Zia Record Exchange

Immaculate display of movies, records, CD’s and more. This little gym is right next to Whole Foods. Great selection and an expert trade guy who will take your stuff and sell it! They know what’s up get in there!!!

I confess, I have a secret challenge. I often listen to KXCI and fall in love with an obscure song on Ruby’s Road House, or even the gospel hour with the Sister Effie, and if I have an extra minute I’ll cruise by Zia and see if I can hunt it up. Sure enough, deep in the stacks of meticulously alphabetized CDs, there it is. Zia has never failed to produce the treasure at the end of my musty little hunt. I’ve seen enough «Aha!» moments among the stacks that I know I am not alone in this quest. Zia is also a great spot for downtown concert tickets, that odd pair of Star Wars finger gloves, and oh the vinyl. Fear not, the aromatic bearded biker is just looking for that Dead set from Altamont in 1975, and the nervous-​looking pale fellow with pendulous ear plugs only wants his 1986 Skinny Puppy CD. Tap the encyclopediac knowledge of the Zianados if you find yourself dazed and confused.

The store was so tiny and they have a really limited selection. It was busy, so I decided to head in anyway. They seemed to have a much larger selection of record album collector’s sets which was a bit different from other locations I have been to. They have a bit of everything: cd’s, dvd’s, t-​shirts, toys, and posters.

fantastic record galore great help.

There is an awesome selection of brand new albums, and there is a lot to browse through as far as used vinyl, CDs, and DVDs. The staff was really friendly and approachable. And you get a «token» in lieu of a plastic bag (if you choose — and please do!) which you can put into the bin of your choice to go towards charity. Awesome idea.

It is so much fun to shop at Zia. Like most people I buy the majority of my music, movies, and books online. However, online shopping can’t compare to browsing a good music or book store.
I really enjoy flipping through the bins, especially the sales bins. Right now Zia has a DVD sale with many, many DVDs 2-​for-​$ 5. They also have a $ 4.00 DVD bin. I passed on a $ 2.50 DVD, a French science fiction spoof. I like the movie the first time I saw it. When I came home and searched Netflix the movie wasn’t available to stream or on Netflix DVD. I should have bought it. We did end up buying a used DVD box set. A quick Google search from our phones showed us new copies going for about $ 75. We paid about $ 22 for the previously own box set, it looks almost new, not a bad deal.
I like to look through the CDs. Yesterday I found myself looking at a Blue Cheer CD. I had totally forgotten about this band, but when I saw the CD it reminded me that I had seen the band live at Hotel Congress. I bought the used CD, it cost $ 2.99.
I was looking for a 1970’s David Bowie Album, just a CD copy. They didn’t have it, but they did have a clearly marked David Bowie section.
The previous time I shopped here it was just before Christmas. I was looking for Ska CDs. They did have some, but the Ska is mixed into the Rock section. It would have been great to have a separate Ska section. Looking for multiple artist in this store can be a little time consuming. However, there is variety in their inventory, and I appreciate variety.
I like the vibe of the store. I like to stop by Zia in the evening to pass time and shop. They have nice long evening hours, 10pm on weekdays, and 12am weekends. Zia reminds me of the wonderful record stores I went to back when I was still in high school. It brings back good memories.
If you go in looking for a specific item you might leave disappointed, but if you are just shopping for movies or music in general I think you will leave happy.

We came here to catch an acoustic set of Bombay Bicycle Club and were very pleased with Zia. Record stores are pretty hard to come by these days and we were so excited to be surrounded by so much vinyl! Great customer service too, everyone there was so friendly with us (not at all pretentious).

This is a very nice place, found almost every album I was looking for. Nice people and good costumer service. Highly recommend to buy your CDs and vynls from here

This place is great! They have TONS of new, used and local CDs at a very affordable rate. Whenever I’m in Tucson, I spend about $ 200+ at Zia. They used to have a little free CD with brand new music that you’d get if you bought a certain amount. Now, I’m not sure if they still give it out. I think you have to buy something specific. Oh, well. Still worth the trip!

I can’t even express how awesome Zia Records Exchange is I been to several locations and this one by far is the nicest. I have found the employees extremely helpful the selection amazing and the store beautiful. Keep up the good work.

I still ove the local feel of this place. I still love the non-​corporate exchange mentality. But after trading in many, many cd’s, I have to say they really don’t give me what I consider the fair value on my cd’s. To put it into perspective, I bring in roughly 50 cd’s, ranging from industrial, to pop, to punk, to reggae, to classical, to jazz (yeah, covering the gambit here), and am offered, on trade, roughly $ 25-​$ 30. Even less, understandably, for cash. So my cd’s are truly worth less than 50¢ each?! I tend to disagree and now make my exchanges at Bookman’s.
That, and the lack of some top-​notch musicians in their aisles (really, no Two Gallants??) has knocked one of their shining stars out of orbit.

What brought me to Zia? I recently discovered a long-​lost 78 rpm record my uncle (who was a Marine stationed in Hawaii) made for my Dad back in 1947. I have no way to play this record so I thought maybe the folks at Zia could help me. They directed me to Draco’s studio nearby for assistance on digitizing it. That will be my next stop. I sure hope they can help me convert it.
While I was in the store I decided to check it out. Yes, the vinyl record selection is huge as well as the wide range of CD’s. T-​shirts and gag gifts galore.
I have lots of old vinyl albums and CD’s I’ll probably never play again so it’s nice to know a place like Zia’s is available when I’m ready to bring them.

Excellent selection of reasonably priced new vinyl and a fantastic selection of new 7″ singles.

Pretty good vinyl selection, although I can’t believe they don’t have any Metallica in vinyl!!! Vinyl prices are great, too — cheaper than
!

