Encore Records

Has its good and bad points. The good: Lots of records. Good condition. Good turnover. Good classic rock and jazz sections. New arrivals in the front. Good listening station.
The bad: The employees. Somewhat helpful. They play weird annoying music often, as if playing something horrible with screeching noises and microphone feedback, and without a beat, melody, or key means they have refined taste. When they are playing more mainstream music they are constantly whistling along with it, and badly, which is really annoying. Overall condescending. Not much space to move. Prices are very high for pretty normal, not rare stuff, but you can still find a few things priced ok. No budging on prices. No volume discount, or loyalty card. Worth checking out, but there are lots of better places. Good records, bad price, bad experience.

This place needs to remain in business for a long time.
The fact that they keep a huge classical section going is very admirable (many local college kids-​many of them international in origin– can’t argue with that). Their selection is huge-​rather HUGE! The jazz section is huge, as well, but you will get an eyestrain and an ache in your neck trying to scope out the tiny print on the sides of the discs on the top shelves. They swing a fairly good world and experimental/​electronic selection, as well.
Records? Yeah, I guess you can say they carry those, as well. I only wish I had a turntable and the room to start collecting such, for I know they probably have title I couldn’t find on CD.
I never seem to find exactly what I am looking for when I am there (and I will have about a dozen titles in my head), but I will come up with 3 – 4 CD’s that I will say «sure-​I have been wanting that for a while (like «God Bless the Red Krayola» or something by Frank Pahl.). If my mom is with me she happens to find at least two items she wants, and record stores are complete alien terrain to her.
The staff isn’t rude, they are just very exhausted and have to traverse such a very tight and cramped place with a huge selection that carries many of the actual discs behind the desk. Sometimes I’m too intimidated to bother them to grab some very interesting item perched on display behind them.
Lose weight (or know how to suck your gut in). Bring money. Expect to wait in line for any purchase or request.

Love this place after 25 years in Ann Arbor. I always find something awesome at this store. Great staff.

Great shop with a great collection. Totally random point, but I like how they price things to round up to the even dollar when tax is applied. I always make it a point to stop here on my trips to Ann Arbor.

A helpful and knowledgeable staff augment this store that has just about everything. Very cool.

Vinyl never went away, not long ago before the hipster-​driven resurgence I used to load up on 5-​star jazz and blues records for well under $ 10. The good news is that you still can here, but there’s more competition now.
Strong suits here are jazz and classical records and CDs. Naturally, they have all genres, but even with the change in ownership in the last five-​years the selection has remained strong and diverse. One plus is that they have various collecting books of reviews for most genres, but the thrill of the hunt is the best part for me.
Don’t be in a rush and enjoy the browse. Additionally, the employees are usually friendly and helpful.

Been going there for years — used to be my first stop always. But I’ve found you’ve got to be a bit careful with purchases. I found Wire Chairs Missing remastered cd — the digipack was in pristine condition. Bought a couple other things and walked out. Noticed long after I left that they changed digipacks and gave me one that was beat to hell. Made mental note. Few months later went back searching for remastered CDs of XTC to replace my original versions. Was excited to find Oranges and Lemons. Made the purchase and as I walked down the street I remembered my previous experience. I checked out my purchase. The jewel case was the same, but the CD itself was not a remastered version. I had to go back in the store and ask them to check their CDs and give me a CD where the serial # matched the jewel box.
Can’t say for sure that they’re into baiting and switching — taking advantage of suckers who don’t pay attention — could be they’re just busy or half assing and not paying attention. Regardless, just check out your purchase to make sure you got what you wanted.

Solid used record store.
I like Encore quite a bit, though not as much as Wazoo. Still, it’s a frequent stop whenever I’m back in Ann Arbor. The employees are helpful and the shop has a vast selection of rare or hard to find merchandise, which requires spending hours at a time wading through the shelves, which isn’t a half-​bad way to waste a Saturday afternoon.
Be prepared to stick around an entire afternoon if you’re looking for anything specific here because there is so much stock that you can only begin the scratch the surface of what they have after one visit. The place is wall to wall with CDs and vinyl records. They have an eclectic mix, featuring a lot of old rock, some punk and a bit of jazz. As a tip, be sure to stop in often as the the stock changes rather frequently. In other words, that coveted Sex Pistols record that you tried to hide somewhere inconspicuous probably won’t be there next time.
I love that the remnants of the old listening stations from the sixties are still intact. While their buy back/​trade-​in value isn’t quite on par with that of Wazoo, it’s still not bad. PS they usually have interesting items, like journals made from recycled vinyl record covers, for sale at the registers. I bought some with Blondie and the Rolling Stones on them.

lovelovelovelovelove this place. x1000000. They have a huge selection of records and CDs and it is pretty much heaven.
I’ve gotten many of my favorite records here, and they also seem to have rarities in the CD format — I got a Pearl Jam single and a Hole single, both at very reasonable prices, and I’ve also gotten at least half of my record collection here. Great place, great prices. This place is the bomb!

I love this place. Stacks and stacks of vinyl from every genre. Take some time to poke through all racks. There’s also LP’s in pull out drawers under the top stacks, and more LP’s near the floor. This is a vinyl wonderland!

