The Record Exchange

I think very highly of these guys. The location isn’t huge, but they do very well with the space that they have. The aesthetic is absolutely charming. Even with their new location, they’re only a couple blocks of the Silver Spring metro.
Their customer service is absolutely great. If you come in just a few times, they remember you. Much of their stock is second hand, as is expected with a record store, so it’s great that they stamp the date of purchase on their price stickers to make their return policy up front.
That said, I can’t recall ever returning anything to them. Also, they have a frequent customer punch card program.
Their selection of 7″ and 10″ records is in the shop window. Don’t forget to check it out whenever you go in and check out the place.
I would give Record Exchange the best Record Store Day experience in Silver Spring. In general though, every time I stop in, I have a different experience of the place.
To put my review succinctly: They know what they’re doing and they’re great at it. Thanks guys!

An okay, but not great record store. The store is small, and the selection is hit or miss, so if you want to find something non-​run of the mill, you need to browse here often. Prices generally track with Discogs, just like most used vinyl stores these days.
One thing I’ve noticed is that they tend to put out big name classic rock rock records that they know customers will be interested in, but are in quite poor condition. Some of these I wouldn’t buy at any price, but then I buy records to actually listen to. If you buy records for fashion purposes then I suppose that won’t bother you.
Lastly, lots of bootlegs in the racks… the odd looking crinkly shrinkwrap and pixelated covers are dead giveaways. I’m sorry, but there is no reason to be selling this garbage (i.e. boots of popular studio albums by groups like the Who or the Smiths) when high quality, official reissues exist and can be purchased at the same price or less.

I’ve been to this Record Exchange a few times when it was at the other location off Georgia Ave. Although I didn’t find much, I did pick up two or three gems. Recently stopped into the new location near the Fillmore. The new location is very clean!
THE GOOD…
–walked out with a handful of records
–very clean
–organized by genre
–used LPs priced fair
–fair mix of new/​used section
–huge budget bin section in the back
THE BAD…
–pretty small selection
–new records are a bit pricey
Overall this Record Exchange is much better than the one in Frederick. Not a bad spot to pop in and dig for a little bit… nothing extraordinary though.