Elm City Sounds — Attraction in New Haven

Probably my least favorite record shop in the state. Heavily scratched records are priced at collection levels. I would not personally shop here, especially with Redscroll so close. If you want to check out a good small shop in state, Records The Good Kind is a MUCH better quality store.

The guy who owns this shop is a decent dude. He likes to talk music and that’s cool. Be careful not to let him gas you up on records you’re looking at, though. He will absolutely tell you that albums are cleaner than can easily be observed.

I buy/listen to/ review hundreds of records a year so this is not coming from a place of lack of knowledge of the industry. Also be very sure to check for bootlegs as he has them unmarked in shop. Remember that the most important component to quality sound when listening to vinyl is the quality of the disk. There is very little quality...

Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience at this store. When I walked in, I wasn’t greeted or acknowledged, even after being there for about 10 minutes. The shop wasn’t crowded or busy; in fact, the person behind the counter, who I presume is the owner, was chatting with two other customers—the only other people in the store besides myself. Despite this, he chose not to engage with me.

I had two records in my hand that I would have loved to purchase, but I don’t spend my money in businesses that can’t even acknowledge my presence or greet me, especially when we’ve made eye contact. That’s the bare minimum for customer service and it’s rude. So, I put the records back and walked out. I won’t...

I collect jazz and the selection here is pretty great — nice records on the wall, in the bins, and in the new arrivals. Prices are reasonable and the owner is knowledgeable about jazz. Had a blast talking with him — he turned me on to a couple new artists/records — and we also were spinning records from his new stock that we hadn’t heard before — really fun. If you’re a jazz collector I recommend stopping by, you will most certainly find something great. I walked away with 1971 UA Van Gelder stamped Blue Note of Anthony Williams “Spring” — a record that has been on my want list...