El Suprimo Records

I visited five record shops while in Baltimore. This one was more cluttered than the others, with boxes of LPs on top of the racks in places. Not the best set-​up if you are a browser. The owner, however, is very helpful, and if you have specific titles you’re looking for, he can tell you if he has them. He also cleans many of the records on a wet vacuum machine, which is a great service.
I prefer to browse, so this shop was a little frustrating for me, however, I did find a record I really wanted in good shape and at a fair price, so I’d definitely give El Suprimo a look.

The proprietor was known to hold heat about a decade ago and dealers often stopped off to visit either his store or storage to load up their boxes. I ended up finally seeing the joint a year ago and it was pretty mediocre. Yes, it’s a record store, so if you’re a post-​brunch Etsy put a bird on it type then I guess this is a five star experience. If you know what good records are the stock will be fairly yawn inducing — but to their credit, no reissues in the bins.

This shop is a 5 star rating in my book because I’m the type of record shopper who likes to flip through stacks and discover awesome finds. You’ll find rarities and original print classics here, so that’s why you should come to El Suprimo. There are other shops in Fells Point where you can get new releases and reissues, which are great of course, but this is my preferred record shopping experience. Based on that, I love this place.
The record shop is within short walking distance of the water taxi. It’s close to the corner of Aliceanna and South Broadway. It’s also across the street from Café Latte’da, where you can get a coffee to caffeine up before looking through records. The store is located in the lower level of the building, so you take a few steps down to enter. It’s a small space, but it’s packed with records and there are things to look at all over the place. Don’t forget to look down because there are also crates on the floor to look through, too.
Every time I’ve gone there, I’ve seen the same guy, who really knows his music and what’s in the store. My boyfriend and he talked about pre-​war Memphis blues music once while I found a super-​cheaply priced copy of David Johansen’s Live It Up in good condition (I was all excited). Anyway, this is a great shop. Only one thing for those with allergies — consider taking a hit of fexofenadine/​pseudoephedrine a.k.a. Allegra-​D before you go in (that’s what I do) — it handles used records and can be a little dusty.
Happy record shopping!

I have been been to El Suprimo Records on many occasions and it is one of the better shops in the city…
The PRO’s
–picked up a few gems here
–crates of goodies to dig through
–good listening station
–owner is friendly and offers suggestions at times (rare these days)
–owner will openly compare the prices on-​line for certain titles not priced to give you a good deal
–pretty good variety of genres
–prices are usually fair and at times great!
–decent budget bin titles
–accepts credit cards
–accepts PayPal
The CON’s
–finding street parking can be a real pain and time waster
–the shop is a bit musty, dingy and cramped (not the best for on-​the-​floor crate digging)
–although it was not the owner, I stopped in twice and some other guy was there burping several times and kept walking out to smoke… upon coming back in he’d reek of cigarettes, smelling up the joint
Overall…El Suprimo is a good shop. The Pros outweigh the Cons… I’d be more apt to go more often if parking wasn’t such a pain. I much rather dig for used vinyl here then down the street at The Sound Garden which is really stocked more with new/​reissues… El Suprimo is worth checking out!

Best place to buy vinyl in Baltimore, period. It’s a small space, but it is packed to the hilt with a fantastic selection and great prices. You’ll have to do some digging, but that’s half the fun. You never know what you’ll find here, but I’ve never left empty handed (empty walleted, perhaps). The selection is probably dominated by rock/​pop and r&b/soul, but there’s a healthy selection of jazz, soundtracks, and country as well. El Suprimo may be small, but it packs a punch.

When entering, I feel as if I walked into 70’s musicians basement. Great record store and good selection of 70s Funk etc.

El Suprimo is awesome! There selection is very well rounded and they always have new records out. The owner is a genuine fan of music and always helps out if im looking for a certain record or music suggestions. This is a real record store in my opinion.

Before moving out of the state of Maryland, I was a frequent customer and I could definitely find lots of rare items. Customer Service here is awesome! Jack and some of the other workers here are excellent folks! Very good people. When I think about El Suprimo, I get homesick. LOL! I look forward to visiting when I back in the Baltimore area!

