Blue Arrow Records and Books

Excellent selection of LPs, badass comics, and friendly kitties.
I stopped in here on a drive home to Chicago from a job in Buffalo, NY, and I was so pleasantly surprised. Honestly, it was hard to stop myself from emptying my wallet here. Especially with the great prices!
I’d rank this place up there with Grimey’s in Nashville or Amoeba in San Francisco. Great record store.

Great place to find hidden gems!!!

I love Blue Arrow! I have been to some larger record stores from the east to west coast, but I find this place is probably my number one store in the US (sorry Amoeba, LA/​SF!, Jerry’s Records, In your Ear!, etc.). Vinyl is always clean, and priced accordingly!
The staff is very friendly, kind, and their just-​arrived section always has interesting finds! They also help with feral cats via the Waterloo Alley Cat Project, which is good karma in my book.

Blue Arrow Records has an impressive large variety (rock/​soul/​jazz/​reggae/​country/​folk, etc.) of used records. In addition, they have a frequent influx of incoming used vinyl. They often carry harder-​to-​find titles. Prices are pretty reasonable too. Worth checking out!

Great selection of jazz and country especially. I’m not a huge fan of classic rock, but they have a lot of that sort of stuff as well. The awesome cats that live here (all five of them!) are the biggest sweeties and will make your day. Support this awesome small business!

As other people have mentioned, the floor is cool. They do have a lot of records. And the vintage shop next door seemed cool. There were kitties walking around and I love cats so that appealed to me. I was there for my friend’s release party for his new comic book, The Lake Erie Monster. The comic is sweet and you should all support them! It is by John G and Jake Kelly. They are talented guys and the comic is sweet. I got a couple of posters and cannot wait to frame and hang them! Check out their site:

Great used record store. Eye candy on the floor. Nice young lads always workin.

THE FLOOR IS MADE OF OLD RECORD ALBUM COVERS! HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG BUYING RECORDS FROM HERE?!
Seriously though, I’ve popped in here a handful of times before going to shows at the Beachland and I almost always leave with something. A nice selection of older stuff at very reasonable prices. One thing I got there for like $ 5 that was a total steal was a copy of Bauhaus’s «Single 1981−1983» on vinyl.

Disclaimer: I’m not a record enthusiast, but just happen to date one.
This place is one of my favorite record stores even though I don’t do any real record shopping. One of the best thing about the store is that (I think) they’re the HQ for Waterloo’s alley cat project, which means they have kitties roaming around the store ready to be petted! Also they have really cool retro furniture/​magazines/​clothing to browse and buy (they had some vintage Lilly Pulitzer dresses for pretty cheap!). Basically it’s a lot of awesome distractions for me while my boyfriend shops for records (apparently they are very reasonably priced and have a strong selection of metal).
So even if you are not a record collector it’s definitely worth checking out!

Epic road trip stop 3. I was going to knock off a star for them having the vintage clothing half of the store closed when i got there. But they were gracious enough to open it up for me. They must have noticed the Unilocal pins on my hat. I had a fifty dollar gift certificate to blow. Impossible to do just on records, as I have way too many. I found a 60’s sweater that Brian Jones would have worn (can’t wait to rock that shizz) and a few cool records which i’m jamming right now. I even picked up a 3 dollar Moonlight Drive lp (the local Doors cover band from the 70’s-80’s) to display in my garage for laughs. Great people there.

