When it comes to niche markets, shopping can be a little tricky. This is the case whether it’s board games, or comic books, nut-crackers, or any other variety of collectors item. When it comes to shopping for jazz vinyl, knowing the shops with the best collections, titles, and artists is a leg up on the other collectors. Knowing which vinyl record shops are hot and which aren’t worth a second look will increase the odds that you find the records for which you’re looking, created by the artists you love the most.
To lend a helping hand this is a list of jazzy places to buy vinyl records online that will be gems in your growing vinyl collection. Take the guess-work out of shopping for vinyl records and look to these stores and their extensive libraries for easy and convenient access to wonderful and lively vinyl collections.
Experience Vinyl
A long-lived player in the vinyl record marketplace is Experience Vinyl. They’ve gone through a few iterations before becoming the brand Experience Vinyl, as they were previously known as Reverb LP and even earlier went by the title, SoundStageDirect. As such, Experience Vinyl has been around the block once or twice when it comes to the vinyl record marketplace.
Experience Vinyl is structured to connect vinyl consumers with both brick and mortar stores, as well as individual sellers. This process dramatically increases the selection available and makes it easy for consumers to find the exact LP for which they’re looking. This massive collection also increases the chances that an avid collector can find rare or limited records to add to their library.
One of the small downfalls with Experience Vinyl is that titles are sometimes left listed as available after already being purchased. This is a pretty small thing for most consumers to deal with in the massive pool of sellers and buyers that Experience Vinyl facilitates, but can be irritating when a particularly popular or rare title is listed as available when it is not. Experience Vinyl makes up for that little unfriendly user experience with the giant library of LPs available.
Furthermore, the genres range from jazz to rock and roll to military, stage, and screen, children’s music, pop, and virtually everything in between.
DustyGroove
DustyGroove isn’t just an online e-commerce store dedicated to vinyl records. They also have a brick-and-mortar store in downtown Chicago, right on North Ashland Avenue. This makes them a little bit more unique than some of the other stores on this list, as there’s a bit of Chicago flavor when it comes to DustyGroove. One of the focal points of DustyGroove is its dedication to cultivating a list of incredible jazz, soul, funk, and rock records. Their list is immense and dives deep into the history and origin of new-aged music. Beyond their pristine collection in the jazz, soul, and rock genres, it doesn’t take that long to discover that the DustyGroove goes above and beyond, branching vocalists, hip hop artists, reggae, gospel, and so much more.
The DustyGroove is consumer-conscious, offering a value bin for the bargain-hunter and budget-conscious.
Vinyl Me, Please
Vinyl Me, Please is also a unique vendor in the structure of their service and the records that they share with their subscribers. It’s important to note that Vinyl Me, Please is a subscription-based service. As such, they have a limited collection available to their listeners, and it carries all of the other drawbacks that monthly subscription services naturally bring with them.
Their structure is intriguing and worth investigating for the true vinyl-record lover. Vinyl Me, Please have access to an exclusive list of limited LPs that are difficult to find. They work with artists monthly on special record presses and package all of this with album art.
Blue Note
Blue Note is another top vendor for finding, purchasing, and collecting Vinyl. Blue Note has a beautiful selection that sprawls various categories and musical styles. Additionally, Blue Note makes it super simple to buy vinyl online and build your collection from the comfort of your own home.
Blue Note offers a beautiful consumer experience if you’re looking for a good range of versatility, a convenient shopping experience, and reasonable prices.
Last Words on Buying Vinyl
Vinyl has made a significant resurgence over the last 5-10 years. This is likely mainly due to the sound quality that vinyl offers. However, the connotation that vinyl records are a collectors item has also contributed to its bouncing back in the marketplace, creating a healthy variety of stores, vendors, and markets through which consumers can build their vinyl collection one record at a time.