B-Side Records — Local services in Madison

Visited first time today. Nice college town store.

Well organized, alphabetical by genre. Didn’t feel cramped despite being small. Lot of foot traffic tho.

Pretty good spread of genres, and formats to choose from. New, Reissued, and Used vinyl. If the album doesn’t have a clear name on the front, they label it on the plastic sleeve.

As far as the selection - You WILL find something you want, but it’s up to your budget whether you go home with it. I thought the prices were fair, especially for a downtown location.

I bought a record for my husband. All the things I personally wanted were in the $30+ range or too scratched to risk the purchase. (Looking at you, Laura Nyro in the mega bargain bin.)

Had a decent talk with the two behind the counter, although awkward on my end. I got the impression if you ask the Guy™️ at the counter he will certainly be able to tell you what’s in stock before you go digging, or give recommendations.

Worth a look if you aren’t a cheap cheap bargain loving bastard. Haha. Anyway, Including some pics I took while perusing....

I called the store the day prior and asked if they were going to have the limited edition album I was looking for on Record Store Day, and was told they had 1 copy. It was the only album I wanted, and the guy on the phone said people had been calling about the album all day, so it would be gone quickly. On Saturday I got to the shop very early at 5:30AM and waited outside in line in 30° weather for 3 and a half hours only to get to the checkout and be told they don’t have the album in stock. I was the 6th person overall in line and the first person to ask for it. None of the 4 employees at the counter offered a solution or a way to make up for it. I had be the one to offer to give my name and phone number just in case they end up finding it later. Mistakes happen, I get that, but if people had been “calling all day” about this album I don’t understand how you wouldn’t be certain whether or not you had it in stock. Super...

Many rave about this record store, but I really didn’t feel welcome coming in tonight. Tonight, me and my partner came in within the last minutes before close which honestly neither of us were paying attention to the time as we were strolling through

The cashier didn’t greet us. We were in there for a good ten minutes before the cashier rudely said in a condescending & stand-off tone that they are closing in 5 minutes.

I understand why the cashier was upset as I work in customer service myself and hate being stuck at my job longer than I need to be.

However, they could’ve let us know as we entered the store they were about to close and we would’ve went to a different store. Instead they were completely standoffish and rude when the time came around.

If my boyfriend didn’t have something they found, I would’ve walked right out and not bought a...