Ryan is amazing! He has an amazing stock of pianos, and is so easy to work with. He is a pure talent and is so knowledgeable about music and art. If you need a piano, need tuning or service for your instrument CALL HIM. He is also just so nice and you’ll be happy you met him.
Ryan at Jazzmen is simply amazing! He purchased his first baby grand for his store from me in exchange for pro accordion lessons for my wife, as well as mixing lessons for myself which have entirely changed my perception on how I mix a multi-track recording in just a few hours. On top of that, months later, he donated a full fish tank ecosystem to my classroom which the kids loved and learned from. Most recently, Ryan advised me on the purchase of a 1897 Steinway and even volunteered to help me move and restore it. Ryan can disassemble and reconstruct a piano with ease. He cleans, tunes, debugs, and lovingly restores. He comes across like a piano-McGyver; fashioning, for example, a new and perfectly functional pad out of materials we had lying around the house and some old piano parts from his shop. When something is beyond his repair, he has all the contacts for who can do it, and he knows what things will cost. Incidentally, Ryan is an amazing musician.
3. Matty’s Music LLC
Address: 654 Enfield St, Enfield, CT 06082 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Best little record store in CT. Conor and Abbie are so kind and helpful. Thanks guys!
Atmosphere, selection, and prices all 10/10. Both the owners are super nice! This store is such a good addition to Main Street and I can’t wait to come back
Amazing record store. Owner is super awesome. Vibe and store is great! Lots of good $1 bin finds and a lot of great new records. The owner is really good at giving recommendations too if you mention something you like. Also has good selection of cds cassettes and new presses. They have a discogs as well. Definitely worth checking out
7. Music Outlet
Address: 151 Hazard Ave Suite 14, Enfield, CT 06082 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
This is the last of its kind… A real music store. I needed a birthday gift for my father, so I headed in to find a Jonny Cash album for him to listen to in his car. It was easy to find because the CD’s were so well labeled. Though I found the product quickly, I lingered in the atmosphere a bit. Like I stepped back in time to my teen years. So nostalgic. I love this place.
Go to record/cd store since 2009.
Very knowledgeable staff on all sorts of music related topics. Willing to go the extra mile to get new and old releases. Custom orders. Excellent place for record store day both in April and November
Decent selection and prices, in a pristine shop. There were many more CDs than LPs, but I would definitely return!
Good old fashion “record” store, complete with posters, cd’s, 45’s, magazines new & used to browse. I would have rated it 5 but I hated the music the helpful store clerk was playing!
Tucked closer to the outskirts of Enfield instead of the US-5 and mall area, Music Outlet hearkens back to those personal music shops of past that are mostly in hipstervilles and cities now. A modestly-sized store which looked a lot like a Strawberries, at the far end of a strip mall, caters mostly to pop and rock, around the 70’s~90’s as one might expect.
Though the staff was very knowledgeable, friendly and patient, mainly to a lonely older man rejoicing the days before the internet ruined everything, the shop lets you know this is a classic-rock kind of place and not much else. The shop owner, whose been here and there, other parts of Enfield to Northampton, MA stocks walls of LPs and reasonably priced new and used discs, but I’m not sure you’ll find too much uncommon stuff. Disappointingly, the other genres that inspired rock, like jazz (or any sub genres like fusion, funk, etc.) were singled to just a row, with some stuff classified in the pop/rock sections and bins of LPs. That’s it.
A worthwhile store and owner who will help you find something if you don’t have the internets, but not for anyone looking for jazz CDs in stock — which is extremely tough to find in CT.
This isnt a music store. I am a professional guitarist, and was looking for a local place to buy another guitar. This is a RECORD store, the ideas cool but I think the name is miss leading. Its definitely not a music outlet, should be called record outlet.
Someone said “best indie cd store around” which is a real stretch. Not a whole lot of indie in my experience. Mostly boomer rock and playing it safe mainstream stuff. It may not be your cup of tea but if you own a record store and don’t carry at least one King Gizzard record then you aren’t really tapped into what is current and what sells.
8. Paul’s Boutique Records
Address: 630 Talcottville Rd, Vernon, CT 06066 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Great record shop . They also do repairs on stereo systems and jukeboxes.
Super cool store!
