Came through in my way to Chicago, decent selection and good prices. They used the small space very…read morewell and had a very chill aesthetic. Jesse was very nice and recommended a new album based off what I liked. He was very nice and humble and it was easy to talk to him. I will be coming back! -Cy

This review is about my experience, plus constructive feedback that can be used to make this shop…read morebetter. While I love digging through the stacks at local record shops, I have experienced much better. I've been through quite a number of fantastic record stores in my lifetime, so I have expectations on how a record store should be (even for smaller and newer shops that may just be starting out). I root for local record stores and encourage them to do their best. I've been here, Record Swap, and Exile, and I find Record Swap is the best one. Let me start off by saying I did leave with the purchase of two records today. The shop wasn't terrible, but I do think it was lacking a bit. I understand building up a quality stock takes time, but given the amount of time this store had been around, I expected just a little more. Some selections are spot on with the prices, while other selections aren't worth the $5+ as they look like they've been pulled from thrift stores and $1 bins elsewhere. The layout of the store was decent for the size space, but how the stock was "organized" was honestly a bit of a choppy mess. For the size store, I'd honestly shrink down the "new arrivals" spot significantly and put the items where they're supposed to go. This will make browsing so much smoother (only bring in a bigger new arrivals spot when you've got much more merchandise coming in). Do away with the boards you've got taking up a wall. You may have a passion about them, but they don't belong in a record store, nor will people use Google to look you up if they're in the market for a board... it's just not expected to be found in that type of store. Use that space for more music merchandise, which is expected to be found in this store. Move your cash register to the bar that was built into the spot. This makes the extra merchandise ready for sale behind bar moved to another spot and easier to get to. These are just some of the key changes that could made to make this shop 100x better, instead of adding injury to your name, and will help you take off.

I adore this place! It has been my "go to" for music since I…read morewent to school at Purdue in the 80's. On my last visit, I scored 2 OOP Prince CD's I had been wanting to purchase but did not want to pay the obscene bidding prices on Ebay. I also found another CD that I didn't even know I wanted, but at their prices I had to own it. This place is a TREASURE TROVE for the old school album hunters and newer CD searchers. I can wait to return to look some more. Rock on JL Records! My your turn tables play forever!!

I have been buying stuff from Jim since he was selling used vinyl at flea markets. Then he had a…read moreshop on State Street for years before moving to this location. If you can't find what you're looking for here, then it doesn't exist. If it does, they can order it for you. There is really TOO many CDs here, with CDs piled on top of the racks, and in boxes underneath. It makes it kind of  hard for quick browsing, but if you like to dig dig dig this is the place. Although the selection is daunting, chances are they have what you're looking for. There is also a very nice selection of collectible CDs, boxes, promos, and stuff that you are just not going to find anyplace else. The used CDs are top quality; they don't buy junk like other used CD stores. There is a money back guarantee but I doubt you'll ever need to return anything. The only negative comment I have is that the prices of used CDs may be a little high for some titles. The big boxes are dumping back catalog new CDs for as little at $4.99, but you'll find a used copy here for $9.99. If you think a particular used title is priced too high, just ask. Often the price reflects availability. If it's out of print, the price goes up. If it's been reissued recently, mention that to the staff and the price might go down. They also stock many "import" CDs at ridiculously high prices. With high quality torrent downloads so prevalent, there is no reason to buy these "import" CDs. Selling your used CDs depends on what your selling. They buy used CDs based on quality and availability, and if they think they can sell it. If the title your selling is out of print or rare, you will get more. If the store has 25 Justin Bieber CDs in the rack, they may not even want it. They know what sells and they know their customers, so be prepared to take back home the Britney Spears CDs you listened to in elementary school. The vinyl loft has been greatly expanded, and here is where I think the real bargains lie. The price of used, near mint, and new vinyl is very reasonable. Even hard to find stuff is priced right. No price gouging here. Finally, they also buy and sell used DVDs and video games. I don't normally browse those areas so I can only say that it's available.

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.

The spiciest album I saw in this store was Take Care by Drake…read more Take with that information what you will...

This place was amazing! Great selection & great vibes. Very friendly service and overall great…read moreexperience. We are from Muncie and will visit again.

