The best record stores in Cincinnati are a full generational spread. Four main anchors cover the modern Queen City vinyl scene, from a nationally distributed indie label running out of Northside to the city's longest-running shop on Montgomery Road (opened 1978), a Ludlow Avenue newcomer with a live stage, and the Colemine Records flagship twenty-five miles up I-71 in Loveland. Cincinnati's history runs deep here: King Records, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, and the Afghan Whigs all have roots in this market, and the current shop lineup honors that lineage. A weekend in Cincinnati rewards the patient digger in a way that rivals any city its size in the Midwest.
This guide covers every active independent brick-and-mortar record store across Greater Cincinnati with addresses, hours, specialties, and a one-day plan that hits all four anchors. The Ohio River is the anchor. The Roebling Bridge is the landmark. The vinyl is the reason to stay longer than you planned.
Shake It Records
Shake It Records
Phone: (513) 591-0123
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Web: shakeitrecords.com
Facebook: Shake It Records on Facebook
Shake It Records on Hamilton Avenue is Cincinnati's nationally distributed anchor. Brothers Jim and Darren Blase opened the Northside shop in the late 1990s and have since grown it into a twin operation: a retail store stocking over 25,000 titles on vinyl and 15,000 on CD, and a working independent record label with a national distribution footprint. Both halves of the business feed each other. New releases arrive early. Colemine, Numero Group, and other modern soul and indie labels get deep rack presence. The Northside location anchors an entire food-coffee-bar corridor that rewards a half-day on foot.
For collectors, Shake It is the Cincinnati shop that most consistently surfaces in "best in the Midwest" shortlists. The vinyl buyers know the local market and the national one, Record Store Day drops hard here, and the label side means the shop regularly stocks titles other Ohio shops do not carry at all. Pair the Saturday morning opening with coffee from a Hamilton Avenue cafe and budget 90 minutes minimum.
What to dig for: 25,000-plus new and used vinyl titles, heavy new-release program, Colemine and modern soul depth, indie rock and punk breadth, and the curated feel of a shop that doubles as a working record label.
Everybody's Records
Everybody's Records
Phone: (513) 531-4500
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Web: everybodysrecords.com
Facebook: Everybody's Records on Facebook
Everybody's Records on Montgomery Road is Cincinnati's longest continuously operating independent record store. Opened in 1978 in the Pleasant Ridge and Golf Manor corridor, the shop has outlasted every format shift of the last five decades: the end of the first vinyl era, the CD years, the digital retreat, and the modern vinyl revival. The racks carry deep used LP stock, new releases, CDs, and music-related merchandise, and the owner-operator model means the staff remember customers, pull holds, and run the shop the way Cincinnati record stores used to before corporate retail tried to swallow the format.
Late hours are Everybody's real weapon. Weekday close at 9 pm and Saturday close at 9 pm make this the easiest Cincinnati record stop to hit after work or after dinner. The Pleasant Ridge location puts Everybody's 15 minutes northeast of downtown, and the stretch of Montgomery Road around the shop includes some of Cincinnati's better neighborhood restaurants for pre-dig food.
What to dig for: nearly five decades of used vinyl turnover, new releases in every major genre, late-hours access for post-work visits, and the institutional memory that only a five-decade independent shop builds.
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Ohio Record Store DirectoryFeel It Records
Feel It Records
Phone: (513) 291-3322
Hours: Mon 12pm-6pm, Tue-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Web: feelitrecordshop.com
Facebook: Feel It Records on Facebook
Feel It Records is the newest anchor in the Cincinnati lineup. The Ludlow Avenue shop in the Clifton Gaslight District carries a curated selection of new and used vinyl, CDs, and cassettes, plus a vintage clothing partnership with Have Mercy Vintage and, importantly, a small live-music stage inside the shop itself. That last detail matters. Feel It is both a retail store and a working micro-venue, and the in-store programming draws touring bands and Cincinnati artists who fit the indie rock, punk, and experimental center of the shop's catalog.
The Ludlow Gaslight strip is walkable, food-dense, and one of Cincinnati's better afternoon neighborhoods. The 24/7 gated parking lot off Ludlow Avenue offers validated parking for shop visitors (one hour free with a Feel It sticker), which solves the single biggest friction point for Clifton record shopping. For collectors who want a shop with a scene attached to it rather than just a retail inventory, Feel It is the Cincinnati choice.
What to dig for: curated new and used vinyl with an indie rock and punk spine, cassettes for the tape-format revival, vintage clothing adjacency, and the in-store live-music programming that makes Feel It a hybrid shop-and-venue.
