The Triangle’s Record Stores: Where Vinyl Lives
Schoolkids, Sorry State, Offbeat — the shops where collectors actually shop, and where to start if you’re new to the format.
Vinyl never died here. It just got quieter for a while. The Triangle’s record stores survived the CD era, weathered the streaming apocalypse, and came out the other side with deeper inventories, better staff, and crowds that include both retirees hunting first pressings of Kind of Blue and twenty-somethings buying Mitski on translucent purple. These aren’t museum pieces — they’re working shops where the staff actually listens, the prices reflect the market, and Record Store Day pulls lines around the block.
Here’s where to dig, what to expect, and which shop fits which kind of collector.
Schoolkids Records — Raleigh
2237 Avent Ferry Rd, Raleigh
The dean of Triangle record stores. Schoolkids opened in Chapel Hill in 1974, moved through several locations, and is now anchored in Raleigh’s Mission Valley shopping center near NC State. It’s the largest, the most general-interest, and the one to send a newcomer to first. The new vinyl section is enormous and well-organized — current indie releases, reissues, jazz, classical, hip-hop, country, all clearly tabbed. The used section is where the bargains live, and turnover is fast enough that it’s worth checking weekly.
What sets Schoolkids apart isn’t just inventory — it’s the in-store performances. Free shows from touring acts happen regularly, often the same week the band plays Cat’s Cradle or Lincoln Theatre. [VERIFY current in-store schedule on their website.] Record Store Day here is a full event with lines starting before dawn. Parking is easy in the shopping center lot, which alone makes it more pleasant than half the shops on this list.
What to grab: anything on Merge Records (Durham’s own label) gets prime placement, and the staff actually knows the catalog.
Sorry State Records — Raleigh
3306 Hillsborough St, Raleigh [VERIFY exact address — they’ve moved within the Hillsborough St corridor]
Sorry State is the Triangle’s punk and hardcore institution, and one of the most respected punk shops in the country — not just the South. Owner Daniel Lupton runs the shop, the label, and a mail-order operation that ships globally to people who specifically want what he stocks. If you walk in looking for Taylor Swift, you’re in the wrong place and the staff will gently say so. If you walk in looking for a obscure Japanese hardcore 7″ or the new pressing on La Vida Es Un Mus, you’ve found your church.
The selection skews heavily to punk, hardcore, post-punk, noise, and adjacent genres — both new releases and a deep used section curated with actual taste rather than algorithm. Prices are fair for the genre, which means rare stuff is rare-stuff priced, but you’re not getting gouged. The walls are covered in flyers for upcoming shows, and the in-house Sorry State Records label puts out releases that frequently end up on year-end lists.
Go on a Saturday afternoon, ask the person behind the counter what they’ve been listening to, and actually listen to the answer. That’s how you find your next favorite band.
Offbeat Music — Raleigh
521 N West St, Raleigh
The new(er) kid that immediately earned its place. Offbeat is in the Glenwood South area in a small storefront that punches well above its square footage. The aesthetic is closer to a tightly curated boutique than a sprawling warehouse — but what’s there is what you actually want. Heavy on indie, electronic, jazz reissues, and soul, with a strong used section that the owners hand-pick.
This is the shop for the collector who’s tired of flipping through ten copies of Rumours to find one good record. Everything in the bins has been considered. The owners are usually behind the counter, they know their stock, and they’ll make recommendations based on what you bring up to buy — not on what they’re trying to move.
Grab coffee at one of the Glenwood South spots, then walk over. Parking on N West St is metered and limited; weekday afternoons are easier than weekend evenings.
All Day Records — Carrboro
112 1/2 E Main St, Carrboro [VERIFY address — second-floor location historically]
Tucked above street level on Carrboro’s main drag, All Day Records is the dance music and electronic specialist. House, techno, disco, dub, ambient, leftfield — both new 12-inches direct from European labels and a used section that turns up the kind of obscurities DJs travel for. If you’re building a record bag rather than a coffee table collection, this is the shop.
The space is small, the listening station is essential (and used), and the staff will let you spend an hour previewing without hovering. Prices are import-level for imports, which is fair. The shop has also functioned as a label and event organizer, which means the bulletin board is the actual best source for upcoming underground shows in Carrboro and Durham.
Go before or after a meal at Glasshalfull or a coffee at Open Eye — Carrboro is walkable and worth the trip from Raleigh or Durham specifically for the combination.
Bull City Records — Durham
1916 Perry St, Durham [VERIFY current address — has been in the 9th Street area]
Durham’s flagship indie shop, and a Ninth Street institution. Bull City is general-interest like Schoolkids but with a stronger lean into indie, jazz, and the kind of weird stuff that thrives in a college town. The used section rotates constantly because Durham has both a steady stream of estate sales and a population of collectors willing to thin their shelves.
The store is human-scaled — you can browse the entire shop in twenty minutes if you’re efficient, or two hours if you’re doing it right. Staff recommendations are written on index cards stuck to the bins, which is both charming and genuinely useful. Pair with brunch at Monuts or a beer at Fullsteam, both within walking distance.
CD Alley — Chapel Hill
405 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill [VERIFY address]
The name is misleading — yes, they still sell CDs (and have one of the better used CD sections in the state if you’re one of the people who never gave up on the format), but the vinyl section has grown into the main attraction. CD Alley is the Chapel Hill stop on a Triangle record-store crawl, and the inventory reflects the town: heavy on indie, alt-country, jazz, and the kind of records that show up when professors retire and downsize.
It’s the smallest shop on this list, which means every visit is different. You can walk in twice in a month and the entire used section will have turned over. Park in one of the Franklin Street decks rather than fighting for street parking.
Nice Price Books and Records — Raleigh
3106 Hillsborough St, Raleigh
Not a pure record shop — it’s primarily used books — but the vinyl section in the back is one of the most consistently underpriced in the Triangle. This is where you go to find the $5 record you didn’t know you wanted. Selection is unpredictable by design: it’s whatever came in that week. Jazz, classical, and easy listening tend to overstock; rock and indie move fast. Worth a stop on any Raleigh record run, especially paired with Sorry State just down the street.
How to actually shop these stores
A few things worth knowing if you’re new to this:
Bring cash, but don’t worry too much. Every shop here takes cards. Some round down for cash on used records — ask.
Check the back, top, and bottom of every bin. Stores rotate quickly but display space is limited. The good stuff often hides in overflow.
Talk to the staff. This is the actual difference between record store culture and Amazon. Ask what just came in. Ask what they’ve been spinning. They want to tell you.
Don’t haggle on new releases. Prices are set by distributors. On used, it’s fine to ask, but don’t be a jerk about it.
Record Store Day is April [VERIFY — typically third Saturday of April]. If you want exclusives, get in line early. If you don’t, avoid every shop on this list that day.
Sell, don’t just buy. Most of these shops buy used vinyl. If your collection has drifted from your taste, trade up rather than letting records gather dust.
The Triangle has more good record stores per capita than most cities its size. That’s not nostalgia — that’s the result of a music scene (Merge, Cat’s Cradle, the Cradle’s house bands, the whole Chapel Hill/Carrboro pipeline) that never stopped producing reasons to own physical music. Use it.
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