Ann Arbor's thriving used music scene offers music lovers an opportunity to discover an exciting variety of musical treasures, ranging from the mainstream to the more obscure and hard to find.
Used CDs and records are generally much cheaper than new ones, with prices ranging from $7 to $10. But although the prices are cheaper, there is no discernable difference in the quality of used and new CDs.
"You just save a bunch of dough," said Jeff Taras, a manager at PJ's Records and Used CDs. "Nothing is more than two-thirds what it costs new here."
Many of the used music stores in Ann Arbor carry titles that are no longer in print, are hard to find or are collectibles. Encore Recordings carries one of the largest used music selections in the city, and sells original collectible records, 78s, 8-tracks and CDs.
"We're a veritable museum here," said Doug Coombe, an employee at Encore. "We have a lot of collectors coming to the store from around the world."
Several used music stores specialize in particular genres of music. The Groove Yard carries a selection of music that caters to DJs, including house, techno and rap.
"We sell a lot of mixed tapes, from probably 100 different DJs," said Eric Rogers, owner and manager of the Groove Yard.
Rogers said that one of the unique aspects of the Groove Yard is that many of their employees are DJs themselves, and are therefore knowledgeable about the music their customers are buying.
"They have so much stuff that other stores don't have," said Engineering senior Gary Givental, while shopping at at Groove Yard. "They have a really diverse selection."
Wazoo Records, which opened in 1974, is the oldest independently run music store in the city. Wazoo carries a combination of old and new music, specializing in indie rock.
PJ's Records and Used CDs, located at 617 Packard, offers an extensive selection of used music, with about 30,000 LPs, 7,000 cds, and 3,000 cassettes.
"We try to do an old-fashioned, full-line record store," said Taras.
PJ's Records was created in 1981 by two University alumni. The store prides itself in carrying "every different kind of genre, as well as the obvious no-brainers," said Taras.
Used music stores can serve as a valuable resource when searching for selections that are rare or out of print.
"Things don't stay in print very long," said Taras. "About 80 percent of CDs are no longer available new. If you find out about something and it's out of print, your only hope is finding it in a used music store."
RC junior Jim Young, who shops at Wazoo Records and PJ's Records, said that many of the employees at used music stores are more knowledgeable than their counterparts at larger chains.
"Most of the people ... all know their classic rock. Whenever I buy an album, they always tell me stories about the album, when they bought it in the '60s or '70s."
A new addition to the Ann Arbor's used-music scene is Disc-Go-Round, which opened in July 1997, has a large selection of 10,000 used CDs, as well as some imports. All CDs cost $7.99 or less.
Music buyers can also find a decent selection of used music at music stores in Ann Arbor that sell primarily new music. Students can frequently be seen browsing the used music racks at Wherehouse records, located at 1140 South University, and Discount Records, on 300 South State Street, before heading over to the more expensive, new music selections.
"About five to ten percent of our selection is used," said Wally Jones, one of the managers of Wherehouse Records.
It is yet to be seen what effect the recent closing of Schoolkids Records will have on the remaining used music stores in Ann Arbor.
"Schoolkids was the main draw that would bring (music collectors) to town," said Taras. "It's so recently that Schoolkids has been out of business. We have yet to see how that will affect us."
Sure, Schoolkids and its selection of used music is gone forever, but Ann Arbor is still full of places to hunt down your favorite tunes on vinyl or cheaper CDs and tapes:
4Disc-Go-Round, 1140 South University Ave., 996-9010
4Encore Recordings, 417 East Liberty St., 662-67767
4The Grove Yard, 320 South State St., 213-7685
4PJ's Records, 617 Packard Rd., 663-3441
4Record Exchange, 1317 South University Ave., 997-9211
4Wazoo, 336 1/2 South State St. , 761-8686
4WhereHouse Records 1140 South University, Ave., 663-5800
10-01-98
| Previous Article | Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |