The Great Escape

There’s no better place in Nashville to find quality used cd’s and records: a true Nashville /​Madison institution. The regular discounts and managers specials are fantastic. Their selection of vintage toys is impressive.

Really? I can’t drink my coffee with a lid on it while I shop? I can in every other record store in Nashville. I drove all the way out here to check this place out and I was told I couldn’t drink my coffee that I just purchased while shopping. Screw that! I’m not letting it go cold while I shop. Their selection is very limited anyway. I’m never coming here again.

3.5
This is closer to it…
One advantage of living on the East side is that if I need to leave the city limits, it’s not such a hard ship to do so. After a frustrating experience at the Sylvan Park location, I discovered that there was another… there was another The Great Escape in the metro area. I had to check it out.
From the very beginning, I was pleased that this location was a.) cleaner b.) brighter and c.) packed with comics. Yes, there’s plenty of movie, music & gaming to be done, but the focus here (as it should be) is on comics. Bueno. The employees were helpful, KNEW comics, could talk comics, and seemed like they cared about, oh, I dunno, comics. Their back issue stacks were well organized (if not as complete as I’d like) and the wall of new releases had slots for a lot of titles. I say ‘slots’ because there were a lot of empty holes the first time I visited the store. Luckily for me, they had all of my titles but I noticed that a lot were missing. In all fairness, i came on a Saturday and not a Wednesday. But, still, I’d hope that there’s enough inventory to last a few days. I know the comic store business model is in flux but it was a bit jarring to see so many holes. Plus, I still can’t figure out exactly how everything is organized. I gather it has something to do with publisher… but after that, I’ve got nothing. What I *do* have, though, is a free membership. If you order a certain number of books a month, take advantage of their pull list. This way, I can saunter in whenever I want (though I come weekly) and ask for my titles with nary a fear that I won’t have what I’m looking for. I wouldn’t rate this location higher than Bardstown Road but, of the two Nashville metro locations, there’s no comparison. Comics book lovers, get thee to Madison.*
*Additional reasons in a forthcoming review.

This chain of stores are normally disorganized but this one is unusually bad. It’s so cramped with small isles that only a few customers make you feel you are on top of each other. The entrance is also creepy.
If you are into vinyl you will be in heaven but anything else a small selection. If you are wanting books get ready to crawl on the floor because they are just shoved under the records in no order. You can find retro gaming systems (like super Nintendo) and games you can’t find anywhere else. It’s so dusty in there that even though I am allergic to dust, this place has bothered other people that never have any allergy problems, this place is BAD.
The offers for items you bring in to sell is so little its a joke. I understand they need to make a profit but $ 3 for something that is just like another item they have of the same category, the same price range, like new shape, etc they are selling over $ 30. So when I need to sell things I never take them there. Employees are nice but don’t seem to do anything other than just sit there when they could be trying to be busy doing something like cleaning and service/​check out slow.
The ONLY reason they are getting a better rating than they deserve is due to the fact you can find items there you can’t find anywhere so if you are searching for something and don’t care the environment its being sold at this is the place.

This place is a collector’s staple in Middle TN. I hit this store at LEAST once a week to see what has come in. Prices and selection vary from day to day as new stock comes in and different buyers are working. This location is a lot smaller than the Charlotte Pike location, but still gets lots of great collectibles.
Don’t trust a review from someone who has only made one visit.
If you collect vinyl, comic books, action figures, video games, or any music memorabilia and are in the Nashville area, you definitely want to take the time to check this place out. Give the Charlotte Pike store a try if you can as well!

This place has great selection, but WHAT is with the incense smell and selling all the incense! Is this a hippie hangout or something? All I wanted was a video game for my child.

I prefer to go to the other great escape on Charlotte but this one is so much closer. The selection here is not as big but I can always find something unique that I would rarely find at the other location. The staff is ok. They are not ass holes or anything, they are just guys doing their job. Nice for when I want to just get in and out.

I’ve been to the Charlotte Pike Great Escape, and I like this one better. Both are in… questionable… parts of town. Also, I think this location just a tiny bit less insane about comic book loyalties.
I ask about games and movies, and they seem to be comfortable talking about it. They generally have a great selection of lots of video games ranging from old Atari 2600 cartridges, to old school Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Genesis games, clear up to PS3 and Wii stuff.
I am opposed to buying media new, and only occasionally buy stuff new at book stores, and I’ve bought video game hardware and games themselves here more than anywhere else. Selection is generally good (not great), and the employees are always personable and knowledgeable.
Good job.

Most of the time I visit the Great Escape in Nashville on Charlotte Pike. Sometimes though I do make the trek to Madison to the Great Escape for a little variety. They do have some items there that I have never seen in the Nashville store. The Madison store is very small compared to the store on Charlotte Pike and is a little cramped and cluttered. Still, it is usually worth the trip up there now and then because I find things that I am not seeing anywhere else in the area.

Very cool vintage stuff! Vinyl records all over the place. Great assortment of incense.

I miss the Great Escape in Hillsboro Village. I could walk there during lunch. I mean it’s probably good it moved, I will definitely save money seeing as I don’t have a car to get to the new one. I can however take the bus!
So it gets three stars because it’s lack of new albums. I go for the vinyl, nothing else. Okay I lie, one time I went to get a gift and there on the shelf behind the counter was a Ghostbuster bank. Best gift ever, ever! The person I gave it to has his very own Ghostbuster suit that his wife made him. Back to the important stuff. I’m never disappointed at The Great Escape, I usually come out with at least two used records. Usually it’s something along the lines of Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Berlin, etc. BUT, sometimes I want to buy an album new. This is not going to be the place. I always end up buying the $ 1.99 albums that tend to skip but it’s okay, I feel like the crackle and skip adds character. I should try putting a Dr. Pepper on it, maybe it will play better. (Oh Dr. Dre, thank you for that commercial.)
If you are interested in used vinyl The Great Escape is where it’s at, if you want new stuff, well you may need to go elsewhere.
Side note: I almost gave it 4 stars because a kid came in and bought Link. The fact that they sell Link makes me happy, what makes me even happier? That one of my beloved first generation Nintendo games was being utilized by a whole new generation at an affordable price!

I didn’t even realize Great Escape had a location in Madison until recently. When I went in to check it out, I immediately realized this location easily trumps the one on Broadway. In addition to a decent selection of CDs, movies and vinyl, they also have action figures and posters.
The staff at the Madison Great Escape clearly knows what they’re doing. The two dudes I saw working in there today were Led Zeppelin fans with clear penchants for comics. The Pop/​Rock CD selection was relatively sizable, but I didn’t find anything very impressive. The Country section was also large, but I didn’t really check it out. What was surprisingly enormous was the VHS section. They had countless titles, and, probably because of the lack of demand for VHS, they were all extremely cheap.
Great Escape also had loads of comic books and figures. As I’ve noted before, I don’t really read comics like I used to, but I intuited that it was a respectable selection. They also have a few posters, mostly Pink Floyd and TONS of Marilyn Monroe. The whole place smells fiercely of Nag Champa, and they actually sell an enormous variety of incense in the place. Talk about a diverse inventory. This place will keep you occupied for at least an hour or two. I say put it on the list.