New Castle DE is very fortunate to have a selection of really great record shops (Goodboy Vinyl,…read moreJupiter Records and Squeezebox to name a few) and Rainbow Records is no exception. Here's the breakdown
ATMOSPHERE & MISC: 5 out of 5
- Ample parking in the new location. New digs are clean, well lit, easy to get around given the relatively small overall space. Cool posters and wall art. Records are well organized and tidy. Always cool music being played. Restroom is accessible for longer deeper bin diving sessions. When weather is nice, can move some of their selection outdoors which is always nice as well.
SELECTION: 4 out of 5
- This is a pretty small to average sized store so dont expect them to have some completely all-encompassing selection of obscure or super rare nitsch stuff like Amoeba or a Tower records or something, there's just only so much space in store and they gotta sell stuff. Fortunately, it's located in a college town so they're clientele is typically hip enough that they're able to stock plenty of high quality stuff. Bread and butter is definitely alt rock, hip hop and used rock and jazz but there's all sorts of goodies if you go looking for a little while (I usually find some great world music every time I go though it's not a large section). I'm guessing most people won't have trouble finding some good deals there, but clearly those looking for ultra rare stuff may be better off looking elsewhere. That being said, if you talk to the staff there and tell them what u want or are looking for, they'll more than happily order you anything that's available online and I've taken them up on this on numerous occasions and they've shipped to my house for a very good rate.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: 5 out of 5
- Being that records have competition these days, it's incumbent on a record store sometimes to need to fill a greater role in the community just to stay around. Rainbow is always organizing events, sales, and live music and Dj shows for all sorts of charitable local events. They're social media is updated every day with the latest releases and the owners like I said are very accessible with requests for records or whatever. They have a great Facebook community and "what's on your turntable group" as well as a Record Club you can sign up for via email that sends out all sorts of cool, rare, new releases and every month for a very fair price. They support and work together with all sorts of other record stores in the community and local artist merch and music is always in stock and easy to find. This is a store you want to support people!
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 6 out of 5
- Saving the best for last. Todd and Melissa are simply put some of the nicest, hardest working and accommodating people you'll find anywhere. I've been shopping here for a while and I'm always impressed with the lengths they're willing to go to make the experience of buying records a more enjoyable one. We've all had at least one lousy experience with a snobby, less than helpful record store owner in our life, and while I can't recall very many if any at all in Delaware, Rainbow really does excel at not only being extremely helpful, but making you really feel a part of the family as soon as you step in the door. As I've alluded to above, they'll order anything you're looking for and won't charge anything additional at all really for it. Since COVID hit, theyve worn masks all day I've been there, and provide gloves and hand sanitizer and regularly disinfect they're surfaces. Besides all this, I've also either heard of or personally been involved in some instances of customer service and kindness on behalf of the staff that are really special. I happen to know that on at least one occasion, when the mail was really backed up early on during COVID, Todd drove records to a customer's house about 30 miles out of the way just to get it to them on time. Another time, i was playing a show down the street from rainbow and our guitarist broke a string and didn't have another set and I texted Melissa who was down the street and she showed up with another one within like 10 minutes. This just serves to illustrate the character of the people behind the scenes at this place. As I said above, these are the kind of small business owners it's an absolute honor to have in my community and a joy to support! Theyre everything a small business should be really (familial, accommodating, active in the community). If this was the worst record store in the world, I'd honesty keep coming back because they're such quality people.
FINAL VERDICT: 5 out of 5
- The owners of Rainbow Records clearly are driven by a passion for music and strengthening their community however they're able, so if you want to start loving records or love them already, I can't think of anywhere better to recommend stopping into!
***UPDATE***
30 minutes later: I still love Rainbow Records !!!!!
