Criminal Records

I love this place and it was really great to see how my son reacted upon walking in. Knowledgeable staff, a great layout and everything you could ever want in a record store. Now I just need a record player. Thank you for surviving the digital age.

First time in today! Close to closing, but the staff was super kind and helpful! I found an album Ive had my eye on and walked out with it in hand! I'll definitely be coming back!

Great and legendary record store in the heart of Atlanta! It’s a must stop for all music lovers. You’ll find what you’re looking for here.

BEST! RECORD STORE! EVEEERRRR!!!! The people in charge were some of the coolest and nicest people I’ve ever seen. I even got to talk to one of the employees there about music recommendations. We both share the same interest which made talking a lot more fun. And the variety. Don’t even get me STARTED!!!! I was tempted to buy out the whole entire store. This place has records I didn’t even know were being sold. For reasonable prices, of course. The atmosphere was great, the music they were playing fit said atmosphere, and everyone was absolutely nice. If you’re in the Atlanta area and you need to go to a good record store, this place has you covered all the way. I would put 10 stars here if I could, so just imagine that I gave the store a 10 star review instead of a five. CRIMINAL RECORDS 4 LYF 🤘🏽

One of the few original parts of Atlanta that has survived. Amazing record store that does incredible events with local and famous artists. The staff is always helpful and the vibes on point.

Awesome place to browse and wandering thru. Great selections if new and used vinyl, cds, etc. Also have a variety of stickers, pins, shirts, Comics.

Just visiting Atlanta for the first time, This is by far the best record store i’ve been to out of all the others. The workers are beyond friendly and welcoming, they’re truly amazing and kind people and the prices cannot be beat, way cheaper than any other and I’ll stand with that. I hope I can come back to this wonderful place!

We absolutely loved browsing this shop. Bought some CDs for daughter's walkman. Yes, I realize it's 2024 but some things from the past I just have to let our kids experience. The store is simple nostalgia mixed with music and culture. There's truly something for everyone.

FOR THE RECORD, YOU'RE A CLASSIC! Fantastic selection from old to new! Customer service was fantastic. I highly recommend. They even ship. Not sure if they ship out of state, but still worth it if you live in the state of Georgia!

Criminal Records is such a cool and relaxing place to browse through classic records. We purchased a few records for our collection and really enjoyed talking to the employees about various artist and their catalog of music. This is a great place to go on a random weekend!

No listening stations and a real lack of diverse selections. Overpriced. You'll probably find exactly what you're looking for around the corner at Wax N Facts or Beatlab. The staff is always rude because they're all failed musicians still working at the neighborhood record store in their 40s and 50s. Those who can't do, become cashiers. Hi Shannon!

I brought my parents/family here. The people who work at the store followed us the entire time. At one point I was speaking to my parents and one of the followers nearly responded like I was talking to him- that's how close he was. Like physically leaning over the exact areas we were looking. The behavior completely turned my sister off to the point that she stopped looking strictly because she didn't want her money going to a business that made us feel so uncomfortable. My parents couldn't find records from the artists they wanted anyway. I made my purchase and we got out of there. I wish it wasn't this way! But I won't be back.

Very limited used soul section for such a big store. Also it's over priced. I come here when I feel like getting ripped off. When I feel like getting a deal I go to Wax N Facts , simple. Pros: - Large Selection of new releases - Lots of space to move around - Organized, and clean. Cons: - Most expensive record shop in Atlanta - Very large store, with a small-average sized used soul/ jazz collection

The owner was super helpful. I needed records for a clients decor and ended up getting additional finds for myself. The selection is pretty amazing. He has $1 bins and even regularly priced records as well. Love how quaint it is.

I love record stores! This is a good one located in the Little 5 Points area of Atlanta. They were adhering to strict Covid guidelines and only allowed a few people in the store at a time. Store was very well organized with large selections. This was a recordcentric store, which I really liked. Not alot of Cds or t shirts. Great music across all genres was available. Staff was non existent. That's what I want at a record store. I want to browse without being bothered. Staff was friendly at checkout. Overall, this is a record store that I will return to the next time I am in Atlanta.

