Joe’s Record Paradise - Silver Spring, Maryland
I’m excited to share our latest record store feature with you today and the shop I’m bringing you is a Washington DC spot called Joe’s Record Paradise. VINYLEXAMS community member @terp34 tipped me off to this spot and suggested I get to know how great it is for myself. I had a chance to talk with the original Joe’s son, Johnson Lee, about the shop and its history and I can see why it has such a devoted following!
8700 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 12-8 Monday-Friday, Saturday 10-9, and Sunday 12-6. [email protected] is the best way to reach them!
And here's the interview!
So tell our readers a little bit about your store's history My father Joe opened the store in Takoma Park in 1974 and has moved around Montgomery County since with a breif second store in Baltimore in the mid 2000's. We carry all genres and formats, hence our motto "Find Your Sound" but are pretty well known for the Jazz, Rock, and Soul/RnB sections. However, about five months ago I picked up one of the better Reggae collections we've ever gotten. Still have a bunch of the singles from that one. Actually the 12" section has been getting love too. Lots of House and other Dance 12"s have been coming in. Our stock is mostly used which can include sealed originals. Do you have any special repeat customer perks? Repeat customers and big stack buyers get breaks, and we thank them for giving us the Washington City Paper's Best Of the last couple of years. It really helps get the word out there that we are still around. What else do you have happening lately that vinyl lovers can get into? One of the recent happenings we've been involved in is the Rockin' Rockville Record Show we throw at the 7 Locks Brewery. Lots of local vendors and a couple other record stores show up with goodies, plus a live jazz trio and DJ's, etc. The next one is December 9th. The beer is fantastic. What is the one that got away from you? Sigh, you may have heard the fantastic story with Jerry from Jerry's Records and his son finding a very rare Delta Blues 78 that they traded to R. Crumb for a drawing of them two holding it. As a huge fan of Crumb and as someone whose "J" named father owned and passed down a record store, plus my namesake being a Delta Bluesman(Robert Johnson, I've always gone by Johnson, btw) it seems like in a close by parallel universe it was us that made the shirt. Kudos to them. Maybe Crumb will draw a picture of me sitting there looking dopey with a winged 78 floating by just out of reach. Heh... Thanks for chatting with me, Johnson! Now go check this place out for yourself! #vinyl #vinyladdict #vinyljunkie #onmyturntable #nowspinning #nowplaying #vinyligclub #vinyllovers #vinylclub #vinylrecords #vinylcollectionpost #lp #records #vinylexams (at Joe's Record Paradise) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqyA4ygge-z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bjvcc8egorv5@joesrecordparadise #joesrecordparadise #maryland #silverspring