Extreme Noise Records

The selection here is awesome! We found a ton of hard to find vinyl for under $ 30 (stiff little fingers, the partisans)… Huge selection of shirts for under $ 10

Great record store.
You can spend a fair amount of time rummaging through the vinyl.
They have tons of LPs and 7“s.
The CD selection is small but there are some gems still hidden in there.

Rad little punk record shop. Killer selection and good prices. Staff is notably helpful and friendly. Even in a field notorious for its snobbery, good to know that «MN Nice» pervades.

Solid selection of punk and metal records at acceptable prices. Used selection is a little light, but I did come across some smaller label stuff I can usually only find online. Go here for local releases.

I love this record store. I’ve been a customer for 10+ years and they keep me coming back with their amazing selection of punk and metal, equally awesome selection (and price!) of special effects hair dye. To top it off the staff is amazing. Long live Extreme Noise!!!

So much love for this place, and today was only the first day I had ever been there! I just moved to uptown this year, and have been making a point to go urban exploring and check things out. Little did I know this gem was within walking distance down the street, rocking out without my knowledge.
Granted, it was record store day so things were a little hectic and foot-​traffic was slow getting through the aisles, but I was still able to make some fabulous finds and saw tons more that I will come back and check out soon! I didn’t feel like anyone working or shopping there was judgmental or pushy while I was browsing, if anything I loved the personality and helpful charm put into the written-​out tags on each record. I was able to find some really obscure stuff that I could tell were right up my alley just by the written description. This also is probably a helpful and less intimidating method to welcome in people new to the genre.
Definitely was impressed when I found out that the store is a collective that is volunteer-​based! All the staff was friendly and approachable, altogether making for a a great experience. Stop by and check it out!

This is a great record store, the way record stores should be. I hate having to flip through total shit to find good stuff, and this place saves you the time by limiting the amount of crap in between. Authentic, volunteer run, the staff was helpful and not at all judgmental. I dropped over $ 150 today and was happy to do it. I found some old records I haven’t seen in a long time, things I used to have on CD and now have on vinyl thanks to this place. I also loved the community vibe, there should be more shops like this one. I’m not from MN and was here for a work thing, and looked forward to checking out the records, and I was very happy!!!

Extreme Noise is a great place to find punk records. There’s the more-​common stuff like the Germs and Dead Kennedys plus more obscure bands like… well… I’m not cool enough to listen to super obscure bands but there are a lot of them in the mix.
By «punk» I mean anything punk-​influenced. Jawbreaker? Check. Lifetime? Check. Sleater-​Kinney? Check. Bikini Kill? Check.
So… your normal punk rock… plus hardcore… post-​hardcore… pop-​punk. crust punk… you name it.
Oh and metal. They’ve got metal there too. I think. To be honest I’m not even sure how to place most bands into specific genres… But I hear some of the stuff there is metal.
Everyone who works there is a volunteer… so for the most part, they WANT to be there, which means they don’t hate their job and in turn don’t try to make you hate your experience.
They’re not really. chatty or anything. but they do their job.
I’d say some of the stuff is a little pricier than it should be, but a lot of it is stuff I can’t find at Cheapo (and I do love Cheapo) so I’m willing to pay a bit more.
In general it’s not the be-​all-​end-​all record store, so I was going to give it four stars. Because it’s great, but not the BEST. However… Two super cute dogs were there tonight when I went, and any place that has dogs gets an extra star from me.

Best place to find random punk/​metal/​hardcore. Constantly rotating used section and good selection of new as well. The people working might not be particularly nice to you when you buy shitty records, but then again maybe they would be if you weren’t such a douche bag.

Extreme Noise continues to be one of the best punk record stores in the country. I’ve bought so many good records there over the years and just yesterday found a record that I had been wanting for a long time. I go there mainly for the rarer stuff that makes it to the wall or case, but it is a good place for a variety of new releases as well. They’ve also been sponsoring some pretty awesome shows the last year or so, which is super cool that they just want people here to be able to see good bands and have fun.
Regarding customer service, I think people need to keep in mind that the store is run by volunteers, many of whom are record collector nerds with little social skills and no sales training (I say this affectionately!). Also, many of the customers are too, so it’s kind of just the way it goes. My guess is that the staff isn’t judging anyone as being cool or not, they are just indifferent or not very outgoing. I wouldn’t take it personally.