They should change the name to Criminally Rude. We've been in here a couple times and they're super rude. Today it was raining and we know they have a no drink policy which I get but we opened the door and asked if we could leave the drinks behind the counter or on a side table upfront, just anywhere bath outside on the floor in the rain and the chick behind the counter just yelled back at us "NO DRINKS" so well just be buying records from The Record Spot or Wax and Fax or this other cool spot we found in the city. If you're in the mood for a mellow vinyl rummage I wouldn't suggest shopping here.

I would give zero stars if possible to this store. Customer Service was non existent today. I went after something that was said to be in stock but when I got there was told it was sold out but they really had it. I am so aggravated that I wasted my time going to this vile area of town.

What a fitting name--when you enter this store, you are treated like a criminal. I will preface this review with saying this: I have been here 9-10 times and have purchased 6-7 of those visits. I tried to like this store, but the staff is absolutely terrible. They have a great selection of new records from new bands, and they have the best Record Store Day in Atlanta, but you will be treated like garbage. You will be followed and watched by the staff. You will be interrogated at the checkout. You MUST have your ID to make a purchase with card. MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR RECEIPT, because if you don't they will 100% assume you stole whatever you just bought. It's crazy, because the checkout is right by the door, but if you don't get that receipt, all the other staff will think you're a thief, and whoever checked you out will NOT stick up for you. You MUST stand on the squares while in checkout. No, they will not politely tell you to stand there---they'll probably talk to you like you're an imbecile. It's kind of ridiculous because there checkout line is right where the Record Store Day releases are, so it's always crowded around there anyway. Sheesh. Their prices are marked up, but its not terrible; however, any bootleg stuff from Germany, etc (I don't even know if this stuff is legal to sell in a business like this--they never have bar codes) like YEEZUS (this was never printed as an LP), or Frank Ocean's NOSTALGIA ULTRA mixtape in LP form will be marked up to true price gouging rates. God forbid you ask the staff for any help either. There are usually adequate staff there, but they are not there to help the customer. The staff is there to watch the customer like a prison guard and follow you around like a chaperone. They have the right music. They have the products I want and you want. They have the new stuff. They have rare stuff. They get the limited drops. They have the comics. They have the DJ samples. They have the crate digging sample records. They have the audiophile stuff. ~~~~~~~~~BUT~~~~~~~~~~ You heard it here first. Your experience will NOT be good. You will be treated like trash.

REAL CLASSY RECORD STORE ! My wife and I were on our first ever visit to Atlanta, GA. While looking up places to see and things to do soon after we settled in at our condo in downtown Atlanta I found this cool sounding record store. WE LOVE RECORD STORES ! We jumped in a lyft and headed over from our rental condo downtown to this eclectic Little Five Points area one afternoon. And what a great neighborhood from a tourist's perspective...bars, brewpubs, restaurants, clothing stores, supermarkets and more. We pretty much headed to this record store first and it was a lot of fun. A cool looking dude named Kale looked after us when we paid for our purchase at the cashier desk. Lots of new collector vinyl albums plus new cds, heaps of dvds and a reasonable selection of used cds. Worth a visit !

Very nice record store. They are diligent in promoting masks while shopping and hand sanitizer is readily available. I had an awesome experience today. While customer service was on point, I found a sealed copy of Wayne Shorter's 'Speak No Evil' vinyl album for $27. It was on my list at Amazon but they wanted over $45 for the album. This proves that you can find a few surprises at Criminal Records.

Went here for the first time with my partner and it's just as cool as it looks online. They have everything- I couldn't stop gasping while I was there, even like comics and manga I believe. They also have a section of older vintage records too!! Can't wait to go back and get a few records for myself!

Why let customers in 10 minutes before closing time and then rudely kick them out even while they have a stack of vinyl they intend to purchase in their hands. Nice selection of everything but African American manager on duty was rude as hell. The fact that all staff are rude and snobby except the cashier where all the money is made. Vinyl prices are fair but used vinyl is way out of portion with its value. Every time I visit here I feel like there are tons of eyes watching me as if I'm a shoplifter. Probably due to sketchy L5P location. It's very possible that the owner forgot his roots and the fact that he crowd sourced to get back into business from the community after major business and Flood errors in the past

Great customer service and great selection of vinyls records. Very clean and comfortable to be in

Great record store with a lot of hard to find selections and albums that are promotion only.

today was my first time coming to criminal records, it is amazing. The people are very nice and helpful! the music is very groovy and it's definitely a place you'd love to hit up if you're in little five points! There's something for everyone!!