Owner was super friendly, very helpful, even gave a great package deal on some albums and a turntable.
greaaat name , just like the beasties
Friendly Service
Great potential. I think I met Paul (a really friendly and knowledgeable guy). But I found the grading on the used records that I purchased to be a bit misleading. Also, the staff I’ve encountered on subsequent visits have been less than helpful/friendly. Wishing the best for this place.
9. Records – The Good Kind
Address: 435 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT 06066 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Excellent record store! There is a very good selection of music and the records are in very good condition. The prices are also very reasonable. The owner is knowledgeable and helpful. If you are into vinyl you should definitely check it out!
If you are looking for vintage then this place is it.
This is the record shop from High Fidelity. They have a lot of inventory and knowledge of the music across a range of genres. Also have old stereo equipment from when a transformer had some serious heft. Even get some tube equipment from time to time. Paul is a very engaging guy to talk with on a myriad of topics.
Decent collection of soul music.
Small shop with great selection, mostly older vinyl but has newer releases. Also offer used turntables and players.
Always new stuff available
You may like the selection. I certainly did. The owner was very pleasant to me until one of his employees was not. Should you opt to bring your own record tote, do NOT use it to carry what you are going to purchase around inside the store. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is.
This store does have a decent selection. However, their pricing is too high. You can do much better elsewhere with equal quality.
10. DuBaldo Music Center
Address: 881 Main St, Manchester, CT 06040 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
That was likely the most pleasant guitar buying experience I have ever had. I could not recommend patronizing this amazing store more. Thank you so much!!
Great store! Love the selection of Ernie Ball Music Man instruments.
I’ve never been more comfortable trying out guitars in a shop. I drove over an hour to get here and the customer service made it completely worth it. They have an incredible selection of great sounding instruments and went out of their way to make sure I found the guitar I wanted. Highly recommend this place.
Great service
11. Guitar Center
Address: 120 Hale Rd, Manchester, CT 06042 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Good selection of musical instruments and equipment
Lots of musical stuff.
Standard guitar center service and choices
Better selection here than in your average Guitar Center in Connecticut.
Really upset went to sell my classic guitar short oldes guy white hair told me they can’t take my guitar last Tuesday just because my string were not adjusted I went in around 6 when they get over tire I feel like they don’t want to assist you I bein their in a busy Saturday and he’s not the same peroson I sold a guibson clasic and he treated me better on a Saturday not cool They should have the same characteristic for every day
Great selection of instrument but the staff sucks spend more time talking to one another and joking around than doing anything useful almost no knowledge if the stuff they sell
We purchased a 700 dollar flute for our daughter in November 2019 for Christmas through Guitar Center online. She played it for one month and one of the keys fell off. Ever since then we have been emailing with Guitar Center and the flute maker, Gemeinhardt. The run around and or just no response at all for assistance with either repairing it or exchanging it has been their answer. Today we managed to get to the actual store, spoke with staff and the manager who said, “oh, we don’t really do flutes”, and “oh, our computers are down,” and then, “oh, we can’t find your order.” He says call the call center to try and return it. As of this writing my wife has now been on hold with the service center for twenty-two minutes, and we are standing right next the customer service hub/registers! No one has offered further assistance, no attempt to contact on our behalf. This is some of the worst customer service. No one will take ownership of the problem, and we are made to feel like the problem is ours. I strongly suggest finding a customer friendly and responsible music store. Don’t give any of your hard earned money to this terrible company.
12. The Music Score LLC
Address: 2315 Silas Deane Hwy, Rocky Hill, CT 06067 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
I didn’t come to purchase any thing but the employees were more than happy to show me their selection and teach me about the purpose of the parts on the guitars/bass.
Quality music school with a professional and trustworthy staff.
I have been taking piano lessons with Gil Flores @ The Music Score studio for the past 2 years and have had an excellent experience. Gil brings a wealth of musical experience and teaches in a very understandable, nonthreatening manner with reasonable expectations and positive feedback. Relates well to all age groups.
Very knowledgeable and friendly.
My daughter is signed up for lessons and her teacher is great (I hear the others are as well). Just try not to deal with the guy that owns it.
Arrived at 10:00am (they open at 10am, but not today). I waited and they finally arrived. All I needed was guitar strings, but they had none. What a waste of time.
I tried to return my daughter’s Viola due to the school no longer providing classes. It was a total nightmare to get an answer in regards to my credit. They are very irresponsible and I am very disappointed by the lack of care towards my return which was even misplaced! Mom and dad are not helpful at all and he should really look at keeping them home, they make things worse!
