Record Shop Report - Dr. Disc

Dr. Disc
Location: 471 Ouellette Ave., Windsor, Ontario, N9A 4J2
Website: www.drdiscrecords.com
Facebook presence: Yes
Hours: Mon. - Sat. 11:00 - 8:00, Sun. 12:00 - 5:00 (They do not buy records on Wednesday or Sundays)

What is on offer: New and used vinyl, vinyl, vinyl, CDs and the usual record shop fun stuff fair! Plus movies.

Prices: Canadian dollars seemed to range for the used in the $2 - $6 is what I am remembering. In the used section I did not encounter any price that caused me to put something back. On the contrary, I only ended up putting records back due to my having way too many due to great prices. The new vinyl was priced as you would find priced anywhere else.

So, honestly, how is the place?

I visited Dr. Disc while my wife and I were visiting Windsor for our anniversary. So total credit to my wife for being cool with my spending a little too long record shopping on this day. I actually spent longer in the store than I should have due to my own ignorance.

When I first researched Dr. Disc and decided that was the shop I was going to visit while in town, I was hooked by the raves for their used selection. Considering I am a used collector and rarely buy new records (yeah, I even prefer original releases over the fancy newly pressed versions) this was my store to hit.

However, upon entering the store I spent probably 15 minutes wandering around trying to find the used selection. Finally I figured I had read something wrong and there were no used on offer, so I left. Yet once I was outside I stopped, told my wife I was going to go back in and take one last look, as I just could not believe I read something that incorrectly.

Once I went back inside I actually used my eyes and noticed the stairway that leads to an upstairs, which is where the used vinyl is kept! Oh joy! I quickly walked outside and asked by wife if she would like to speed the process up as the used goodies had been located! To which, with a shrug of the shoulders and a muttered "Not sure what I can do to help," she ascended the stairway with me to find what lay up above.

The used section of the store is quite full. Consisting of one main room of the popular and a side room with extra stuff, including some books. I didn't spend much time in that room, so I am not sure what was in there (possibly the cheapy records). Everything is in alphabetical order by first letters, and then mixed up within the letter.

As mentioned above, the prices are great. I walked out with a pretty good load and not too much money spent. They prices do have some range, and the albums that should be priced higher are priced higher, but they are still all at fair prices. There is plenty of gold to be found in the bins, but it will take some time to dig, as if you have a few bands in mind you will have to dig through the full section to see if they are in the section. I was there for about an hour and a half and I feel I could have spent more time, as I did kind of do quick flipping in search of specific titles, only stopping for new acts that caught my eye.

As I was getting ready to leave I found at the bottom of the stairs a few more bins. This is where the store sets the new arrivals of the used material. So when you first arrive be sure to dig through those bins first, as that is where some true gold can be found for many. As I was searching a group of us customers struck up a good conversation about other shops in the area, and that lead to discussion of other shops we have visited in general. It was your typical record shop talk that I miss from my old shops I would frequent. So look for your classic record shop atmosphere while visiting.

What did I leave with?

My visit to Dr. Disc saw me leave with a decent amount. I was out of town so I was obviously going to be a little less picky, as a return visit was obviously not going to happen for a little bit. That being said my budget was a little higher than normal and did see me making a return stop on my way out of town the next morning. Thanks again to a super understanding wife.

Aviary - S/T (the return visit purchase)
Chopper - S/T
Crack the Sky - S/T
Crack the Sky - Animal Noises
Ian McLagan - Bump In The Night
Queen City Kids - Black Box
The Records - Crashes
Russia - S/T
Saga - Heads or Tales

The final verdict on Dr. Disc is that it is a fantastic shop. During my chat it was said that Dr. Disc is the best shop in Windsor. The one gentleman was even pretty confident is saying it is the best shop in the area, including better than Detroit. Without a doubt it is a shop that I would love to make a return trip to for sure. I will be not too far from the area early next year, and I can guarantee I will be plugging it into my GPS to check and see just how far away I will be and if it would be worth a trip.