The worst experience from the staff, but let me say this first... great selection in records. BUT the young lady at the door tell you to keep your mask on as soon as you walk in, without a greeting at all. (Feels very attack-ish). Aside from that i understand keeping the mask on while browsing but it's 2021 and we need face recognition to pay with our phones and to open them, there was no understanding of needing to pull my mask down to check out. There needs to be a bit of understanding when it comes to that, it's causing the store lost of sales. On top of that at check out there's a huge piece of plastic between myself and the person checking me out. Ashley is the name of the represent that had no understanding.

All I can say is, price gouging at its finest. It is after all in a touristy area and the kiddos don't mind paying ridiculous prices for their New and used vinyl. I pop in here first when I'm visiting little five points. If I see something I want and not sure how badly I want it for the price; I walk down the block to see if they have it at Wax N Fax for less and they usually do. mostly in better condition. To pay $19.95 for a used and "not rare" LP, no matter the condition is just ridiculous. Not to say, that I won't shop there. Occasionally I have found a bargain, but it rarely happens. The staff is cool and friendly. I would never buy a new LP here, because they are so marked up, it's silly.

Incredible variety of vinyl LPs, shirts, posters, comic books, and more. Some used vinyl as well. Staff are super nice and helpful.

The store is pretty organized and the decorations are really great. Has a pretty good selection but I guess I came at an unfortunate time because all the vinyl I wanted was standard black. They had your standard indie pricing for vinyl. The staff is a little questionable, I felt like I had eyes on me the whole time so it made me uncomfortable shopping/I couldn't shop in peace but when I asked questions they were pretty nice. I'm not sure if I'd shop here again because it's an annoying drive but I guess I recommend this to people who live specifically in Atlanta.

Top shop! Easily one of the best shops in the Southeast, if not the country. Excellent new and uses records, comics, and other ephemera.

Great selection The staff really wasn't that friendly it made it kind of uncomfortable I was in town so I asked a question about did they have packages so I can take it back on the airplane and really no answers I found a couple that vinyls in here but I just refuse to buy them due to the fact the staff was very unfriendly

If you consider yourself a vinyl-head in the Atlanta area and you've not visited Criminal Records yet, it should be considered a crime. Your punishment? A trip to this excellent music shop and I'm sure your visit will be an enjoyable one. I'd been to this place before, but not when I was the vinyl fanatic I am today, so I'm definitely glad I stopped by again... Along with my lady and our dog (they're very dog-friendly). The store is very well-organized, with newer releases towards the front and older/used ones towards the back, all divided by genre and all priced nicely. They also have new and used CDs, posters, t-shirts, and lots of comic books and graphic novels. I'd say a little something for everyone! My lady and I found some great vinyls, including Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland (used 1980 reissue, awesome condition, $17), Tone Loc's Loced After Dark (used original pressing, $7), Queen's Jazz (new reissue, $24), and A Charlie Brown Christmas (new green vinyl, $20). This is a great shop and it'd be a crime to NOT check it out. Plus the staff are all friendly and willing to help you find whatever title you're searching for or even make a good recommendation. If you find yourself in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta, I'd absolutely say check this place out!

So I'll start this off by letting it be known that I am not a comic book person and stopped here simply because I knew they had a comic book my fiancé would love. I called a few days before making the trip to the store to make sure they had what I was looking for and had no issue getting someone to look for the item I wanted and they were even kind enough to tell me how many were left and how much they cost. Located in L5P off Euclid, the store is easy to find (huge painted sign with the name of the store out front), but parkinggggg...yaaaa know you're gonna have to pay. Anyway, I found parking behind the Arden's Garden for $3 and took a stroll up the street to the store. When I walked in, I realized this is a comic book and music lover paradise. They had everything from vinyls to books to audio cassettes to over 9 gazillion different comics inside. There's not a lot of room to move around but they have sooooo much to choose from. Now I felt a little crazy because I had no idea where to start looking for said comic book but luckily I found someone that worked there who helped me find what I needed super quick. What made this trip even better was the fact that just about everything was on sale so I appreciated that small surprise. Now I know where to go when I'm looking for some old school music or another comic book lover in my life needs a gift.

