By far one of the coolest shops in town. A real throwback to a time when music and album art mattered most! A real treat and the staff is fabulously helpful. A must for anyone over 35 and anyone under 35 with a soul! read more

I've gotten so many records here. Great selection and they really take care of organizing and keeping the records in great condition

I just love this place. I can spend hours here, and I have. It's great for a date. I took my boyfriend here, and his jaw just dropped. It's a great place for vintage and new vinyls alike. I have bought several records here. They also have used clothes and accessories, which is so fun. I got a high-end t-shirt for only six bucks, and it was like-new. I wish I had more disposable income, so I could spend it here. Keep it up! read more

This competes for best record store I've ever visited, and that's saying a lot, as I have lived extensively in Cleveland, Atlanta, and Brooklyn, three amazing music cities. I found the selection both deep and excellent. (I did think the $5 and below records were hardly worth buying, however, as they were mostly in G- condition, and barely passable as player copies). On a limited occasion it was hard to find rare gems of value, as most used records start at $10+. However, to pay the extra few bucks for the shelf-organization and listening quality of vinyl is well worth it. You don't have to flip through endless troughs to find the record you're looking for, as everything is alphabetized (for the most part!) and easy to find via genre. The staff is friendly and helpful, and they have a fantastic assortment of vintage amps/TTs/Speakers to gorge on at fair prices. You will NOT be disappointed if you shop here. read more

Great spot for vinyls music and gifts! Went there the other day with my husband and grandfather and we all found a bunch of new stuff! My grandfather is into 40s jazz and left with a huge stack of vinyls. Also the guys in the back know their stuff. My grandfather's needle broke on one of his players and we showed them a picture and had the model number and they found the match pretty quickly. read more

There is such a wide variety of records as well as cds and vcrs. The workers are really polite and help you out if you need it. Overall the store was huge as well. read more

Stopped in here in a recent trip to Rochester on a suggestion. Holy cow... I'm glad I did. I could've spent the whole day in here checking out everything. The store had a great selection of gifts and records alike. I'll definitely come back the next time I'm in town! read more

The Bop Shop who? Nothing can touch this place, my all time favorite one stop music shop. Awesome staff, a museum sized selection of music and a great place to strike up music based conversation with all sorts of colorful characters. read more

A must visit place in Rochester! My lady and I like to make occasional day trips to the city, coming from Buffalo, and when we ask each other what we want to do--visiting Record Archive always ranks as a spot to go. A huge warehouse emporium type of place, Record Archive is filled to the brim with records, used and new, fun gag gifts and creative musings, CDs, dvds, T-shirt's, the essentials for music lovers, and so much more! Every time we visit, we end up spending at least 30 minutes (minimum) to over an hour browsing--and never leave empty handed! Recently they've been selling "mystery bags" for $5 with an assortment of either a genre of DVD, vinyl, or CDs. Definitely have gotten some unusual but worthwhile picks from those! I love their selection--Sunday's is when they seem to have put out new finds, so try to go then. They host a variety of events in the back room and we want to come back for one of those soon! read more

Cool people and huge selection! Always awesome (: They used to have tapestries but they barely have any now. So that kinda sucks. But I like the selection of funny little gifts too (: read more

Found this place completely by accident while looking for the neighboring mountain bike shop. Fantastic Store!! Their vinyl selection is, well, superb. I've been to the Sound Garden in Syracuse as well as Bleecker Street, Academy, Westsider and A1 record shops in NYC and this place is light years beyond any of them for vinyl. I would rate them a top 5 used vinyl store in NY....I'm curious to find out what others think of the Record Archive in terms of ranking in the Empire State, or the East Coast for that matter? They also have a great CD and bizarre tchotchke selection. I never did end up buying that mountain bike, but I've bought a lot of records. :-) read more

One of my favorite places on earth. You can truly get lost in wonders wandering through the aisles of this musical wonderland. It's not just music either. There are novelties and little toys too. It's fun to just take a trip by yourself or bring a bunch of your friends or family! read more

