Groovy Records — Local services in DeLand

I stopped by the shop while visiting the neighborhood. I've been in the market for a vintage TECHNICS SL-1200MK2 turntable to play my classic record collection at home. Just a brief background history about myself. I'm an RIAA Certified Platinum Record award winning music producer and would consider myself to be a bit of an Audiophile when it comes to music and the equipment I like to use. Especially when I'm looking for the highest quality and craftsmanship to play music in the same quality it was recorded in. Warm, sonically rich and accurate. After browsing through his record catalog around the shop for 30+ minutes while waiting for Jerry to stop conversating with one customer that appeared to be a regular and after multiple attempts to include myself in the conversation and trying to make eye contact with him to get his attention, I was finally able to interrupt him while he was having a good laugh about Archie Bunker. After a long and tiring wait, I finally got the chance to ask Jerry the owner if he had a TECHNIC - 1200MK2 turntable in stock or if he could get his hands on one very rare, discontinued and vintage turntable. He responded by laughing at me and told me, "If I'm looking to buy a record player, I should buy (one of his conveniently in stock) a brand new Audio-Technica AT-LP120 USB Turntable." Any Audiophile would tell you there is no comparison of the two turntables. It's comparing an electric Toyota Prius to a diesel 18 wheeler semi truck. Apples and Oranges. He insisted they were just as good because they "look almost exactly the same". I expressed to him that I was not a fan of the brand he offered to sell me and neither did I have a use for a "usb" to hook up to my laptop. Two words for you Jerry, "analog" and "digital". I'm really interested in getting the classic TECHNIC - 1200MK2 since I had them many years ago when I was a teenager. The owner Jerry laughed at me again and asked me, "did you bring your checkbook?" and starts to get aggravated with me because he was obviously busy and had his hands full stocking the shelves at this point, pretending to pay not much attention to my conversation or even acknowledge me as a customer. Jerry, never judge a customers wallet size based on how much is "expensive" for you to spend. Jerry made me feel like I was not a valuable customer for whatever reason other than he's "having one of those days". He began to rant and complain about his day and even told me "I voted for Trump and I wish I didn't", which had nothing to do with anything music related at all. Maybe it was a bad day for him, but either way a customer should never feel uncomfortable or be treated with erratic behavior. I was shocked and I did feel uncomfortable with the awkward interaction. I told Jerry before I walked out of his record shop, "some people are so poor, all they have is money." Then I went to Steves Records down the block and found the best record shop in DeLand. No hard feelings Jerry! Thanks for the...

Went in today 12/21 and as always had a great experience. The place is clean and being sane in these insane times. Owner is really helpful and knowledgeable. More than anything he is honest. They inspect their records and are truthful about their condition. If you are buying vintage and there is something missing for the original kit that went out, they have that clearly labeled. Most LP shops let you figure that out on your own and then you realize when you get home why you only paid 11.99 for that super rare 1964 pressing.

They also have a wall of new vinyl, and I know that taste in music is personal, but they appear to have most bases covered for a lot of people. Sure, if you are really into crazy rare hardcore punk, or euro house imports that are one of a kind I guess you would be better off in downtown Chicago. But for DeLand Florida, and for that matter really anywhere in Florida, Groovy is a great record shop. Also, they will order you anything you want from anyone in the country that has it, so really even if your tastes are super niche, you can still get what you want.

I think most importantly, shopping on Ebay and Amazon for records SUCKS!!!!!! I won’t even get into the whole what it does to small business thing, but it’s just not fun. The experience of a tangible product in hand...the smells......the feel.....the sounds of a record shop. I ran into the house and threw on Hot Rocks before I even put the milk in the fridge. That’s a “Groovy” trip to the...

Groovy Records is located near the heart of downtown DeLand. They've got a wide, wide variety of new and used vinyl albums to search through along with tons of cd's and cassettes. The prices that I observed were fairly comparable to what I've seen at other record shops. They have crates out front with previously owned vinyl record deal specials of $1, $3, $4, and in the $4 box if you choose 3 albums, you can snag them up for just $10. They also have in stock the little 'extras' that you may want or need, including record players, cassette decks, stylus', cartridges, and belts. They also have record cleaning gear as well. The store is neat, clean, and fairly well organized. The only thing that kept me from giving Groovy a higher star rating was the staff. For the most part, they were friendly and helpful.. to a degree.. but the one gentleman was a bit overbearing and presumptuous with the way that he spoke to me and a couple of other customers. I appreciated his knowledge, but the way he presented himself was just a little over the top. NOTE: Stay away from the bookcase near the rear of the store with albums on it. Those albums are not for sale, and you should not be near them. You will be advised of that if you look at or touch them. I may go back...