Must Visit Minneapolis Record Shops for Vinyl Lovers
If you’re searching for used records or new vinyl, check out this guide to Minneapolis’s top record shops (including Prince’s favorite record store!)
Minneapolis is truly a vinyl record store haven. As any savvy music lover knows, the best place to get into the spirit of great tunes new and old is a good old-fashioned record store. Many people know that Minneapolis is home to the nationally renowned Electric Fetus record store, but few know how lucky the city is that so many other Minneapolis vinyl record stores are thriving in a world ruled by digital tunes. Remember: Record Store Day happens twice a year—on a Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November—but in Minneapolis, every day is a good day to visit one of our incredible indie record stores.
Electric Fetus
Once earning the dubious accolade of “worst name for a business” from National Lampoon, this iconic counter-culture record shop in Minneapolis has been a destination for music lovers of all genres for over five decades. The shop was founded in 1968 in Minneapolis's Riverside neighborhood and relocated to its current home at 4th and Franklin, just south of Downtown Minneapolis, in 1972. While much has changed since its early days, it’s still a great spot to discover new music and old favorites, plus find unique gifts and enjoy live performances and signings from local and national acts. Fun fact: Prince was a fan of the Minneapolis record store and would stop in to browse every few months, and stopped in to Electric Fetus to celebrate Record Store Day days before he passed away.
The Record Spot
Located just off Lyndale Avenue is a growing hub of vintage eats, tunes, and clothing. Nestled across the street from Victor’s 1959 Cuban cafe and the new Tandem Vintage, "the smallest record store in Minneapolis" beckons with collectable t-shirts, a try-before-you-buy turntable, and wooden crates filled with a tightly curated selection of rare vinyl. If you’re looking for a place to chat about music with an old-school Minneapolis music scenester—owner and guitarist Dave Foley—the Record Spot is for you. Opened in 2014, the shop specializes in the bands you might have seen take the stage at First Avenue from 1979 to today.
Hymie's Vintage Records
This Longfellow neighborhood gem is packed with new and (largely quite affordable) used vintage records in every genre for crate diggers looking for a deal. At this storied Minneapolis record store, you can test out used records on a quality stereo system, sell from your personal collection, catch live events and album releases, and explore the handy “new arrivals” bin for easy browsing. Opened in 1988 by Jim “Hymie” Peterson, Hymie’s has been tended by loyal music lovers since his passing in 2000. Current owner Adam Taylor is a great resource for finding something rare or getting a personal recommendation for something completely new.
Extreme Noise Records
Serving as a gathering spot for the Minneapolis punk community for nearly three decades, Extreme Noise Records is a volunteer-run collective offering a large selection of punk, punk-rock, metal, and hardcore music. Founded in the early 90s by locals frustrated with the lack of punk music in Minneapolis record stores, Extreme Noise was a DIY enterprise from the beginning, a true labor of love of the Twin Cities punk community. The record shop has called many spaces home over the years—with earlier iterations focusing more on live music—before settling in its current Lake Street location in 1999. (In addition to rare vinyl and affordable used records, you’ll also find a massive patch and button selection.)
Roadrunner Records
Located on Nicollet Avenue in South Minneapolis’s Kingfield neighborhood since the 1980s, the eye-catchingly bright yellow Roadrunner Records was once a larger live performance space and music shop, but has since narrowed its focus to buying and selling used and new vinyl (with some tapes and CDs for die-hards). Fans rave that their selection of used records is made up of vinyl in excellent condition. Tip: Visit the excellent Kingfield Farmers Market on Sundays and stop by Roadrunner to browse a collection of records on the patio (weather permitting).
Cheapo Records
With three locations—in Minneapolis, St Paul, and Blaine, Minnesota—Cheapo offers all genres of music (and movies!) in all formats, plus merch and gifts for music, television, and movie lovers. The Minneapolis location is nestled between the excellent restaurants of Nicollet’s Eat Street, making it the perfect pre- or post- dinner destination. A great spot to buy and sell used DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and even VHS tapes (at the MPLS location, only), shoppers can listen to used CDs, LPs, and cassettes before they buy, and peruse one of the largest selections of independent music in the Midwest. Metal fans, take note: the Blaine store has one of the largest selections of metal music in the state.
Wizard Wax
Located at 36th Avenue and Lake Street in South Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood, Wizard Wax is a small record and comic book store founded in 2020. Specializing in hard-to-find comic books, used records (45s and LPs), and other vintage collectibles, the store offers a treasure trove for music lovers and nostalgia buffs. Locals know to drop by often as eclectic new finds appear regularly—you never know what rare treasure you’ll discover. Have a collection you’d like an expert to check out? Wizard Wax buys and trades quality used records for fair prices. Follow them on Facebook for daily deals and events!
Know Name Records
Founded in 1977, this Minneapolis record store and smoke shop is located just south of Diamond Lake and offers an eclectic selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, and DVDs. If you’re a music lover who also loves incense, this is your paradise—Know Name has one of the largest selections of incense anywhere. The space also hosts music events, including the annual KISS Music From The Elder Celebration, a celebration of all things KISS each November (think KISS music playing all day, live music in the afternoon, a KISS merch marketplace, and KISS door prizes).
Disco Death Records
A newcomer to the Minneapolis record store scene, Disco Death Records combines great coffee and great music with a two-in-one cafe just south of Downtown Minneapolis on Lyndale Avenue. While the hybrid coffee shop-music discovery space may be new, co-owner Colin Wilson is no stranger to the local record shop community himself. Wilson was a driving force behind Dead Media, a vinyl and cassette spot that closed in May 2020 after six years celebrating analog entertainment. The spirit of Dead Media was kept, well, un-dead through the pandemic with a presence on Instagram, and in 2022 Wilson and longtime friend Joel Eckerson fully resurrected the spirit of analog music with the new Disco Death Records. The space offers a curated selection of vinyl, cassette tapes, and specialty drinks featuring specialty roasts from South Minneapolis bean hub Misfit Coffee.