Went here with friends and they loved it. They said they could spend hours there. I wanted ice cream so I wasn't interested but theres a lot of cool records and posters there. Also some t shirts. If you love records you can definitely spend some time here.

I visited the other nearby record store and spent most of my money there first. So I didn't stay here very long. As I had read, much of their inventory is newer vinyl. Which is fine if that's what you're looking for. I am interested in 1960s & 70s rock and blues. They have a section of it in the back of the store which I found to my liking. I found several albums that were on my wish list. Unfortunately, they all had issues (scratches). I did purchase a VERY nice Jethro Tull "Living in the Past" for $25. It was a solid purchase. The next time I am in town, I'll probably go back again to look around. Also, the young lady that rang up my purchase was super-friendly. That is a definite plus. Bottom line: I wouldn't drive far out of my way (in Atlanta traffic) to go here. But not a bad place.

Fantastic selection of records, especially if you're looking to buy new rather than used. Really well organized, not the cheapest prices in the area but its worth it if you've got something in mind you can't find anywhere else, including online. Great covid safety measures and friendly staff.

I've been coming to Criminal Records for years...well over a decade! I have nothing but good things to say about this place. It's a music and comic book shop located in Little 5 Points (in Atlanta). My fiancé has a published comic and has been invited to do 2 signings at the store and we have been treated so well during both. Kale is one of the employees that deals with bookings for things like singings and he has always just gone above and beyond with accommodating us. The store also has a great selection of vinyl-new and used. I could flip through the music racks for hours. They have a preowned cd section that always has tons of awesome stuff for super cheap! Cool band tee shirts along the wall and lots of local art. If you're ever in the area, be sure to check this place out.

Soooo sad to leave this review because I found a lot of records I wanted to purchase, but me and my boyfriend were kicked out because he was wearing a cloth mask. The employees had their masks below their nose but we were asked to leave because ours didn't look up to par. I guess this is the world we live in now but it really sucks.

Let me start off by saying, this place is a genuine fucking gold mine for anyone looking to snatch rare and exclusive vinyls you can't find anywhere else. There are bands that have exclusive merch and vinyls that I have been looking for, for years and missed every opportunity to snatch, and lo and behold Crim has my back. This is a one of a kind record store in ATL. Other smaller record stores in the area are great, but nothing beats Criminal. Nothing. And one of the coolest parts about this place that not many other record stores have is the ability to request for new albums or merch to be sold at the store for the future. I've seen similar implementations elsewhere but nowhere near as inclusive as it is here. Great job guys.

Great selection of Cds, Vinyls and Books. I love supporting independent record stores, especially this one. Nice location (located at little five points) and friendly staff.

Worst experience ever! To help spare a longer review, in short there are a few ways stores go about handling covid. 1) Non-committal, 2) abides by standards, and 3) aggressive policies. Well, this place needs a new category of senseless, over the top covid restrictions and guidelines. I abide by standards but based on what happened here I will never again visit this place. I had decided to shop local for the holidays and needless to say, after what happened I ended up spending my $180 at target and amazon which I had hoped not to do. Please do yourself a favor and do not shop at this store. I would hate to think that I'm writing a poor review based on the actions of one employee but based on the experience, it's the whole entire staff and ownership. And Criminal records, please do not base this on "protecting the safety of others". There are ways to keep people safe and the way you handle this is not one of them.

I loved the mix of vinyl, CD, cassette & sample albums that were available for purchase. The photo booth was really neat (had to try it while I was there!) and I loved the comic book selection. Prices were fair and there were so many different vinyl options, even though you had to explore and see what was there. But that's half the experience! The employees were nice and incredibly helpful.

This place has a lot of style and pizzaz! Records, movies, comics, toys, CD's, lots of cool stuff to browse! Local music all the way to world music!

I love this place. They have a pretty good selection of used CDs. It's a bit slapdash but it's happy hunting. I found old JAMC and Jane's Addiction CDs. They also carry the latest music, too: I found the new Pixx album here. I can't vouch for their wax selections but it looked ample enough to me. This store also carries cassette tapes, DVDs, indie comics, T-shirts & band buttons. You'll spend some time perusing through all the doodads. It's a fun store for music and memorabilia fiends.

