Record stores in Boston
Boston, MA has 27 record stores on the map. That's 27 record shops mapped around Boston. Every shop grades and prices differently, so the same record can be a bargain in one and a splurge in another — dig everywhere. Bring a want-list, but leave room for the find you didn't know you needed.
This guide covers every record store we could verify in and around Boston (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include UndergroundHipHop.com and Rayburn Music, plus Spectrum Music. If a record shop's missing from Boston's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Boston record lineup
27 mapped within about 40 km:
UndergroundHipHop.com
Record store
UndergroundHipHop.com — Record store.
Rayburn Music
Record store
Rayburn Music — Record store.
Spectrum Music
Record store
Spectrum Music is Record store.
Nuggets
Used record store
Nuggets — Used record store, found on 486 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Also worth knowing about Nuggets: the map lists its hours as Tu-Sa 11:30-19:00; Su 12:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
486 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02215
Hours: Tu-Sa 11:30-19:00; Su 12:00-17:00
Phone: +1-617-536-0679
Dream Star Studio
Record store
Dream Star Studio — Record store, found on 62B Summer Street in Somerville. Also worth knowing about Dream Star Studio: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
62B Summer Street, Somerville, 02143
Phone: +1-617-284-6212
Boston Piano
Record store
Boston Piano is Record store.
Cheapo Records
Record store
Cheapo Records — Record store, found on 538 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. Also worth knowing about Cheapo Records: the map lists its hours as Mo-We 11:00-19:00; Th-Fr 11:00-21:00; Sa 11:00-19:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
538 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 02139
Hours: Mo-We 11:00-19:00; Th-Fr 11:00-21:00; Sa 11:00-19:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +1 617 354 4455
In Your Ear
Record store
In Your Ear is Record store.
Steininger Guitar & Music
Record store
Steininger Guitar & Music — Record store, found on 14 Hawley Street in Lawrence. Also worth knowing about Steininger Guitar & Music: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
14 Hawley Street, Lawrence, 01843
Phone: +1-978-682-0367
Newbury Comics
Record store
Newbury Comics is Record store on 36 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge. Newbury Comics also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 11:00-19:00; it has a website with more detail.
36 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, 02138
Hours: Mo-Su 11:00-19:00
Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures
Record store
Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures is Record store on 362 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Fr-Sa 12:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
362 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02115
Hours: Fr-Sa 12:00-18:00
Phone: +1-617-247-7200
GOOD TASTE Records
Used record store
GOOD TASTE Records is Used record store on 4 Thacher Street, Boston. GOOD TASTE Records also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 12:00-19:00; Fr-Su 12:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
4 Thacher Street, Boston, 02113
Hours: Mo-Th 12:00-19:00; Fr-Su 12:00-18:00
Phone: +1-617-209-9953
Looney Tunes
Record store
Looney Tunes — Record store, found on 16 Harvard Avenue in Allston.
16 Harvard Avenue, Allston, 02134
The Music Box
Record store
The Music Box — Record store.
Big Dig Records
Record store
Big Dig Records — Record store, found on 2325 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. Also worth knowing about Big Dig Records: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
2325 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 02140
Phone: +1-617-864-2583
Music Research Library
Record storeRun by Music research library
Music Research Library is Record store run by Music research library on 24 Joy Street, Boston. Music Research Library also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Su 11:00-19:00; it has a website with more detail.
24 Joy Street, Boston, 02114
Hours: Tu-Su 11:00-19:00
RRRecords
Used record storeRun by Ron Lessard
RRRecords is Used record store run by Ron Lessard on 219 Central Street, Lowell. RRRecords also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
219 Central Street, Lowell, 01852
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00
Phone: +1 978 454 8002
The Record Exchange
Record store
The Record Exchange — Record store on 256 Washington Street.
256 Washington Street
Soundtracks
Record store
Soundtracks is Record store.
Soundtracks
Record store
Soundtracks is Record store.
Village Vinyl
Record store
Village Vinyl is Record store on 307 Harvard Street, Brookline. Village Vinyl also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
307 Harvard Street, Brookline, 02446
Phone: +16173968958
Central on Air
Record store
Central on Air is Record store on 425 Massachusetts Ave. Central on Air also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 16:00-20:00; it has a website with more detail.
425 Massachusetts Ave
Hours: Mo-Fr 16:00-20:00
Planet Records
Record store
Planet Records — Record store, found on 144 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge. Also worth knowing about Planet Records: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 11:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
144 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, 02138
Hours: Mo-Su 11:00-18:00
Phone: +1-617-492-0693
vinyl index.
Record store
vinyl index. — Record store, found on 1 Bow Market Way in Somerville. Also worth knowing about vinyl index.: the map lists its hours as Th-Sa 11:00-23:00; Su,Tu,We 11:00-19:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
1 Bow Market Way, Somerville, 02143
Hours: Th-Sa 11:00-23:00; Su,Tu,We 11:00-19:00
Phone: +1-617-764-3667
Cheap Thrills Music
Record store
Cheap Thrills Music is Record store on 10 Riverside Drive.
10 Riverside Drive
Bridge Nine Records
Record store
Bridge Nine Records — Record store, found on 282 Rantoul Street in Beverly. Also worth knowing about Bridge Nine Records: it has a website with more detail.
282 Rantoul Street, Beverly, 01915
Leanords Music
Record store
Leanords Music is Record store on 128 The Great Road, Bedford.
128 The Great Road, Bedford, 01730
What the map tells us about record stores in Boston
10 of the 27 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — record shops keep shop hours, so the listed times are usually reliable.
14 have websites listed. Worth a look for new-arrival posts and want-list services.
3 of the shops are tagged as selling used vinyl — the dollar bins and used wall are where the real digging happens.
The Boston record crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: UndergroundHipHop.com, Rayburn Music, Spectrum Music, Nuggets on 486 Commonwealth Avenue, Dream Star Studio on 62B Summer Street, Boston Piano, Cheapo Records on 538 Massachusetts Avenue, and In Your Ear. That's 27 stops on the Boston record crawl. 19 more are listed below.
Record digging tips for Boston
Digging in Boston? A few habits pay off:
- The listening station is the test at UndergroundHipHop.com. If a record looks questionable, play the loud passages. That's where surface noise shows up.
- Learn your labels at Rayburn Music. Certain labels mean certain quality. A quick education in the labels of your favourite genres pays off fast.
- Learn the grading. Mint, near mint, very good — and check whether the grade is visual or play-graded. A visual VG+ can play like an EX.
- Handle records properly in the shop. By the edges, never the grooves. Shops notice, and so do the records.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Boston — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new record store in Boston can take a while to appear. The 27 above are only as current as the community map. A record store that's shut, or a new one nobody's added yet, gets fixed with a single OpenStreetMap edit.
We don't list prices or stock — both change by the day. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers.
If you run one of the 27 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Record store listings for Boston: 27 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.