My favorite place to get vinyl in fell’s point. I love the tiny spot with the blasting music, overwhelming selection of cheap records and overwhelming smell of weed? Oh well its the prefect record store. Cheap rare finds, great service. The guy will let you have records for an exchange of a six pack of beer which is pretty awesome in my book.

We wandered around Fells Point visiting record shops, feeling a bit like Goldilocks. The first one was too small, the second was an enormous asshole, but the third (El Suprimo) was just right. When we threw open the door, we were greeted by blasting Motorhead-​esque garage punk that seemed to overwhelm the tiny space. Immediately, we knew we had found the best place in Baltimore for used vinyl.
The selection was somewhat random but the prices were excellent and, when we checked out (cash only!), the guy behind the counter rounded down to the nearest $ 5 denomination.

Really, really, really dig this record shop! My friend lives in Fells Point & hipped me to this spot. I am SO jealous! Our local record shops (only 2) here in Charlotte, NC have NOTHING on this place! Dusty gems & an old school basement vibe. AND THE PRICES! WOW. $ 1 — $ 5?! You could seriously do some major damage in here.
As other reviewers aluded to, it’s a bit overwhelming, since there isn’t organization past the genre; as in artists aren’t in alphabetical order.
Cash or paypal only. He doesn’t take debit /​credit cards. Parking is scare, too.

You might miss El Suprimo if you didn’t know where you were going, but if you glance down to shin-​height you’ll catch the bright blue sign. A few steps down, and you’re in– the shop is a converted basement, kind of stuffy but chill and packed with great albums. I found a lot of interesting artists mostly in the rock stacks along the right side of the store. There are also a few dollar bins, and lots of $ 3 titles, as well as a few more pricy gems.
Scrupulous attention is paid in the fair pricing of El Suprimo’s records, which are of varying quality but marked down generously for any imperfections. The owner (who I’ve not met, but my roommate says is good people) takes PayPal payments if it’s easier than cash, which is the only currency accepted in-​store.
A 5^th star could have been earned with better organization, but I think with the volume of good records this place is bringing in on the regular, it would be hell for them to alphabetize any more meticulously. Just know you’re not going to walk in and easily be able to find just what you’re looking for; some sifting is required.

I love this place– probably the best used record shop in Baltimore. There’s always a great find in the stash here. The owner, Mr. Suprimo, is quite accommodating and fair with his prices.
The organization of the records is a little weird and arbitrary, but there is limited space, so its somewhat forgivable. Organization might make this place a bit less of a treasure trove — since vinyl aficionados actually have to do some work to find what they are looking for. At the same time, a bit more thoughtful organization would probably help the store sell more records in the long run.
There also seems to be multiple copies of many of the records there in the display racks, stashed away somewhere random, and only Mr. Suprimo knows where. just ask, and ye shall receive.
Top notch. Prepare to spend about an hour or so flipping through everything.

I really wanted to love El Suprimo, but found it too difficult of a shopping experience in the end. Yeah, there was a pretty great and wide selection, and prices ranged from reasonable to almost shockingly cheap, but it was almost impossible to know where to look in the crowded basement the shop occupies. There were a few sections that were relatively alphabetized and easily accessible, but most of the wax in the store was buried under so many stacks of other LPs that you couldn’t even get to them. I was sure from the quality of finds in the easily accessed bins that there was tons of gold waiting in the other racks, but I just wasn’t willing to expend the time and effort organizing this dude’s store for him so that I could get to them. The owner was nice, and helpfully allows customers to pay with Paypal if they don’t have cash, but it was just too frustrating of an experience shopping here for me to recommend it very highly.

This is by far the best record store in Fells Point, and probably one the of the best in Baltimore. You have to venture down a small set of stairs to get into the tiny little shop. El Suprimo (I assume that’s the owner) has got a great selection of soul and funk, rock, disco 12″ singles and some jazz, too. He has a decent listening station and is very helpful in matching you up with the discs you should be listening to… he also has a stash of good stuff behind the counter, so if you don’t see it on the floor, just ask. Just remember, you need to pay cash, but he prices so that the records, with sales tax, are evenly priced ($ 19.05=$ 20 w/​tax included)