12 Record Stores in Raleigh to Grow Your Music Collection

One of my all-time favorite hobbies is record collecting. It was ignited by a present, a Victrola vintage style record player, and I’ve been playing records on it non-stop for over a decade now! The good news is that avid record collectors like me can find some great record stores in Raleigh.

It doesn’t matter what genre you’re into; whether it’s blues, rock, county, pop or soul, or whether you want second hand, old records of brand new, you can find it all in the quirky record shops in Raleigh.

If you’re shopping in Raleigh and not sure which record store to visit, or which one stocks what you’re looking for, here is a guide to our beloved record stores.

The Best Record Stores in Raleigh

1. Hunky Dory Records

• Location: 101 E Whitaker Mill Rd, Raleigh
• Website: HunkyDoryVinyls.com

Hunky Dory Records is my favorite record store in Raleigh. It has been operating in Durham since 2010 and now has a location at Raleigh Iron Works and Downtown Cary. If a record store can branch out in this economy, they must be doing something right. Hunky Dory Records is unique as they operated also as tap rooms with a curated selection of beers on tap! What better experience than to browse through vinyl collections with a local craft beer in your hand? I could have spent all afternoon there reminiscing with each new album I picked up and the stories of my crowd surfing youth.

After a grapefruit hibiscus cider, I walked out of there with one of the greatest albums of all time: U2’s Rattle and Hum and a few old favorites for just a few dollars each. On my most recent visit, I picked up Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York and Pearl Jam’s VS and Ten.

They have a large selection of old and used records. Don’t miss the side wall at the back filled with crates of $1 vinyls. Thank you Jan and Dean and Oklahoma! Hunky Dory’s original store is located in Durham. They have locations in Raleigh Iron Works, Downtown Cary, and Downtown Apex.

2. Schoolkids Records

• Location: 2237 Avent Ferry Rd, Raleigh
• Website: SchoolKidsRecords.com

I like the way this Raleigh record store is organized. New records are alphabetized, and there’s a section for used records that are alphabetized and organized by genre. It makes it so easy to find something you’re looking for, rather than just endlessly browse and see what you discover. Looking for “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye? Find it in less than 5 minutes. Winning!

That being said, they do have a very large section of low-cost vintage records which are all bunched together, if you enjoy the fun of discovering a hidden gem. Browsing that way can be a drain, so at least they have the modern used records organized in a more helpful way! And if you also collect CDs, they have a huge CD collection too (not so much cassettes though), and some audio equipment for sale.

Craig rates SchoolKids Records as his second favorite Raleigh store (behind Hunky Dory). He’s not alone with rating it high either, there is a good reason this record store has been going for 50+ years. This retail indie record store is located near NC State Centennial Campus, so very handy for students and those in South Raleigh. You can also order online and they have another store in Chapel Hill.

FUN FACT: SchoolKids Records is not just a record store, it’s also a record label. Since 2008 they have had their own record label, originally releasing albums under the name Second Motion Records.

3. Nice Price Books + Records

• Location: 3106 Hillsborough St, Raleigh
• Website: NicePriceBooksAndRecords.com

Any kind of music style is catered to at Nice Price Books & Records. It has the quirkiest collection of vinyls I’ve seen: new and used. This may be the place you find a rare LP gem. I found Cold Chisel’s LP, East here and paid a bargain $3 for it. Cold Chisel are a classic Australian band and this album has some of their best songs. You know how many Americans break into singing Don’t Stop Believing in bars at 1am? Australian’s will break out to Cold Chisel’s, Khe Sahn.

It’s located near NC State and Cup a Joe coffee shop on Hillsborough St, so it has a cool hipster student vibe, and you can pick up a few books while here as well. Remember to support local businesses! Get there early and avoid weekends.

4. Father & Son Antiques

• Location: 302 S West St, Raleigh
• Website: FatherAndSonRaleigh.com

Possibly one of the most famous vintage stores in Raleigh is Father & Son Antiques in the awesome Warehouse District of downtown Raleigh. Bring your savings account as this store is on the pricier side of vintage, but the items they have are gorgeous. They have an upstairs section filled with a wide collection of used records. It’s possible any kind of music lover will find something here. I almost walked out with a $5 Abba album. I may go back for it.

5. Pour House Music Hall & Record Store

• Location:  224 S Blount St, Raleigh
• Website: PourHouseMusicHall.com

The Pour House is known as one of Raleigh’s best live music venues, but did you know it also has a record store upstairs? Go down the alley and up the stairs to find a large selection of records new and old, most with affordable prices.

They have bargain bins filled with records at as low as $1 each. Can you find a better deal than that? I doubt it. I am sure you’ll find a few nuggets in there. We didn’t have much time to look properly, but I intend to go back. You can look over the balcony at the stage set while there. Pour House is another funky record store in Raleigh.

You can also order vinyls online, and if you’re a band performing there, you can have your live show recorded, mixed, and pressed on vinyl from the shop. How cool is that?! The Pour House is located in Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh.

6. Sound Off Records and Hi-Fi

• Location: 608 W South St Raleigh
• Website: SoundOffRecords.com

We first discovered this store hidden in the basement of the Carter Building on Glenwood Ave by chance. Since it opened, Sound Off Records & Hi-Fi has relocated to 608 W South St Raleigh.

Inside you’ll find a large collection of used records and hidden treasures as well as stereo equipment and record players. You may be lucky to find a few collector items in here. Craig found a Chris Cornell album with all his best hits, but for $120 we’ll think more about that one. While we’d love to splurge that on our record collection (we loved Chris Cornell and Soundgarden/Audioslave), but it’s not something we can spend during these challenging times!