The Blue Arrow is one of my all-​time favorite record stores. It can be rare to find a store that features a varied selection, reasonable prices, and a staff that’s both friendly and knowledgeable, but Blue Arrow hits all the bases.
One of my favorite things about Blue Arrow is how well organized their selection is. Oftentimes venturing into a used record store can be akin to entering a hoarder’s basement with stacks of vinyl covering every available surface in no particular order. While there can be real joy in combing through thousands of disorganized albums looking for that one perfect item, sometimes you just want to walk in and be able to find what you’re looking for without losing your mind. Blue Arrow has broken their selection down into new arrivals, pop/​rock, jazz, blues, spoken word, classical, novelty etc. In addition to making things easy to find, the fact that records are neatly and properly stored cuts down on the chance that you’ll have to pass on something you really wanted because it’s turned out to be warped.
Because their stock is driven largely by consignment, you’re able to find a wide range of artists and genres making it a great stop for both niche collectors and casual consumers. I’m a fan of smaller indie labels (K, Yoyo, etc.) and have picked up a handful of moderately priced out of print albums that sell for a mint on eBay, at the same time, if you’re looking to start a record collection or replace a long-​lost favorite album, Blue Arrow is a great starting point. The staff is also willing to take «requests,» and you can leave a note with your name, e-​mail address, and a brief list of albums you’re looking for and if they come across it in their stock, they’ll let you know. Also a plus is the fact that if you shop there regularly, the staff quickly develops a sense for what you’re interested in and will let you know if they have any new stock that you might want to check out. In addition to selling records, they also have a small selection of used movies, CDs, music-​related books and magazines, and posters. The adjoined Blue Arrow Boutique stocks vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Blue Arrow is nicely furnished with a homey feeling. There’s seating throughout the store and a listening station if you want to sample stock before buying. As Blue Arrow is also home to the Waterloo Alley Cat project, there are typically a couple of (friendly) cats wandering around the store. The floor is tiled in record album covers, resulting in an eye-​catching mosaic of images and colors, and there’s a small stage for in-​store performances. Blue Arrow often hosts special events featuring food, DJs, and life music, and the store is spacious enough that they can do so without much overcrowding. If you want to keep up on their events, they have both a mailing list and website.

Just as I have deemed Music Saves my favorite indie record store in Cleveland, Blue Arrow is hereby the best used record store in Cleveland.
Located just a couple of doors down the street from Music Saves and the Beachland, Blue arrow is immediately recognizable by the blue arrow built into the façade of the building it’s housed in. As soon as you walk in you can’t help but notice that the entire floor is tiled with LP covers of every color and kind. This is the store’s trademark, but the real draw is the records on the racks. I could come back a hundred times and always find some great, classic album for less than ten bucks, and mostly for less than five! That can’t be beat! The last time I went in there, I left with some Dylan, Pretenders, Stones and Reed albums tucked under my arms (along with a Beach Boys 45) and still spent less there than I would on dinner some nights. Man, I love how cheap Cleveland is.
Besides the records, there’s a healthy selection of other music-​related stuff, like shirts, posters and old rock magazines. Plus, there’s a couple of comfy couches to just sit and hang out on, a stage for in-​store performances and a couple of record listening stations to test out any tasty nuggets you find. Everybody who works here is friendly and helpful, and the vibe is just great. Pure rock’n’roll.
Highly recommended if you’re in the neighborhood (and by neighborhood I mean anywhere on the east side. this place is great).

Wow-​wah-​wee-​wah! After half a dozen ventures to this place, I’m ready to allow it admission to my personal list of Best Record Stores in the Midwest. Note that I said «record» store. There are few, if any CDs in the store. I actually think I saw more 8-​tracks, perfect for that aunt that still drives an ’82 Chevrolet Caprice.
Almost never have I seen such great selection in used vinyl. Sure, you’ll find hundreds of records at the local Salvation Army, but it’s all the terrible shit that people thought they liked in the ‘70s and then got rid of at a moment’s notice. Not here. This place sells stuff you’d actually want to listen to.

This is one of the coolest looking floors in Cleveland!
They have a HUGE selection of quality vinyl, mixed with some t-​shirts and other cool rock-​n-​roll stuff. The music selections range from jazz, to country, to classic rock, to soul, and of course rock-​n-​roll
Now about that floor, this is what the website explains:
«Pete Gulyas, owner, personally renovated the 1300 square foot space, including the incredible floor, which he covered entirely with vintage album covers. Each album cover is a work of art, but all together creates a mosaic that speaks to the message of the store.»
The owners are very, very friendly. They know music and are more than happy to help you find what you’re looking for. In addition, if you have some music you’re ready to part with, they buy too!
So stop by this fabulous music shop and maybe if you’re lucky there may be a local band rockin’ an in-​store.