Great selection of new vinyl for all genres. Prices are on par with most online retailers. Better selection of new vinyl than most shops out there. Very clean for a record shop, and cleaner than most places in little 5. I try to hit it at least once a month.

Excellent selection, large store, friendly staff! Some great finds here with a wide variety of genres and eras represented. Brand new and used vinyl, as well as CDs and other formats. I only wish I had more money to spend. Minor quibble: some of the records are stored near the floor and that makes it tough for an old man with a bad back and neck to search. However, that's a factor of simply having so many LPs. BONUS: Shop is located in very interesting and funky Little Five Points.

Cool store. Lots of records, tons of Funko Pops and a fun comic book area with some cool wall books too. I really liked it here. I really enjoyed that my wife and I were greeted when we came in. That was a very nice touch.

The staff inside the store were superb! They helped my daughter find the records she wanted. This would have been a five star review if the guy managing the door hadn't been very rude to my brother and not letting him in for wearing a gator mask instead of a standard mask. There were no signs or rules stating that gator masks were not allowed.

Some people hate on Criminal because they complain about their staff being 'elitist' or 'snobby.' Well, when you're shopping in an independent record store, that's mostly what you're going to get. For certain, I've got some crappy vibes from the mussed hair hipsters who work behind the counter. People like to feel like they know more than other people, even when they don't, and so the service here shouldn't be too big of a factor. I've had plenty of decent instances where I felt I wasn't shopping from a scene kid, so the rumor is overrated, and to be true, Criminal is probably the best store for indie CDs and DVDs in Atlanta. Their wall of new CDs is pretty well stocked, though isn't perfect. Their prices are fair, and they display new releases along the back wall so you can browse by eye rather than searching for everything. They also have a row of the hottest albums along the front case, so you can see what you might not have remembered or heard about. They also have a long case of used stuff that actually has decent albums from time to time. Their vinyl section is small, but choice. They have a decent slew of media-related magazines, including a handful of lit mags that no other place I know carries. As far as DVDs, they have the entire Criterion Collection on sale new, as well as other popular independent and mainstream films. I don't collect comic books anymore (not since I was 16 and extra-large) but they have a really large section of those also, which is a big draw for a lot of people. Overall, a great place to browse for new media in all forms, if passed over with a certain percentage of snot.

Criminal Records is one of the highlights of Little Five Points, it's an Atlanta institution, a flagship for indie music, and a mecca for hipsters and nerds alike. As its name entails, Criminal Records' main inventory is vinyl - lots and lots of vinyl - containing a very large selection of modern titles. Though personally, I enjoy rummaging through the dollar bins - which holds all sorts of gems. Besides vinyl, there is a fairly impressive collection of graphic novels and comic books (Dark Horse!), random nik naks - I'm particularly fond of the POP! vinyl figurines - and various movies. My favorite aspect of Criminal Records though are their free and open to the public, in store concerts/meet and greets. Most recently invited was one of my favorite bands - The Fratellis - they performed a quick acoustic set and then stuck around for a meet and greet! The in-store sessions seems to occur about once a month at maximum - maybe every other month. In addition to these free shows, Criminal also frequently offers free tickets to shows at the Masquerade with a vinyl purchase - they know good bargains! Criminal is definitely worth a trek to Little Five!

All I can say about this music store is that it makes you feel like Atreyu in "The Neverending Story"- the part where he has to prove his worth to make it through the two statues that will zap him into oblivion. You cannot ask for the "wrong" cd without getting a nasty look. But don't let that stop you from going in and getting a great cd you've been waiting for. Just don't go in there hoping to get the new Britney Spears album, or you might get speared by the employees. Har, har. The staff is pretentious, but they basically know what is up on the indie scene. I go here often to get a cd I don't feel like stealing off the internet- I am a collector of cd's from bands I care about, and this is the place to go to get a cd you cannot get in a mall cd store. They have a lot of famous people come in there to do signings, so it's always worth a look at their website to see who will be in next- it ranges from musicians to actors promoting a film. I recently missed my old pal David Arquette doing a signing there for his newest movie, and I was pissed off about that! Ahh, but I digress... they also have local bands like Deerhunter play on the premises and they are big supporters of our local scene, so I love that! They have a lot of cd's, toys, comics, rare cd box sets you have to have once you see them, and great magazines (Mojo, NME, Select, etc.) to choose from. This is the place in the Atl to get a cd when you don't have any clue what is "hip" on Mtv.....