13. 2 Mics, 1 Sound
Address: 60 Mt Vernon Dr Apt. B, Vernon, CT 06066 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Fred Pedemonti no longer works there,that is why the 5 stars. Fred is scum.
They have fair pricing and will often give you a discount. Mark and Eric are great to work with at their East Hartford, CT location. You pay cash…they give you a better deal too. Tons of vinyl records for Beat Makers and Producers. All Genres to flip through.
Great service.
First, the employees were excellent; friendly and helpful. I was extremely disappointed in the store itself. This was basically a dark, messy pawn shop, not the store I was familiar with from years ago. My only reason to go back would be to pick through dusty items to find something I might be in search of, more of an adventure.
Ordered lugs for my snare. They sent me receipts and invoices and never shipped my lugs. I called and emailed multiple times and never got a response back after leaving numerous messages. Been 2 months and I still don’t have my lugs and am out $60.
Sent me a different accordion with no straps and a case that should of been thrown out
Total waste of my time
16. Rockville USA Studios
Address: 227 W Main St #2, Vernon, CT 06066 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Our 13 year old son has been taking private saxophone lessons at ” The Music Shop” for over 4 years, starting with Leo Liddle. Keith Wilson, a very talented musician took over as his teacher and we love his dedication and perseverance to help expand our son’s musical knowledge with the sax, while also making it fun. The expansion of his new location makes the updated atmosphere a wonderful learning environment, and also has great on site repair service.
Knowledgeable people
My Mom has not played her violin for well over 45 years.She and my daughter visited The Music Shop for the first time today and were very pleasantly surprised at the warm welcome and down home kindness that were shown to them. The owner helped her string her violin and now she can pursue her hobby once again. She told me, “It made my day and gave me back the gift of music to fill an empty spot I have had for a long, long time!”
18. Autograph Pros Celebrity Autographs & Music Memorabilia
Love this company! I’ve done business with them on several occasions. The owner (literally) wrote the book on autograph collecting. Will continue to work with them in the future.
Great company. 100 percent legit. One of the best out there. Buy with confidence.
Michael runs a fantastic company for fairly priced authentic autographed items.
I’ve been purchasing from him for years and items are always well packaged and shipped promptly. Items are always as described and I’ve been able to add a number of items that would’ve been difficult to obtain otherwise.
He’s well known in the autograph community for being a pillar of honesty and integrity, which is a rarity in the business and hobby.
He’s even written a great book which is highly informative to collectors that are novices and even experts.
I wouldn’t hesitate to do further business with them and I’m grateful companies like this exist in a hobby filled with scumbags selling poorly faked items.
19. River Valley Piano Service
Address: 101 Industrial Park Rd Unit B, Vernon, CT 06066 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Can’t say enough good things. These folks are the tops. They take care of all my piano needs.
They did a great job easily moving my grandfather’s upright piano. It was drizzling outside and not a single drop of water ended up on my piano. Friendly and professional, I highly recommend them.
Very smooth process! Rich was responsive in setting up a day/time to schedule the move and called when they were running just a few minutes late (an earlier job ran long). Movers were friendly & quick, and there was no damage to the piano or bench during the process. Pricing was fair and they were upfront in communicating cost beforehand. Would definitely recommend!
20. Piano Arts
Address: 642 Hilliard St, Manchester, CT 06042 , Crystal Lake , Connecticut , United States
Bill = Piano Arts. He knows the instrument inside and out, and inside-out. He thinks outside the box, as well as inside. He did wonders for my old Studio piano, and when I was finally ready to upgrade — I bought my first Grand from Bill. I continue to trust him and turn to him for “all things piano” and highly recommend him.
Bill sold me a used Steinway upright that has been immaculate. He is also an excellent pianist and is the accompanist at The Hartford Saengerbund chorus. His piano knowledge is comprehensive.
Bill Pelto is a consummate professional with over 40 years of piano and vocal training experience. He has worked with various titans in the industry and brings a vast wealth of knowledge into his studio. Aside from being one of the most easy going and kind people I’ve had the pleasure to meet, he is also an incredibly effective teacher. I’ve experienced dramatic results in just a few short weeks of lessons at Piano Arts. Whether you want to learn how sing, play the piano or read music, this is the place to go.
