Welfare Records — Local services in Haverhill

SO. MUCH. STUFF. metal, goth, hip hop, noise, jazz, ... The first thing I saw upon walking in was a wall of boxed sets (like Possessed) including a first-edition Joy Division record. Next to the books were beautiful Motörhead boxes (and much else). There's a dedicated section for new-wave LPs, one for punk, one for metal, and a big section for hip hop (and the typical huge rock section) as well as a crate or so of noise, industrial, darkwave, and such all mixed up. It's good stuff, though, not just the typical goth/ind. bands. The 20th-century/avant-garde stuff isn't extensive, but at least there is some. There's so much of every major genre (except the international ones, of which there was a tiny bit) that you can't see it all at once. I mean stuff's blocking other stuff. There also seems to be some stompboxes and recording gear, though that's not the main thing, obviously. The small Brazil section had stuff from Portugal and Cape Verde (again,...

If there is ANY record store in northern New England that deserves 5 stars, Welfare Records would be it. I love this place. Everything is clean and organized, there is plenty of room to browse, and the inventory of vinyl is MASSIVE. You can get just about anything here. They also have a selection of CD's, movies, and stereo equipment. The guys who run this place are super down-to-earth and easy to deal with. Their prices are excellent - everything is priced very fairly. I have visited dozens of shops, and WR has some of the best prices I have ever seen anywhere. Such a rare gem. Their only minor setback is that they don't really carry new vinyl at all, so if you're looking for something that was recently released they probably won't have it. Their specialty is pre-owned vintage albums. So if that's what you're in to, then you've hit the jackpot with...

Over 40 years buying new & used records, and Welfare Records is easily Top 5 record stores I've been to in the country.

It's the vibe, the quality of used records, the organization, DVDs, CDs....

Weather it's Punk, New Wave, Different Decades, Metal, Jazz, Indy.... they have an excellent amount of records.

But, my favorite part about Welfare Records is the staff. I've been going there since they opened. There are 3 Mainstays there & they're all great guys.

In fact, I think I'm...