Melody Record Shop

This is the place to go if you like to buy CDs (they have some vinyl) in a real shop, not online. They also sell DVDs. While the DVD selection isn't huge, I feel like they carefully pick their selection to match the taste of the neighborhood they're in, Dupont Circle. They have the best classical CD selection in DC, ... since Tower went out of business, anyway. After all these years, I still love shopping at Melody. The staff is always knowledgeable too.

Record stores are on the way out with the advent of iTunes. It's nice to find a store that still carries predominantly CDs. The selection here is a good mix of new releases and older music.

When I first moved to Dupont Circle 8 years ago, there were 3 music shops within one block in Dupont Circle. Now two of the three have been replaced by retail clothing stores, but fortunately one still stands. And probably for good reason: it was always a notch above the others in terms of quality and variety. The store has music from around the world and tends to cater toward that random record that you wouldn't necessarily be able to find at Best Buy, or wherever it is that people shop for music nowadays.

If you are a music buff, you will probably feel instantly at home in Melody which stocks not just the top 100 hits but also individual artists and groups which are lesser known but beloved by individual fans. The prices for the new CD's and DVD's which they also stock are considerably more than they would run you at Best Buy or other big retailers but for smaller labels they are a good bet. They also have some used CD's in the back which are always worth a look.