The snarky staff is very helpful in answering the question, "Why not just buy new records through Amazon and used records through E-Bay?" After every customer left the store the staffed criticized their purchases. Not a fan of spending my money to support smug wannabe hipsters. Never again.

It's the best comic book store in the world where they have my favorite superhero comics.

The BEST place in Atlanta to find comics and new music - been coming here since they were at their old location on Euclid. Awesome, knowledgeable staff, great selection and a no-pressure experience. What more can you ask for.

The layout and atmosphere of this store is great. It's very spacious, very clean, and very well organized - you probably won't need to question where anything is. The staff is friendly and when I visited, there was lively discussion going on about both music and comics, which was great. It gets heavy points for all this. With that said, I deducted stars for two big reasons. First is the lack of Hip Hop selection. While this store has a bigger Hip Hop stock than Fantasyland Records, it's not very big at all in terms of either Hip Hop CDs or Hip Hop vinyl. This is an issue not only because I went into the store to look for Hip Hop but also because the store is in Atlanta...a huge hub for Hip Hop music (which also happens to be arguably the biggest genre of music right now)!!!! Even if you're looking for the most current mainstream project - you may not find it here. If you are looking for Hip Hop - check out Moods Music down the street (a literal 2 minute walk.) The second issue is pricing. It may be because I am from the Northwest, but this store had some of the most expensive pricing I have seen for new vinyl anywhere. We're talking mid/upper $30s for a single new mass produced vinyl! The prices on cds and cassettes (both new and used) were high as well. I'm all for supporting local stores, but we're not talking the normal $5.00 up-price here. While I didn't find anything here to buy (and even if I did, I probably wouldn't have bought it due to the prices,) visiting the store itself was pretty fun. If you're in the general area, it's definitely worth strolling around. NOTE: I didn't really visit the comic book section, though it looked pretty impressive in terms of size (a fair amount of long boxes of backstock - with everything bagged and boarded.)

funky gifts, an excessive collection of vinyl, my favorite magazine in addition to the other forgotten music mags that people shouldn't sleep on. Yup, I'm a fan! This is one of the few spots I end up coming back to when I'm in town to visit. But I've never walked away empty handed here. It's that old music store feel that is now forgotten with the new-age of simply downloading music. Come here if you need to find something unique for that out-of-the-box type friend :-)

Really enjoyed this record store! My friend and I went in the store on a whim, I was expecting the same records store that I was use to that had regular run of the mill pop music, rap, etc., with a few records so that it could be categorized as a "record" store, but what I found was so much more! I was blown away by the number of album of obscure artist that this store had that I knew of, meaning that these are not super well known artist, and yet this store had their albums. My friend and I were in the area from out of town to see Ingrid Michaelson in concert the night before, Ingrid is not super well known, but still more well known than others, and an amazing artist. I had never heard of the band that opened up for her, which was a band from England, and from overhearing others, they had not heard of them as well. So how excited am I when they have the full album of the band in the store, when the band had ran out the night before! So I was saved from having to track down a way to get their album. Then I was able to preview this really amazing album by a bluegrass band that I had never heard of that just blew me away, and there were so many other albums that I wanted to listen to and preview I had to pull myself away and stop listening to previews so that I wouldn't want to buy anything else. Loved the atmosphere of the place, it's definitely a place I would recommend for other people to stop into, and you would be supporting an independent record store which are a dying breed, especially GOOD record stores. Bravo Criminal Records! I shall see you again!

This is not your average record store! This place is HUGH MUNGUS (triggered). The selection is incredible. It was very clean and organized. The location is great as well. I have nothing negative to say about this store. The comic section is pretty exceptional! They have a price-point for anyone, I was able to find plenty of used comics for $1.50. Though the comics were used, the condition was MINT. I was also able to find the comics pretty easily.