I love record stores in Cincinnati. I’ve been visiting since the late 1990’s and always find records for great prices. These are the 11 best record stores in Cincinnati.
I live in Nashville where records seem to be gobbled up as soon as they hit the floor. This means I often miss out on hard to find records. However, whenever I stop by a store in Cincinnati, I’m always surprised at the selection available. I consistently find a healthy selection of jazz and indie rock records at various stores throughout town.
I rarely just visit one store, spending an afternoon driving around to each store, and grabbing whatever I can find. It’s not unusual to have a pile of records in the trunk for the drive home after visiting with family.
When researching my favorite record stores in Cincinnati, I stumbled on a few that are new to me and I have them noted for me to visit first the next time I’m in town. Other stores I have visited so many times, I could tell you where each genre of music is filed in the store.
Below are the stores in no particular order, but you will find the stores I’ve yet to visit mostly at the bottom. I can’t wait to visit each and revisit this article with more details in the future!
Shake It Records
4156 Hamilton Ave # 1, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Whenever I’m in town visiting family, I always make a point to at least stop by Shake It Records. I have found so many great records there over the years that I can’t pass up stopping in to see what they have in stock. Shake It always has a great selection of used records and I usually find great 90’s indie rock stuffed in their bins. Be sure to head downstairs when you reach the back of the store as that’s my favorite area of the shop to flip through the bins.
Also, if you follow record stores on Instagram, Shake It’s posts always keep me entertained with their random pop culture references and memes.
One more interesting fact about Shake It is they own and operate their own record label (they aren’t the only store in the area to do so either!).
Everybody’s Records
6106 Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45213
Everybody’s opened their doors in 1978, the same year I was born. I fell in love with the store during one of my first trips to Cincinnati starting in the late 90’s and have been a frequent shopper ever since.
Everybody’s always has a very healthy selection of jazz records but, if you’re like me, and also listen to punk rock, don’t overlook their punk records in the far back right corner of the store. Everybody’s has a great used CD selection as well.
To give you an idea of how long they’ve been in business, check out this awesome commercial from the 1990’s:
Plaid Room Records
122 W Loveland Ave, Loveland, OH 45140
A few years ago, I was having lunch with an old friend in downtown Cincinnati who suggested I drive out to Loveland and visit a store called Plaid Room. We had family members who had just moved to Loveland and I stopped by the store on our way out to visit. At this time, Plaid Room was in their old location, but I was able to visit the new location in 2019. The new location has a lot more space which is great because Plaid Room always seems to have a ton of new used arrivals in stock. I’m always impressed with how much used inventory goes through their store. They also carry a great selection of new vinyl as well.
Plaid Room also has a record label in their family, Colemine Records, which released one of my favorite albums of 2021, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio’s I Told You So.
Black Plastic Records
6470 Glenway Ave Store C, Cincinnati, OH 45211
I first stumbled on Black Plastic when they were in their old location, just up the road from Shake It. The last time I visited Shake It, I walked down to where Black Plastic used to be but found a closed store front.
I was happy to read the store had not closed, but simply moved to Glenway Ave. I’ve yet to visit the new store but the old location always had bins full of used records. I’m sure those records followed them to the new location and I look forward to visiting the store later this year.
MetaModern Music
4011 Allston St #1a, Cincinnati, OH 45209
My wife and I stopped in MetaModern quickly during a family trip and I picked up a great copy of Temple of the Dog’s self titled LP. MetaModern is a small store with a lot of records to flip through. Highly recommended if you’re in the area.
Torn Light Records
356 Ludlow Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45220
Torn Light started in Newport, KY, in 2014 and moved to Cincinnati in 2019. I’ve yet to visit the store, but it’s at the top of my list for the next time I’m in town.
Another Part of the Forest
1333 Main St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Located in Over The Rhine, this store sounds like my kind of place. From what I can tell, the store is stacked full of records and even better, there is a sketchy looking basement fill with obscure records. I might need to devote an entire afternoon to Another Part of the Forest next time I’m town!
Moles Record Exchange
111 Calhoun St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Supposedly Mole’s started in 1974, making it the oldest record store in Cincinnati. How I’ve never made it over there to flip through records, I’ll never know. Every time I assume I’ve been to every record store in a city, I’m proven wrong. It sounds as if Mole’s has a great used CD selection as well as records. I’m looking forward to finding out myself.
Jet Age Records
817 Monmouth Street, Newport, KY 41071
Technically, Jet Age is located in Newport, KY, a short drive over the river from Cincinnati. Jet Age has a coffee shop inside so next time I’m in Cincinnati it sounds like I need to make the drive to Newport in the morning and start shopping here and enjoy a cup of hot coffee while doing so.
Earworm Records
215B Main Street, Milford, OH 45150
Thankfully for me, I just had a family member move to the Milford area. Now I know what store I can swing by before or after visiting! It appears that, along with records, Earworm also sells used vintage audio equipment. As you know, I love vintage turntables, as well as other audio gear. Here’s hoping I can make it to Earworm the next time I’m in the Milford area.
The Media Rack
5729 Glenway Ave, Ste B, Cincinnati, OH 45238
The Media Rack opened in 2016 and appears to sell a wide variety of items including games, movies and music. I always enjoy visiting a store that sells more than just records. I never know what I’ll stumble upon!
We hope you enjoy this list…
Compiling a list of our favorite record stores in towns we love is fun for us. But, as you know, stores open and close all the time. If you have a recommended store we missed, please us a note in the comments section below!
If you enjoyed this list, please visit our guides for Nashville, Austin, Chattanooga and Memphis.
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