Plaid Room Records
Plaid Room Records
Phone: (513) 583-1843
Hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-7pm, Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 12pm-5pm
Web: plaidroomrecords.com
Instagram: @plaidroomrecords
Plaid Room Records in downtown Loveland is technically a Cincinnati-metro stop rather than a Cincinnati-proper one, but leaving it out of a Queen City guide would be malpractice. The shop stocks more than 30,000 new and used records across every genre, and the same building houses Colemine Records, one of the most watched modern soul and funk labels in the current reissue and original-release scene. The Plaid Room storefront, the Colemine label office, an analog recording studio, and a small live-music venue all share the building. That stacked footprint makes the Loveland trip feel like visiting a small independent music ecosystem rather than a single shop.
For collectors, the Colemine connection means Plaid Room is the deepest Cincinnati-area stop for modern soul, funk, and deep groove. New releases on the label arrive here first. The broader 30,000-record inventory spans rock, jazz, country, and classical alongside the soul anchor. The drive from downtown Cincinnati is about 35 minutes via I-71, and the downtown Loveland strip itself is walkable with bike-trail access and a handful of restaurants.
What to dig for: 30,000-plus records across every genre, full Colemine Records catalog (modern soul, funk, deep groove), analog studio adjacency and live venue programming, and the warehouse sale every spring.
Also Worth a Stop
Beyond the four main anchors, Greater Cincinnati has a handful of smaller shops that round out the scene:
- Torn Light Records. Covington, KY, just across the Ohio River. Focused on experimental, free jazz, noise, and the kind of left-of-center vinyl that rewards crate-digging patience.
- Mole's Record Exchange. Clifton Heights near the University of Cincinnati. A classic used-record shop with decades on the block and the kind of deep bins that reward a long browse.
- Phil's Records. Northside. Smaller shop with used LP turnover and a neighborhood-local feel.
Worth the Drive
The Ohio River corridor and the wider Midwest reward a longer trip if Cincinnati has been dug:
- Dayton, OH (55 minutes north). Omega Music on Wayne Avenue and Basement Doll Records. A strong secondary Ohio market.
- Columbus, OH (1 hour 45 minutes northeast). Used Kids Records, Spoonful Records, and Magnolia Thunderpussy. Ohio's deepest shop density after Cleveland.
- Louisville, KY (1 hour 40 minutes southwest). Guestroom Records and Matt Anthony's Record Shop.
- Indianapolis, IN (1 hour 45 minutes west). Luna Music and Square Cat Vinyl anchor the Indy scene.
- Cleveland, OH (4 hours northeast). The historic Ohio record capital with Music Saves, Blue Arrow Records, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The One-Day Cincinnati Dig
Four anchors fit a single Saturday with room for the Roebling Bridge, an OTR lunch, and the Loveland bike trail:
- 10 a.m. Shake It Records (4156 Hamilton Ave, Northside). Budget 90 minutes. Hamilton Avenue coffee before or after.
- 11:45 a.m. Drive to Montgomery Road (15 minutes northeast).
- 12 p.m. Everybody's Records (6106 Montgomery Rd). 60 minutes in Cincinnati's oldest shop.
- 1 p.m. Lunch. Pleasant Ridge or Norwood has options within a 10-minute drive.
- 2:15 p.m. Drive to Ludlow Avenue (20 minutes west).
- 2:30 p.m. Feel It Records (356 Ludlow Ave, Clifton). 45 to 60 minutes. Park in the validated gated lot.
- 3:45 p.m. Drive to Loveland (35 minutes northeast via I-71).
- 4:30 p.m. Plaid Room Records (122 W Loveland Ave). 75 to 90 minutes for the full 30,000-record browse and the Colemine label wall.
- 6 p.m. Downtown Loveland dinner or drive back to Cincinnati for OTR. Ohio River sunset from the Roebling Bridge pedestrian walkway is the Cincinnati closer.
Tips for Digging Cincinnati
- Shake It opens at 10 am Saturdays. The earliest of the four anchors. Start here.
- Everybody's runs late. Weekday and Saturday 9 pm close makes this the easy post-dinner Cincinnati stop.
- Ludlow Avenue parking is solved. Feel It validates up to one hour in the 24/7 gated lot behind the shop.
- Plaid Room is a 35-minute drive. Not a casual stop, but unmissable if you care about Colemine or modern soul. Pair with the Loveland Bike Trail if the weather is right.
- Summer humidity is real. Do not leave records in the car on a July afternoon. Ohio humidity warps sleeves fast. See our vinyl storage guide.
- Record Store Day draws the largest crowd at Shake It Records in Northside. Line forms early. Plaid Room in Loveland runs its own well-stocked RSD programming.
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Ohio River, Roebling Bridge, vinyl. Cincinnati rewards a longer weekend than most visitors give it.