What a neat little store this is. Zia is the go-​to place when I need to get gifts for my brother, who is a huge music nerd (I like to think he gets it from me). I love their vinyl section and love that they carry new stuff and not just old. New vinyl comes with digital downloads so you don’t compromise your itunes collection when you want a record. Their selection is amazing. I wanted to give my little brother a record of a rather obscure and now broken-​up band (Neutral Milk Hotel) and Zia miraculously happened to have it. Hipsters rejoice!
As has been said before, Zia also carries a lot of cute and gag gifts, a la Spencer. Not many places where you can get a Spam-​like tin of Unicorn meat.
I really like Zia’s website as well. In the age of information overload, it’s nice to have a weekly list of new music releases in one place. Zia also has a rewards card for people who shop there a lot.
Aaaaaand it’s local!

What a wonderful surprise. This Unilocal doohickey sure came in handy, or otherwise I wouldn’t have known about this hidden gem during my brief stay in Tucson (which, no offense to locals, isn’t exactly a place I usually look forward to). I’ll defs be sure to swing back next time I’m in town.
Really fantastic selection for a smaller store. I’ve been to many other well-​known record stores, but Zia’s electronic section easily blew the others outta the water (lookin’ at you, Amoeba). Can’t believe I found Burial on vinyl only two weeks after it had a super-​limited UK release. However prices are a bit steep overall, especially for new vinyl, but there’s still a great selection of used CDs and DVDs. The staff is also super friendly and always willing to answer questions and show you around.
My only complaint is that I couldn’t find a lot of really obscure stuff, but by no means is that Zia’s fault (I just like really weird crap). Overall a fantastic little store. Highly recommended!

I love Zia so much! I discovered the Zia chain back in high school. One of my teachers recommended it to me so I could buy some records. The prices of used vinyls here are fantastic! Plus, they have such great variety and it’s organized by genre and alphabetically: super helpful to sort through the myriad of music.
To make it even better, Zia teams up with the Loft to bring great movies. I won a free pair of tickets to see The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. BEST THING EVER! Well, the movie actually was a bit beyond me. I’d only ever seen Yellow Submarine before (like five times at least), and Well MMT was just plot-​less though very artistic. Totally deviating here (shouldn’t be reviewing the movie), but the point is, I love the fact that Zia supports this fantastic way of share music on vinyls and supports the arts in general!

Zia is pretty much the southwest’s equivalent of California’s Amoeba Records and Rasputin Music in Northern California. Wanted to stop by to check out their vinyl selection and found sealed copies of Alkaline Trio’s «Damnesia» and Dr. Dre’s «The Chronic» running for just under 20 bucks each… which is a bit pricy but not by much. Used vinyl selection is pretty limited, unless you’re looking for older vinyl.
The vinyl selection (both new and used) is much more extensive at the W. Thunderbird location in Phoenix, but this location has an extensive CD and DVD selection that can’t be poo-poo’d either.
4 stars for being a regional chain that not only caters to the mainstream, but to the independent scene as well.
Oh, and to reply to Trace N’s review about the payout for selling CDs… your situation is quite normal. The same is done with chains like Amoeba and Rasputin… cd’s you likely spent 15 – 20 bucks on are only bought back for 25 cents to a buck. It’s because cd’s are mass produced, whereas if you had a collectors edition of «Dark Side» on vinyl… you would likely get 5 – 15 bucks for it. Not necessarily Zia’s fault, just the nature of the second hand CD market.

I stopped by here to sell some films on my way out of Tucson and was offered less than $ 1 a piece for Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Criterion films, a Box set of The Office (UK) and dozens of other foreign and art house films mostly in excellent to great condition.
The guy at the counter told me when I asked why such a low offer, that they couldn’t pay that much for films they have 5 or 6 copies of already. I asked which films they had that many copies and he told me he could take another hour and a half to look up the titles.
I didn’t even see doubles of most of the 87 films I brought in and didn’t want to argue so I left.
I don’t live in Tucson but even if I did would never go back to sell anything.
Selection-​wise they have a decent quantity of nice films but most are over priced.
Same with the cd’s. If you are looking for a generic used store, this place is pretty good but if you are looking for specific titles, good luck. There were a little less than ten albums I was looking for and no one working there had ever heard of them.
So F– on the punk selection and knowledge.
I will definitely be going somewhere next time I’m in Tucson for music and if I feel like trading in 87 films for three or four films I may return.

This ZIA has the best selection of music in comparison to the Oracle one. Really great titles. Lots of them used, which I like because I am a penny pinching kinda person. I love coming here, it is warming and comforting and fun to browse. I could and do spend an hour or so here just looking. There are many DVDs, though the Oracle location has the edge on DVDs selection.
I can find so much here new and used. Rare albums, live, and from the kind of bands I enjoy– Britpop, and jazz, and some obscure stuff to boot. I wind up having to find a lot of my artists online and paying a lot just because they never show up for sale in America, but ZIA has great odds on having them.
The staff always welcomes me when I come in and offer to help. And there are neat items for sale up front, the kind of stuff you find at a «Spencers» with goofy gadgets, Superhero stuff, Twilight bandaids, marijuana flavored gum, that kind of thing.
ZIA has trade– you can get a card and trade in stuff and get things with it and build up points to get items discounted. They don’t pay a great deal in cash for trades but eh it’s nice if you just want to unload. Often they will take everything I bring in even if I just get a tiny bit for it, better than donating it I guess. And they’ll also try to repair scratched CD’s and DVDs for a fee.
ZIA rocks. Head to ZIA, the Loft for a movie, shop at Whole Foods, and have a coffee at Ikes, and it’s all within walking distance!