Tons of vinyl. Tons. Good prices for the most part. I’ve spent many an afternoon in this place searching for just the right LP to add to the collection. The staff is always helpful and somehow knows exactly where to find that rare ask that you have. You can dig in bins for hours and still have more to go. CD’s too. Stop in and I challenge you to spend less than 15 minutes in here, if you like music. If you don’t, go away.

Give yourself some time to get lost in the stacks here, as the amount of used records is staggering. They also have a good, very affordable section of music books, usually around 5 – 10 dollars. They even have a decent amount of used dvd’s and blu-​rays, in addition to audio cd’s. The good stuff is hanging up on the walls, and unfortunately for me, the guys at Encore seem to know exactly how much rare vinyl is worth.

This place has a great collection and the owner is great! I would recommend Encore to any music lover in a heartbeat.

My boyfriend and I were in Ann Arbor for a wedding last weekend and had a chance to do some shopping at Encore. First of all, we couldn’t believe it when we walked in, but they were playing our current-​favorite album (check out the Country Funk compilation on Light in the Attic records!). Huge win for that. They have an amazing and extremely vast selection — my boyfriend buys a lot of rare/​out-​of-​print stuff, and he was able to find a couple of used CDs he’d been looking for on Amazon and eBay that were a lot cheaper here. Also, listening stations are always a plus.
We live in Seattle, and record stores like this are going the way of the dodo. Two mom and pop record stores have closed in our neighborhood just in the past year or two, and it’s happening all over town. Ann Arbor seems like the type of place where these gems can continue to thrive, so hopefully Encore will be around for many years to come. We hope to visit again sometime!

Came up from Cleveland to scope this amazing institute of jams. Super friendly staff, insane selection of vinyl, cassettes and CDs. Listening station always a plus to preview vinyl. Can’t recommend it enough!

Of all the places locals say they are happy to have in Ann Arbor this is one of those places that should be in the top ten list. Why, because like drive-​ins there isn’t many places like this left in the US.
Due to Encore’s expertise and popularity you are not going to find some rare gem miss marked in an old dusty pile of records. But you may just be able to locate the rare unique vinyl you are looking for to fill your collection, or a signed copy of a record signed by a Michigan artist (who signed it when the were visiting the shop) or one of the many vinyl re-​releases companies are putting out these days.
In short if you own a record player and love music you are going to walk away with a purchases that will make you happy.

In terms of quantity and quality of music available, Encore Records is the best Ann Arbor has to offer. LPs, CDs, 45s, in mass quantities relative to this town’s other offerings, could keep you busy looking for days. It helps that Encore occupies the largest retail space of the four indie stores we visited. They did not have the copy of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen we were looking for (no one in Ann Arbor did!) but did have an impressive selection.
Prices are fair but don’t expect to find bargains. It seems that all the local establishments set prices based on prevailing Internet pricing so if you are looking for treasures you might try the thrift shops. It would be nice if you could find one or two items at low prices but business is business in this town’s indie stores.

I’ve never walked into this place and they weren’t playing Sonic Youth.
Claustrophobic used section (in a good way)
Friendly knowledgeable staff
They had Zen Guerrilla’s first release which I should have bought and relisted on eBay for a profit.

Been to a few record stores in the country and this is by far the best one. Enjoyed the well organized vinyls and friendly, professional staff. Will definitely come back again next time I visit Ann Arbor!

Encore Records, originally started out as the «Liberty Music Shop» in 1949. For many years, this is where everyone went in downtown Ann Arbor, for the latest 45s, LPs and even 78s from their favorite recording artists. Back in those days, Liberty followed a tradition of providing sound booths so you could listen to a demo record before buying a copy. Likewise, they carried a full selection of needles, phonograph accessories, and blank and prerecorded reel-​to-​reel tapes. However, one tradition that made them standout was their devotion rare record labels that you just couldn’t find anywhere else, a custom that has carried over to this day.
In 1973, Briarwood Mall opened just north of I-​94 on State Street. While the record stores there were part of larger chains, they really cut into many of the mom-​and-​pop record stores that found it impossible to stay in business as the 1980s dawned; the Liberty Music Shop knew how to survive. By this time they had been around for over a quarter of a century, and had firmly established themselves as a niche record store, with a major following.
If you were into Adult Pop, Broadway, Classical, Easy Listening, and Jazz, the Liberty Music Shop was the place to go to. Moreover, the store staff really not only knew their music inside and out, but certain people were major experts at knowing the rarest recordings and how to find them, even if it meant importing them at a premium from foreign countries. I can’t tell you how many times my weekly allowance was spent on buying these rare musical treasures.
In the early 1990s, one of the owners of the Liberty Music Shop decided that he wanted to retire. As such, this usually means that a business will fold up or move, however, in this case they underwent a metamorphosis. As we all know, the compact disk pretty much took over and became the dominant medium for recorded music in the mid-​1980s. However, there were still hundreds-​of-​millions of records out there, and an endless number of turntables in use. Therefore, a burgeoning marketplace for used vintage records and even CDs, was becoming commonplace across Canada and the United States.
Encore Recordings made a right move at the right time, and entered the used CD and vinyl business. The same high quality customer care and service that started in 1949 is still in place. If you love hard to find albums, or just like to collect vintage records because they «look cool» on your wall, then this is place to visit in the Ann Arbor area. I award them five stars all the way.