Incredible amount of vinyl, CDs, gag items and retro-gifts. The Backroom Lounge is a bar within this giant record store with a great draft & bottle selection. Always helpful staff present. read more

This is a gem. Really good selection of beer. The music performers are fun. The bartender is great. It can be a bit quiet as far as the number of customers so try it, relax and enjoy. read more

the commercial is correct, this is the place to go. the new warehouse they're in is what the place always needed. it's massive with music and movies for all tastes. the used DVDs are the best deal ever. A Rochester icon, I always set aside an afternoon here when coming back to visit. read more

Great selection. Dangerous for me, when i go for one new record i leave with several. The staff is friendly and can be very helpful, but sometimes its hard to find someone to help you. Again once you do they are great. Recommend going if you are a collector or just looking to start collecting. Its even fun to walk around in for a while to get out of the house. read more

I'm still one of those "losers" that would rather go out and purchase a CD than buy it digitally, unless said CD doesn't exist anywhere locally and I can't order it (especially in the case of underground artists that have their music on iTunes and bandcamp, but not in physical form). There's something about going through a record/cd store and being able to look through piles of CDs for your favorite artist, or buy something on a whim just because it's in a section of music you generally like and the cover art compels you to make an investment and hope for the best. After Virgin Records and Tower Records shut their doors in NYC, I was worried I would find a record store that would satisfy me. Best Buy and Target have good selections for what is current today, but they aren't record stores. They don't maintain a back catalogue of used/new cds within a large set of genres. And while I love the Bop Shop in Rochester, they don't have the selection of CDs I'm looking for. I love vinyl, but I unfortunately can't play any of that in my car. Or rip it to my iPod. Have you ever tried shoving a vinyl record into your Mac superdrive? Let's just say Applecare doesn't cover you in this scenario. So now we get to Record Archive...I first set foot in this store a few years ago before they had switched to their new location past the East Avenue Wegmans. Their selection of vinyl is incredible and I would say it is second only to the Bop Shop if only that their classical music section is not nearly as diverse or well-stocked, but it is still one of the premier vinyl sellers in the area. Their CD collection is ridiculous. I have rarely not found what I'm looking for and if I haven't found it it's only because people already bought out their copies- the point I'm making is that more often than not if you can't find something there it's because somebody bought the last copy and they're waiting for more. They stock just about everything out there, and then some. The DVD collection is great as well, although I purchase most of my DVD and Blu-Ray from Best Buy or the Amazon marketplace to avoid excessive scratches (especially the blu-ray). I LOVE their local artists section. I have purchased a lot of local underground hip hop records here, which is great considering you can't always depend on finding their music via online avenues or at their shows. The staff is very kind, not pushy, and extremely helpful in helping you search for a CD in the store. They also sell some odds and ends trinkets which are fun depending on your taste. Overall, if you still like buying albums in physical form and if you're looking to go to a record store where you can browse endlessly for hours and hours, then this is the place to go. For me, it's one of those record store havens that I hope is around for years to come. I hope I can find one just as good in whatever city I end up in in the coming years. read more

Wowzers what a store. Cds, dvds, vinyl, posters, incense, toys and toys. too much to take in. Awesome...

This was an interesting place. It has a ton of CDs, some vinyl records, vintage clothes and furniture and quirky little trinkets. It basically looks like an old warehouse. The whole atmosphere is unique. There's music playing overhead (I think it was always songs I didn't know) and the air smells like incense. The staff are friendly. Most of the CDs are from older musicians and bands. They don't have a whole lot of new music, but it's a really cool place and I'd definitely go back there. read more

Stopped in to sell some used CD's and VERY IMPRESSED with the polite, courteous service I received. Both the young ladies at the front counter were very pleasant and it was just a great experience. Good customer service is so hard to find, and especially with some younger associates sometimes, but these 2 ladies deserve and "excellent" rating for customer service! read more

Amazing place! The selection of music and odds and ends is fantastic. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Could definitely get lost for hours in there! And with their new expansion you can kick back and relax and really feel at home! read more