeing the shape many of Boston’s stores are in — few customers, very little new stock, poorly organized — I was surprised that this spot up in Salem is doing so well, or appears to be at least. You’d be hard-​pressed to find a genre that they don’t have covered at least respectably. They don’t have a ton of hip-​hop or electronic, though they did have an impressive number of Sugar Hill 12″ singles from the early 80s. One wall is covered with rare albums (at higher prices), and up there I’ve seen the type of stuff I’d expect to have to visit Amoeba to find (Australian Smiths singles, Joy Division live bootlegs, early 90s alt-​rock titles that were pressed in very limited quantities). I’ve said before that the presence of Smiths records indicates a healthy store — many are rare to begin with, they sell fast and fans tend to hold onto them (vs selling them back frequently).
The downsides — many of the records don’t have price tags on them. You can take them to the counter and have one of the staff price them for you, but I’ve seen fluctuation of several dollars for the same record on different days. Some of the selections can be a tad overpriced — there’s a lot of 80s 12″ singles that ought to be $ 1.99 or less and they’re asking a few bucks more for. But those are really the only complaints — it’s a well-​laid out store great for browsing.

I love iTunes as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s such a pain to click on things and wait for pages to load and buffer the streaming samples. That’s where Record Exchange comes in.
You see, someone had the incredibly original idea of taking an online shopping experience like iTunes and bringing into the real world! I can’t believe no one has thought of this before!
Instead of mp3, mpeg4 and other digital files, they sell these things called records, compact discs and cassette tapes. For video, they sell these other things called digital video discs (or DVD) and video tapes (called VHS). The best thing is, you don’t need to find the right codecs or plug-​ins or anything to get this stuff working. In most cases, you can pop it right into a computer and start watching or listening! For the records, cassettes and video tapes you do need to purchase a small converter box, but they’re readily available on
(or BestBuy for you brick and mortar shoppers!).
Steve Jobs really needs to pay attention to the guys at Record Exchange because this idea of not needing to log into a computer to buy music and having an instant physical backup copy might really catch on. Not to mention the artwork is a lot nicer than the digital sleeves you download on iTunes.
So head on over to Record Exchange and ride the latest wave in music and video technology. I think they refer to themselves as a «record store» and I’m guessing it’s just a matter of time before more of these «record stores» spring up all across the United States — you better watch out, iTunes!

Not much else to say that hasn’t already been said, but I will reinforce that this is a great music store. Very good selection of vinyl, good stock of used cds and dvds. The owners are super friendly also.
I have found quite a few obscure albums I have been looking for here. I always come home with something new.
Highly recommended.

A music lovers dream come true!
I’ve been going to this place for close to 25 years and I hope it’s around for another 25. Give yourself time to browse through the amazing collection of CD’s and old records. They now carry used DVD’s too. And rest assured, there’s no stereotypical multi-​pierced, tattooed, «cool» kids behind the counter showing expressed signs of boredom when you ask them a question like they would be at your local Newbury Comics.
This place is the best!