While I'm not an indie fan, my girlfriend is. (When I introduced her to Parasol, she wanted to move…read moreinto their hard-to-find storefront-slash-warehouse.) I don't know much about the label or mail order business at all, but I can safely say that Parasol's storefront carries the best, and extremely well-edited, selection in town for indie and punk vinyl, CDs, and DVDs. Just the latter alone! You can buy the Kill Rock Stars Video Fanzine III, live performances from Coachella, and documentaries about freestyling, K Records, or even that one about early California hardcore, which features far too much footage of TSOL. There are also bins full of seven-inches, and a decent-sized collection of $1 vinyl and CDs. Much time could be successfully killed here. Anywhere I can buy the A-Frames Black Forest LP, and peruse seemingly endless back issues of Mojo, is aces in my book. They'll also special order anything you want, which means that I won't have to save my shopping list for trips to Chicago's Reckless!

From the owner: Record shop, record store, vinyl records, CDs, music magazines, DVDs , Blu-Rays, CD replication and…read moreprinting.

First and foremost and ultimately important is the fact that Polyvinyl has a handful of my…read morefavourite bands signed to its roster. But the obvious love for this record company that sprouts from that fact aside, the whole business is legit. The selection of merchandise rules, and they are always having awesome sales to get rid of backstock and excess inventory. If, by chance, a t-shirt size is wrong and the error is on my end, they will still replace it with the proper size at no additional cost. Only once in nearly a decade of supporting this company has my order been wrong, and even then they immediately took steps to correct it. Each package I receive always has extras as well: posters and stickers and samplers and promo material. And there is always, always an Airhead, which is awesome because they're delicious AND vegan. WIN. I will be a Polyvinyl fan for life, and although the record industry is changing drastically, I hope that people still continue to support the independent labels out there that are doing it right.

I wish I could buy every record from Polyvinyl. I just got my 7" from the band STRFKR in and it…read morecame with another 7" of a band they wanted me to hear for free. Along with that was a couple stickers and as always an air head! Even with all of this included the 7" I bought was only $5.00 and shipping came the same week I bought it! definitely the best and quickest shipping I've seen beyond Amazon.

We are in the process of down sizing and we ran across a number of albums from our hippy years…read more They were all from the late 60's early 70's. We couldn't even tell what kind of shape they were in because we have not had a record player for years. I took them to the Local Vinyl and they bought them all from me.No hassle!

Great record store and a great location. Love the selection. Bright future for this awesome…read morebusiness!

Love the helpfulness of the staff. They go beyond the call of duty to help you find what you are…read morelooking for!

I'm going to officially vote this as the best record store in the Lafayette area. They are super…read moreheavily focused on new vinyl only, but the selection is pretty good and includes many new styles, as well as typical classic rock, blues/jazz, classical, hip-hop, etc. In the back on the floor are a small selection of used vinyl, though it's a tiny selection with not much to pick from. As someone who likes picking through vinyl for a good deal, I was super pleased to find the many bins of Clearance Vinyl along the floor under the main shelves of records. There is a ton of "old stock" new vinyl under there, many that have been marked down to well under $10. I'm really into mid 2000s vinyl and I found a good chunk of things I've been looking for down there, still sealed, waiting over a decade for me to pick through it. Stop by and give the place a look. You'll hopefully find something worth stopping by for. And while you're in, check out the insane selection of other things. The overall shop is a mixture of a head shop, record shop, bookstore, novelty store, jewelry store, and comic book store, and it seems to go on forever. A very unique and cool addition that any smaller college town would be immensely jealous of!

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...

Awesome store. Wasn't sure with it being in an old shopping center but worth the drive from Indy…read moreand we were not disappointed. Most booths are very organized and there were a 'lot' of antiques not just vintage. We will go back. Gave 5 stars because I couldn't find anything wrong. Got this wonderful Kachina in booth B747.

Interesting place! Lots of "different items"; early American…read morefurniture, older toys, costume and turquoise jewelry, clothing and random oddities. This used to be one store, but they have expanded to the shop next door so there are actually 2 shops. Prices are decent but you need to know your price points. The only problem I saw was the staff seemed to be preoccupied with everything/anything else they were doing. One employee was standing at the front of the store by the checkout area on his phone looking up prices, via Siri. Not an overly professional way to show off your knowledge or lack there of.