The Record Exchange

very cool place with excellent prices on cd/​tapes, ect.
very nice staff offering to assist you with anything you need.
if you need the glass cd opened. they will assist.
They also offer a coupon card to save money when you purchase $ 200 worth of product.
It’s a great way to get you back into the store.
Try it And tell them Gig sent you!

I went to downtown Frederick for only the 2^nd time in my life. and this store was one of the reasons I was incredibly impressed with the area.
admittedly, I’m one of those music geeks. I have a slew of CDs at home, and I’m just getting into the record/​vinyl side of my hobby/​passion/​addiction. I’ve found that i enjoy the additional tactile-​ness of flipping the record over at the end of the 1^st side. it adds to my participation with the music. that may sound a bit odd, but I’m ok with it.
I walk into the record exchange and I was really impressed with how well laid out it is. it only takes you a moment to figure out where you need to go to find what you’re looking for. everything is alphabetized by artist within the format and genre. the staff is really friendly and helpful. I flipped through their records and found more records that I wanted than my pocketbook could handle, so I had to put some back. even at their reasonable prices.
when I’m in the area again, I know I’m heading back to the record exchange. and hopefully I have more time and money to spend.

They were very friendly and helpful. I am definitely going back. Plenty of games, movies and records. There aren’t many places like this anymore and it’s much better than record and tape traders.

I was surprised to see that there is a record exchange in Frederick. Prior to today, I thought the one in Silver Spring was it. Anyhow, this is pretty much a hipster joint. Record Exchange has a good selection of vinyl, cassettes, and retro games. I didn’t expect to buy anything today, but I scored a gem! I bought Eskimeaux’s first album Two Mountains.

Great customer service and great prices! I called ahead and they set aside the CD’s I was looking for. $ 10 for two awesome classic CD’s!

What a record store should be!

Love this store. Tons of used, cheap, vinyl. Super friendly staff. Hard to find a good music store these days, and this place has everything from new to old. Picked up like 6 albums for about $ 11. Really can’t beat that. I stop here almost every time I’m in Frederick.

Great customer service, clean store, very in order, all albums are in alphabetical order by categories. Will be coming back again and again.

Probably one of the best used record stores within an hour’s drive of DC… I live in Arlington and I make the long trek to Fredrick specifically to go here. They have great prices on used records and if you have the time, you can find some old gems in their $.10-$.50 cent bins.
They also sell used game consoles, games, tapes movies and audio equipment at great prices. I got an old Harman Kardon Amp (tested and guaranteed) for half the price they normally go for online.

I love this place. They have a great seelction and I can bring my dog.

Great selection of both new and used vinyl. They also stock cassettes, vhs, stereo equipment, dvds, cds, and video games. They have some expensive vinyl that is new but with high vinyl prices everywhere, that is expected. Their used vinyl is very cheap. Most are under 10 bucks. They also have bins of 10 cent records and lots of 45s. They also have lots of local music. There store staff is friendly and the atmosphere is great. A must for any music lover with an hour and 15 bucks

Going into this store can be a little overwhelming. They use every square inch of space they have– even vertically.
So as soon as I went in, in a rush of course (I’m always in a rush), the friendly guy at the counter asked me if I needed any help.
Maybe he saw the look of pure confusion and awe-​struck horror on my face. But he responded in a flash asking «Anything I can help you with».
I told him that I was looking for a particular movie– I’m keeping that a secret– you’ll find out at the Hidden Gems Party ;). He quickly called over one of his associates to help. The associate was able to find the movie within 30 seconds.
A highly organized record/​movie/​store. Now, that is unique! So, then I tried my luck at an LP (that was for me). Electric Light Orchestra Greatest Hits album. He couldn’t find that, but invited me to look in the bargain bin (which is the only thing that isn’t organized in the store).
So I took a look through their bargain bin of LP’s. Which is fun. I love going through a bunch of records and find some gems. I wasn’t able to find ELO, but I did find a Boz Scaggs album I wanted, a Looking Glass album, and a few others at the cheapest price possible. I mean, the prices here are insanely good.
I did mildly get offended that
Private Eyes by Hall & Oates was in the bargain bin for .50 cents.
or that
Colour By Numbers wsa in the bargain bin for 1.00 dollar.
Most of the rest of the bargain bin was pretty good albums too. ALOT of Linda Rondstat (like usualy), peppered with a little Chaka Kahn.
I understand the 7 – 10 people digging through records in the store at 3 o clock on a Thursday.
Then, I asked the lady who was checking me out if she could think of any movies with a «gem» in the title. She spent about 5 – 10 minutes entertaining me with looking through their inventory for movies with «Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire» in the title. She was awesome!
Great store, great staff, highly organized. Not much more you could want form a record shop. I mean a massage would have been nice, I was a little tense, but I’ll keep my expectations realistic ;).

