Ear Wax Records

Badass shop.
Killer Metal, Punk, Hardcore and underground selection. Knowledgeable owner/​operator. Fair prices.
Don’t pass it up.

When I lived in northern Illinois and made occasional day trips to Madison, Ear Wax is a store that I always made time to stop in. Not only do they have a great selection of music (vinyl and CDs), but the store owner is approachable and knowledgeable. He’s the kind of guy who deserves your business. Also, they have a great punk rock sticker selection. Who doesn’t like to put a few on his or her car?

If you need punk or metal, THEY HAVE IT!!! Also, hesher and punk uniforms and gear. GO THERE, NOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!

If you’re not careful, you might walk out of here with a bejewelled skull and no money. Or maybe the broken shards of a Slayer signed guitar. What about a violin with pointy screws sticking out of it?
I almost bought some metal baby gear, but stopped the money hemorrhage for once. Boyfriend picked some CDs from the discount box. If I hadn’t been feeling cheap, I would have pillaged the fairly extensive psychobilly section, but that will be a treat for another trip.
Need metal? Get Ear Wax.

Ear Wax is THE place to go for buying metal in Madison. They have a huge selection that spans all sub-​genres, definitely with an emphasis on the more extreme sub-​genres. They also have quite a bit of punk, psychobilly, and ambient, although the focus is really on metal. They also have a good selection of merch (shirts, patches, etc.) although I found the t-​shirt selection to be a little skimpy as a person who prefers plain logo T’s as opposed to shirts with tons of art on them. Also, most of the shirts are XL.
Ear Wax also has a decent selection of vinyl, DVD’s and ‘zines, although I’ve never really checked them out. The focus is really on CD’s.
If you are a «casual» metal fan who thinks that Slipknot and Trivium are the best the genre has to offer, you will be overwhelmed (and possibly intimidated) upon walking in. If you aren’t a metal fan at all, you won’t find anything of interest unless you want a Cannibal Corpse t-​shirt for irony purposes. If you’re a die-​hard metal fanatic, however, this store is right up your alley. Every time I go in there I have a hard time limiting myself to only a few purchases because there is so much that catches my eye. Just about every big metal band is represented, along with a whole bunch that I’ve never heard of.
The price is right (usually around $ 12 for a CD, $ 7 used) and the selection is unbeatable. If you love extreme music, you can’t pass up the chance to visit this awesome store.