The staff here are probably the most knowledgeable about music of all the stores we’ve visited, and the selection here changes quite regularly too. There’s nothing more annoying than going to a record store and finding the same vinyls each time.

7. Sorry State Records

• Location: 317 W Morgan St #105, Raleigh
• Website: SorryStateRecords.com

Sorry State Records is where Craig bought my birthday present (the vintage record player) and first record that helped kick of my record collecting hobby, Queen’s Greatest Hits. This Raleigh record store began as a record label in 2005, releasing a 7″ vinyl record called Nuclear Tomorrow, the second EP by Direct Control. Since then they have put out nearly 100 releases!

They are well known for their extensive vinyl record selection of rock albums, particularly metal and punk. They have everything from heavy metal, classic rock, punk rock, and more. Their music ranges from 60s and 70s era right up to new bands. Some popular albums you can find here are Abbey Road by The Beatles, The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. It’s probably your best bet if you want to find indie vinyl, or your typically hard-to-find records. They have a large selection of cassette tapes as well. Conveniently located in downtown Raleigh on W. Morgan Street, but you can also shop online.

8. The Vinyl Destination inside TrunkShow

• Location: 1526 Wake Forest Rd, Raleigh
• Website: TrunkShowRaleighNC.com

We discovered the TrunkShow had records for sale (a store called The Vinyl Destination) after we were on the hunt for vintage furniture. It was a 2-minute walk from Pine State Coffee near Mordecai where we’d stopped for a coffee on the morning of my birthday. We walked over and fell in love with this store! It’s not just records, but a vintage store filled with locally made art, vintage clothing and Mid-Century furniture. Kalyra bought a gorgeous black dress from here and I was tempted with these boots and vintage suitcase. (Who had one of these growing up?)

Trunk Show is all about vintage, homemade, funk. They have a pretty good record collection. It’s small, so not the first one I would recommend out of all these on this list, but if you’re looking to shop for more than just records, be sure to pop in. I held off in purchasing too much last time we went, now I look back and I wished I grabbed a few more that piqued my interest and I intend to go back.

9. Chesire Cat, Village District

Cheshire Cat Antique Gallery is a multi-dealer antique mall with 20,000 square feet of underground shopping with over 100 dealers who carry: mid-century furniture, Asian designs, collectibles, art, sterling, fine jewelry, costume jewelry, lighting, interior decorating, and much more. Included in that are several independent vinyl record dealers that have set up large booths with an excellent selection of vinyls from your favorite artists, old and new.

10. Track Record Vinyl Shop & Listening Lounge, Fuquay Varina

• Address: 115 N. Main Street, Fuquay-Varina
• Website: trackrecordvinyl.com

A Facebook follower alerted us to Track Record Vinyl Shop & Listening Lounge in Fuquay Varina. This Wake County record shop and listening lounge offers a cozy space to dig through crates of vinyl, sip on craft coffee or a drink, and connect with music lovers of all kinds. They sell records from hip-hop classics to timeless rock, and new releases to hidden gems. They also sell T-shirts, music-inspired gifts, puzzles, cards, and more. I’m excited to check this one out!

11. Super Stuff Records

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Super Stuff Records (@superstuffrecords)

• Address: 301 Kinsey Street, Raleigh
• Website: facebook.com/superstuffrecords

Super Stuff Records is a small, independently owned record shop at the back of Rebus Works in Boylan Heights. It has another location in The Good Old Co in Goldsboro. It opened back in 2022 and has expanded quite a bit since then, offering more crates with more hidden gems in them. It’s a good place to go diving for 70s and 80s gems, particularly classic rock. We’ve found Boston, Uriah Heap, Saxon, Bon Jovi and more in the record boxes there. And you can get a decent cup of coffee while you browse!

12. The Newsagents

• Address: 228 Fayetteville St., Raleigh
• Website: thenewsagentsshop.com

New to downtown Raleigh is the unique Newsagents, a nostalgic throwback to the world off physical media – the good old days. Their mission is good: “aid in the rediscovery, restoration, and preservation of the culture that is being actively flattened or destroyed by digital algorithms.” I agree with them that algorithms are killing art, soul, and originality.

It’s a fun store where you can browse used books, comics, movies, and magazines as well as records! The collection is small, but I liked what they had out in their bins. There’s also a small listening station with a turntable and headphone!

Other record stores in the Triangle

Facebook followers also recommended you hop in the car and drive to the following Triangle record stores:

• All Day Records in Carrboro
• Volume Records and Beer in Hillsborough
• Record Krate in Glenwood South (though we’ve found their records to be overpriced)
• Carolina Soul Records in Durham
• The Record Krate in Wake Forest

Final thoughts

I’ve been on the hunt for the best records stores in Raleigh every since I hooked up my turntables, and I love finding some cool and unique records to add to my collection. Half the fun of vinyl record collecting is browsing and buying vinyls in a totally cool place, and not necessarily going out looking for something, but coming home with a hidden gem. Do I need another Led Zeppelin album? Yes I do!

There is something magical about listening to music on a vinyl. I love that little crackle you get before the beat kicks in. I feel like records allow you to be more present with the music, to listen to the lyrics, and connect to the stories. Music is not just something to put on in the background, but something to savor and enjoy.

As my records are like prized possessions (and expensive ones). Even though they are an old and outdated concept, they are still widely sold across the world and even beats sales of CDs and cassettes.

I’m starting my collection looking for classics and vintage tunes – looking more for used records for the now. Each record has been carefully selected to tell a story or recall a memory from my childhood. The diversity ranges from Oklahoma – the first musical I watched as a little girl with my parents, to Pearl Jam’s VS – an amazing concert experience in my early twenties, to current Harry Styles’ Fine Line, our family favorite.