This spot by far is the best location out of their two stores. The other store they have in Silver Spring is nothing like this one. The selection here is so much better as well as the prices. While I felt like the Silver Spring store had more in quantity, they really didn’t have that many records that I liked. I liked that everything is organized and easy to find. Again prices are amazing, great classic records starting at $ .25!
The employees are nice and very pleasant.
Definitely a favorite.

I want to love The Record Exchange, I really do. While they have a pretty solid selection of old stuff, it’s a real crapshoot whether you’ll be able to find what you want. If you’re looking for old standards from the 60s-​80s, this is your place. But if you want new music from current bands, the selection is very limited. I’m sure they can special order something for you, but by that time, you could order it yourself online. I think they could really improve the store if they focused on having hot new releases available and on display. Perhaps separating classic vinyl from new vinyl would also help.
I’d love to come back to this review and say things are better, and bump up the rating. The staff seems friendly enough and I like the ambiance for sure. It’s just that compared to other record stores I’ve been to (not in Frederick, of course) have been better.
As for prices, they are definitely fair on the older stuff. A little steep on some of the newer stuff, but not unfairly so, and I’d be willing to pay more at a local business than save a buck on Amazon. Plus they do have a pretty good rewards program that can save you a few bucks after a while.

Movies, records and much more. The Record Exchange is a gem located in the heart of historic downtown Frederick. After several visits in recent months, I’m hooked. Their selection of old (and new) school records, CDs, DVDs, etc., is excellent and their prices are so cheap.
Off-​street and garage parking nearby & lots of other great shops, restaurants in the area to check out while you’re there.

Great selection, awesome prices. What more could you ask for? I’m a big fan of vinyl and was pleasantly surprised at the amount they have. You can get vinyl from a dime and up. Found some great ones for less than 5 bucks!
They also have CDs, cassettes, VHS, DVDs, and video games. Spend a whole afternoon there!

Great shop. The owner, Sam, is a cool dude with a wide range in tastes, he has a fantastic staff that can help dig up weird stuff or recommend off kilter jams. The stacks section is a bit Ehh but new arrivals is always worth a good look. He has a huge pile of cheap 45s too, always worth a gander. A good record store in the old school vein. The complaints about parking are ridiculous. It’s a small city, and there is never a real parking issue. Try going record shopping in DC. That’s a parking issue.
The three star review because of the smell is also ridiculous. It smells like old cardboard because it is filled with old cardboard! Antique stores smell like antiques, book stores smell like paper and ink… I mean. Come on now…
Lastly: super reasonable prices, lots of new vinyl as well as vintage, and if you need some punk rock buttons, they have those too. Go there, buy stuff. Great shop!

The only record store I go to.
For a while after I discovered The Record Exchange, I tried to find a Goodwill or Thrift Shop that came close to competing, but it turns out that their prices and quality can’t be beaten.
The selection is always changing as they get trade-​ins and new releases frequently.
The prices start at 25 cents for some very decent albums. Sometimes they even put out free records at the entrance.
As for staff, I can’t express enough how friendly and helpful they all are. Numerous times I have engaged in long conversations with each member of the staff. Everyone there lives and breathes music.
Other reviews seem to put down quality of vinyl, but it’s not something they can control. Their prices on trading in are very fair. I traded in some old CDs and got a decent amount of store credit.
I will never go anywhere else for vinyl in Frederick.
I have also gotten a t-​shirt here as well. Ot may not have been the greatest price, but it was way under the retail and was in great condition.
The smell is of course musty, but hey, with tons of records and years of dust coming in everyday, what would you expect?
My band has also played here as well. Very small space to play, but a great environment for a show and getting new fans.
Oh yeah, did I mention I got to meet Johnny Winter here?!! Coolest place ever!
Just go to The Record Exchange! You won’t regret it!

Great selection, and decent prices considering the condition of most items. I just wish the place smelled a little better.
Seriously though, I like this store.

Being married to a record geek/​audiophile I go to my fair share of record stores. So when I suggested a day trip antiquing in Frederick, the first thing the spouse did was look up record shops and was pleased to find two. We hit up The Record Exchange first. They have a great location off Market Street, and I dug the window display. Good selection of rock and roll, but the condition of the records was touch and go. The prices were low and reflective of the quality of the vinyl. We’ve apparently upgraded to only pristine copies of records which is not always easy to find. That being said we walked away from The Record Exchange with the best sounding record of the day, a sealed copy of a wanted record for only $ 2.50. Win!