Friendly service! Great little game shop. We were warmly greeted when we came in and they had a…read morenice variety of retro games.

Best video game store in the area. Huge new and retro selection, great prices, and great customer…read moreservice. Much better selection than disc replay, and everything I've ever bought has never had any issues.

Conveniently located in downtown Champaign near the Illinois Terminal (Amtrak, MTD buses) and a…read morestone's throw from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, Exile on Main Street has a fantastic selection of new and previously loved vinyl, CDs, cassette tapes, and more. I recently met the owner, Jeff Brandt, at the store while my partner was on the hunt for Taylor Swift and Charli XCX vinyls. Jeff was immediately attentive and we struck up conversations about Taylor Swift, the positives and areas of improvement downtown Champaign could use, the area's history as a musical mecca, and much more. It was easy to see how much love and sweat equity he's put into the community and the store. An adjacent vintage store has closed but Exile regularly hosts pop-ups, underscoring its community-first vibes. When you're looking for vinyl finds, skip online, Target and chains and support institutions like Exile on Main!

This is the THE record store to visit in Champaign-Urbana. Yeah, there's Record Swap if you want…read moreused classic rock or See You Vinyl with their dozens of records, but Exile is the place to be. The store itself has an interesting layout that promotes exploration and discovery. There's a nice mix of used and new vinyl, (mostly used) CDs, and even some cassettes and VHS tapes. I'd say Exile's strengths are all things indie, major artists from the 90s onward, classic rock, and a bunch of niche stuff. I like to find reissues of 90s and 00s electronic stuff there, and they typically stock new jazz releases from Blue Note and some of the other big labels (not a huge selection, but everything they have is good). Of course, this is just my perception. You'll find each genre well represented. If you don't see what you want, the owner is happy to get it for you. He's a great guy with a deep knowledge of music. He actually has a whole section that he's selling from his personal collection, which is an interesting category. It's like a bunch of great titles that have been out of circulation for a long time. Overall, this is a fun place to find good music. Check it out.

got cards like every other card shop but lowballs when offering to buy cards. The other one in…read morechampaign was way nicer

Largest selections in the area for sports and pokemon cards. Prices are all at the highest possible…read morewith minimal wiggle room. Friendly environment.

This is my favorite place to take visiting grandchildren. I give them $10 - $20 each and let them…read morebuy a bunch of stuff. Then they spend the rest of the day creating something out of it all. They love it and are so proud of their creations!

What a special store this is. The concept and mindfulness from this store is very lovely…read more You can get reused items that can be repurposed at a student friendly price. I've gotten a jar for my utensils, post cards, and even sand paper.

Every university town requires a shambly old bookstore with overflowing shelves whispering wisps of…read morearcana to all who pass its portal. This is Urbana's. My favorite thing about this particular emporium of tomes, though, is that the kindly gentleman who owns it is a dead ringer for a beloved childhood fictional character, Professor Branestawm.

The best part of used bookstores is the element of serendipity. I find books I have loved that I…read morenever knew existed, and would never have known to search for them. New bookstores, in my view, are very limited in scope -- the owner has a particular taste, majority of titles (not counting classics) have been published in the last 1-5 years, from major publishing houses, almost everything has been on the NYT besteller's list. Very little element of surprise, few hidden gems. Used bookstores have so much more serendipity, so many hidden gems, so much more variety. And Priceless Books has this element of used bookstores, but twice as much as any other used bookstore I've been to. And I've been to a lot! On every road trip, if I'm just passing through, I check out their used bookstores. This one's special. Yes, it's messy and there's piles of books on the floor blocking the path (definitely not a wheelchair friendly store). Yes, you have to crane your neck to view titles up on the shelf. Yes, the store clerk is not gregarious (but does have a twinkle in his eye). But it's worth it! I have found so many books that my here that my life feels more complete having read them, and I never would have known of them if not for this store. This can be said of many a used book store, but Priceless Books just has more of it, and it's something special.

This old building is filled top to bottom with books look closer and you will find some nic knacks…read more It gives you the feeling of exploring your Grandma house with multiple floors of treasures it even has that unique smell. Please don't rush thru this treasure trove because you might miss something

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a bookstore and this one was so cute! It was across the street…read morefrom the hotel we were staying in and I knew I had to stop in. You could lose yourself for hours in this place! Multiple floors and so many books. I personally loved the top floor front room to just chill in. Everyone could find something they would like in this place! I would have bought so many except I didn't have any space left in my suitcase to come home.

Be careful if you are taking things in to sell. Be VERY careful. Not the best place to sell things…read more In fact, a BAD place. The buyers, though, will find almost everything they are looking for. Usually, the prices are good. But forget about the "swap" part. A very uneven playing field that.

I was incredibly impressed with the selection of new vinyl, and the selection of vintage vinyl was…read morepretty good too. Staff seemed friendly and polite, everything was clean and organized. The issue is the pricing. I prefer to buy in a store and support independent record stores and small businesses. I have my limits though. Not sure how he can get away with charging 20-300% more than other sellers. My record store day I bought for $26 he had for $45, my RSD I got for 35 he had for 50. The Zappa broadcast I bought for $8 new sealed he wanted $40 for, another I got for $13 sealed he wanted $40 as well. Most the vintage vinyl was worth half what it was priced at. I know you've got to pay the rent and I know prices are higher brick and mortar, but why are your prices higher than stores in downtown Chicago? Highest priced store I've ever been to, and I'm a traveler, I go to a LOT of record stores. I could have easily bought a couple dozen albums if they were even 20% cheaper, but I left with nothing and very sad that I had to pass on so much good stuff. I guess you can build a pretty epic collection if you don't price things to actually sell...Went online and bought what I wanted for 30-50% less than he wanted. Didn't feel good about it, but I'm not going to be ripped off just to support indie record stores...

This shop just opened up in Urbana (as of June 2007); it is spawned from another Buy-Sell-Trade…read moreStore in Springfield. It's kind of a hybrid pawn shop / thrift store / collectible shop. They certainly have a lot of stuff here, and I'd suggest you check it out: tools, collectibles, some motorcycles, dolls, guitars, etc. If you want an antique cane, they have them. If you want a compound bow, you can get it for about $50. But speaking of prices, that's where things get a bit odd: some things in the store seem to me to be a bit overpriced. Some are a lot overpriced. And for a collectible shop, not everything seems to be terribly well cared for. On the day I went there, a lot of people were selling their things to the gal behind the desk (not the desk with the young kids running the registers). So you might get a few bucks for your stuff here, if you're not into selling via Craigslist or eBay. UPDATE: this joint closed faster than spit! Forget it ever existed