Okay, let me specify on this… To me Extreme Noise is not «punk rock», it is however «Crust thrash». There is a difference. Their albums are really overpriced, I can never find anything that I like nor can I have it ordered because it only caters to people that are into rare Swedish hardcore, black metal, and Finnish Thrash Crust. When I think of an awesome punk record store the first thing that pops in my head is Headline Records in Hollywood. Extreme Noise is nothing like this. I’ve actually had employees laugh at me for getting some power pop or street punk, and I suppose that’s fine because they DON’T EVEN GET PAID!!! How this place is still open is beyond me. If I have to buy punk music I’ll just go to Roadrunner, Cheapo, or Treehouse anymore. The punk rock that I like I can’t get at bigger places like Best Buy, but the Noise is so biased towards crappy neo-​hippie wannabe metal, that they never carry good stuff. It’s a tough situation for someone who likes the more ’77 anthemic/​pogo stuff. Unless you’re into crust, thrash, and hardcore don’t waste your time at Extreme Noise. If Cheapo doesn’t have something that you want, at least they’ll order it for you.

Let’s be honest, NO punk rock record store can have everything that you are looking for, it’s just the nature of the beast. But they usually have the latest and greatest here, and it is a good spot to stop by and find out what is going on in the scene if you haven’t been to a show in way too long like I tend to do.
Kid in a candy store will pretty much describe your experience inside if you have any interest in punk rock at all. I have pretty much stopped collecting and now do the mp3 thing (I know, I said I never would either), but if I really wanted a record this would be my first stop.
In case you are wondering if Extreme Noise lives up to it’s name, let me assure you they aren’t clowning around. Havoc Records, Profane Existence, Six Weeks, Prank, Alternative Tentacles, Relapse releases are standard issue here. Although I am willing to be you could find that Jawbreaker albulm here as well if that’s your gig.

Look at my icon. Do I look like someone who would be shopping in a punk rock record store? Exactly. That’s why I’m not usually treated all Minnesota Nice-​like when I go in here. It’s stupid that this kind of crap happens, but it does and I’m not naïve and I accept it.
With that said, this place is super awesome and should be supported. When I was visiting from NY once they even had a record that my friends put out. I’m just amazed that a collectively run place can be so complete. It really is worth checking out.
If you can’t find it here, they’ll probaby have it down the road at Cheapo. But, then again, you’re probably looking for Danity Kane’s latest anyway (I’m not hating, I know all of the lyrics to «Damaged» too.)

Add this to the long list of things I find awesome about Minneapolis: a collectively run punk rock record store.
Never been in a punk rock record store?
Just close your eyes and imagine what you think one should look like.
Go ahead, it’s not very hard.
Are you thinking every single surface and everything within should be black?
Are you thinking the shelves and cd racks look a little, shall we say, minimalist?
Are you thinking there are stacks of flyers scattered about for local punk shows?
Are you thinking they have a huge selection of punk cds, records and cassette tapes? Yes, you heard me: cassette.
Are you thinking they have pins, stickers and patches for tons of punk bands and left wing political causes?
Are you thinking they have a few «ironic» things lying around, like a record of President Ronald Reagan’s speeches?
Congratulations, you have just described Extreme Noise. It is everything a punk record store should be, and it is volunteer run to support the Minneapolis punk scene. My meager bank account is lucky I stumbled across the place accidentally, and only remembered one album I’d been meaning to get. The guy at the counter chatted with me about my purchase, and recommended another band I might like. No doubt I will soon return for that cd.

This is probably my favorite record store in the entire country. I’m from Chicago and I’ve been there twice. Once before Naked Raygun played at the Triple Rock and a second time visiting my sister-​in-​law in St. Paul.
The first time I walked into Extreme Noise, I was completely overwhelmed and walked around in circles for a couple seconds, because I didn’t know where to start. They had pretty much every album that I had on my list.
The second time I went there, I had to make the tough decision as to which was more important, dropping a couple hundred bucks on records or eat. Let’s just say I made the right decision and lived off of the credit card for rest of the weekend.
If you like punk, regardless of what brand, there’s a good chance you’ll find it here.
Both times, the staff was very friendly and were chatty about my purchases, which is usually pretty rare with record stores. Everyone who volunteers there seems to be really excited about music, which I think is the definitive marking of a great record store.
Much love for Extreme Noise.

I don’t look punk rock. I don’t wear the uniform. Which is why whenever I go in to flyer, or buy a Motorhead double album, or that Chipmunk punk record they’ve had forever, they don’t talk to me. Why? Because I’m not cool enough for them. By cool I mean dressing like them and only making my posters in black and white and that I used a credit card to pay and not like stolen cash or checks or something. Anyway, still glad it exists and that it’s collectilvely run…

It’s actually run by a volunteer collective made up of people who have been in the scene a long time and really care about punk rock and the community. Also one of the few places in town that stocks Jolt Cola.
Don’t bother to feed the meters on Lake Street, they’re never checked.

Minneapolis is one of my favorite cities in the country. You never know what little gems you will find. This is one of them, and something I didn’t expect to find here.
I heart metal. my husband likes the punk. we are both collectors and this is heaven. They have a good selection of hardcore and punk accouterments so the high school kids can be found here.
I have only been twice (I live 1500 miles away) but make it a must stop when I am in town, and usually spend too long and too much money in the place.