This was the final stop for record shops on our Madison, Wisconsin vinyl picking tour. Luckily, after only scoring three records the whole day at the other Madison record shops we visited, this last stop was by far the best.
I didn't know what to make of Strictly Discs at first, because the ground-level shop is full of new CDs and new vinyl. Actually, they have a really nice selection of new stuff. My girlfriend went into the basement while I scoured the new selections. She was down there for a long time. I kept thinking that it wasn't going to be worth checking out some basement of $1 records, but was I in for a surprise!
The basement is the hidden gem here. There is so much awesome used vinyl, like a sea of well-kept (all sleeved, priced and graded) vinyl in an underground labyrinth containing little wooden bridges leading to hidden corners and treasure troves of fresh-bought vinyl from thousands of private collections. However, in this underground lair of magical proportions, everything is incredibly organized. The guys that work down there are toiling away with their work of labeling, sleeving, and filing all the incoming records. Yet, they are incredibly helpful if asked a question. It feels like a fairy-tale universe and I expected well-coiffed little creatures to pop out from the wooden beams and start a conversation about David Bowie or something. Ok, yeah that's a bit much, but it really is fantastic!
After staying underground until the closing hour, we emerged to the ground-level portion of the store with a nice bounty. While I wish he had left the pricing/grading stickers on the vinyl (I like to have those for my own reference), the guy checking us out was very friendly and we had an enjoyable conversation about some of our journeys through Madison that day. It looks like we left on a high note! If you are going to visit one record store in Madison, Wisconsin, this is the one.