Greater Boston
Cheap Thrills Music
10 Riverside Drive, Dedham, MA
Good Dog Records & Books
1187 Centre Street, Newton, MA
Looney Tunes
16 Harvard Avenue, Allston, MA
Vinyl Index.
1 Bow Market Way #25, Somerville, MA 02143
Vinyl Index.
1 Bow Market Way #25
Somerville, MA 02143
617-764-3667
Website Instagram
Ultra-modern hipster spot tucked away in Somerville’s Union Square neighborhood. Vinyl Index serves up amenities like ultrasonic cleaning, DJ nights, in-store drinks and their own vinyl pressings. Everything here is meticulously curated, sleeved and crated. It’s an art gallery for records, basically, with a lot of new, un-played vinyl. On my first visit, I picked up a used 2012 double LP re-issue of Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power with both Bowie’s 1973 original mix and Iggy’s 1997 mix. I was impressed that they had already switched out the company sleeves for archival anti-static sleeves in the bin. It’s that kind of place. Also very active on Discogs.
Vinyl Index Body Count:
- Raw Power, Iggy and the Stooges ($28 – January 2025)
Metrowest & Central Mass
Guitars & Grooves
19A Main Street
Hudson, MA 01749
(978) 618-0289
Website
Bill Phaneuf opened Guitars & Grooves in Hudson’s revitalized downtown in January 2021. His tidy, welcoming shop sells and repairs guitars and amps and offers lessons. In early 2025, his storefront is entirely obscured by multi-story scaffolding, so it’s easy to miss on your first pass.
The well-organized bins of maybe a thousand (?) LPs are filled with classic rock and New Wave standards. You won’t find any new releases here. You will find a lot of aspirationally priced VG-VG+ copies of Heartbreak City or Seven and the Ragged Tiger or Done With Mirrors that will set you back $15 – $20. I had better luck flipping through a lonely bin of non-rock outcasts and found a beautiful 1964 original press of The Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go for ten bucks.
Guitars & Grooves Body Count:
- Where Did Our Love Go, The Supremes ($10 – February 2025)
Southeastern Mass
Curmudgeon Records
1 N. Main Street
Attleboro, MA 02703
(508) 840-1806
No Website
This hole-in-the-wall shop opened in downtown Attleboro in late 2024, replacing a queer used bookstore that flamed out in less than a year in the same tiny space. Everything here is extremely bare bones, but it makes for a satisfying, non-overwhelming crate digging experience. Records are more or less grouped by genre, but nothing is labelled, so you’ll need to ask owner Dennis Wagle where to start digging. But he’s got some good stuff, including (to my surprise) some new releases. Mostly rock and hip hop. Paying cash is appreciated.
Curmudgeon Records Body Count:
- Darkness on the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($16 – December 2024)
- In Color, Cheap Trick ($5 – December 2024)
- Pyromania, Def Leppard ($22 – December 2024)
- Boston, Mass., The Del Fuegos ($10 – December 2024)
- Fresh Fish Special, Robert Gordon & Link Wray ($10 – December 2024)
- Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones ($30 – December 2024)