Josey Records

There is something deep in my sensory receptors that gets triggered when I enter a proper old school record shop. Josey Records is that kind of record shop.

Josey's records is genuinely and sincerely one of the most personable and kind record stores in Kansas City. Every single time I've been, the staff has been nothing but friendly towards me and have always struck up conversation while checking out. They always have reasonable prices compared to other record stores in KC and I've even been able to find some of my most sought after ISO's in my collection through them. They have a really diverse staff when it comes to having different types of kinds of music taste which makes it even more fun to discover new music and converse with the staff. They always consistently knock it out of the ball park for me and never let me down. While other record stores have an uncomfortable/egotistical/condescending atmosphere, Josey's continually reigns a gem that I will always admire for their persistent hospitality. This will always be my number one go to record store in Kansas City!

Great selection! Found a record I was looking for in their excellent used record basement for three bucks, and a gently used copy of a favourite album I didn't expect to see. Also a really solid selection of jazz on top of the rock records I expected. We'll definitely be back!

The staff are all very knowledgeable and friendly. Great selection of a wide variety of music genres. Sweet merch and tons of bargains. The basement has a ton of old records and deals. Plus there's occasional live music from local artists. Cool vibes and fun place!

Lots of records! Staff was really helpful. Excellent place to go crate digging for gems! Could have spent hours downstairs flipping through the stacks. This is a proper record shop.

I loved this place from the second I walked in they were very knowledgeable, kind and were able to help me find some records to pre order and brought into the store. I will definitely come again.

Crazy selection, mostly rock and older music though. i would love to see some more newer music though! great atmosphere and workers.

Josey Records is a great vinyl shop with an excellent selection. I always enjoy checking out their website or stopping in to see what’s new.

If you're on the hunt for a quirky local record store, Josey Records is going to be it for you in the heart of KC. It took me a while to finally make it here, but I had the day off of work and was on the hunt for a holiday record to add to our collection. I will say, if I had any critiques it would be that their holiday section could have been a bit more robust, BUT it was the week before Christmas and seeing that they still had some interesting ones I was counting my blessings. I love how charming this little store is, the folks working were so kind and helpful, and they had a ton of records - used, new, you name it. Kind of reminded me of a much smaller version of Love Garden in Lawrence. Overall it definitely has good vibes and I'm sure I'll return sometime soon.

Josey Records has moved one block west to a more compact location. They still have a wide variety of records. CDs too. They also have still have a stellar staff.

I had a fun time here right from the beginning. The staff was fun, engaging, and present which I really appreciate. I ended up asking for some specifics and they went right to work while I continued to shop. It's two floors of vinyl mostly, some CD, cassette, and even collectible 8 track which actually command a pretty penny and when you see the artists you understand why. I spent around an hour this trip trying to take it all in and let it all sink in, so as to feel comfortable with the vast selection of literary every genre of music to include soundtracks. They have 'now playing' displays up and downstairs and these girls know their music because I ended up grabbing one of the albums playing. They have staff picks, new arrivals, listening stations, and an amazing selection of quality used. I mean you spend a day here. I couldn't help but notice quite a few kids accompanied by Mom or Dad's having fun finding things like a scavenger hunt and smiling deeply while doing it. Nothing like seeing kids live out their imaginations and glowing in fulfillment ~ Towards the end of my visit they had found three vinyls I inquired about plus three I picked myself. I ended up purchasing a Bluetooth player, signed up for their rewards program and overall had a blast! A new stop new customer for certain ~

For reviewers who are misinformed about the meaning of LPs, they stand for 33.3 RPM 12" "Long Playing" vinyl records. They first appeared in the 1950s as distinct from 78 RPM and 45 RPM Extended Play records. They have nothing to do with lasers. They are currently undergoing a revival and still being produced. Enjoy them while you still can, although you will need to have a long playing record player and connected speaker system to listen to them. Steve G.

Excellent selection! Always helpful and fairly priced. Other cool record stuff too. The new location is just as good!

I went here on Record Store Day on Saturday, April 22nd, 2023 They always have a DJ called Dahilldadj playing. It's the dumbest DJ name ever but whatever. I love music and was picking up records well the DJ was in the basement. It was really dead down there I remember there being a few ladies and a few other men looking at records down there. He was playing trash songs like he was depressed or some thing. They were all sad songs then at one point he turned the music off. He proceeded to talk loudly about some man who was a cheater and other negative remarks. I was dumbfounded that Josey's would hire such an unprofessional DJ. I hope that you didn't pay him and that he isn't there on Record Store Day on Black Friday. Please don't invite him back ever! Your store is amazing and this negative review is about your DJ not the store in general. Your employees are really nice and helpful especially Britt. She help me that day because I wanted a punk rock album I heard others talk about.

Great store! I love checking out local record shops when I travel and I got to check out Josey while staying in the Crossroads District. It was a short and pleasant walk from my hotel and I got to experience the neighborhood a bit. I found at Josey extensive stock and fair prices. I spent most of my time downstairs in the funk/soul and jazz sections and found some gems that I was on the lookout for. They also have a huge selection of bargain LPs, many of which were off the beaten track records--just a little beat up which is cool. This was the most fun for me! Top it off with listening stations to evaluate the condition of those bargain finds and a friendly clerk who came by to offer any help and had a pleasant chat on checking out. I'll definitely be back when I'm in KC again.

My review is based on one visit only--I initially gave it a "3" but realized that was unfair since the main reason I gave that rating was due to not finding a lot of records I wanted to purchase. That's just me--I've been collecting records for a long time and stock in a used record shop fluctuates. I grabbed a record at a very fair price that I did want and my wife got a t-shirt. Service was super friendly and helpful. Two stories of warehouse style record action. If I lived in KC I'd check these folks out once a month at least on the hunt for new vinyl.

This was such a cool little place to visit. Right across the street from Mission Taco. Of course it had that basement brick vibe going on that you expect in the crossroads! We were promptly greeted upon entering and there was hand sanitizer to use. Everyone shopping was super respectful, quietly flipping through and staying distant. They had a great variety of new music and classics...even had a rare section which I thought was neat. I'll definitely be back!

I was super excited to checkout Josey in KC after having such a splendid shopping experience at their sister store in Dallas many moons ago. It was one of the primary reasons I made the trek for the weekend to KC. Like their Dallas counterpart, the expanse of records is significant. Tons, and tons of vinyl to dig through. I tried to take a measured approach to shopping as I had a limited amount of time (less than 30 minutes) to shop. I feel I got through virtually all the bins in that time. New arrivals greet you in the front of the store upon entering (nice touch). Plenty to dig through (front and back). Walk further into the store and there you can find plenty of rock, soul, hip-hop and soundtrack to sift through. Like another reviewer noted, their bins were a touch full of a lot of common titles; in fact, in some bins it was very, very Goodwill-ish - not just the dollar bins, but in the rock bins as well. Lots and lots of common titles. The true strength of this store was definitely volume - lots of it. The question I kept going back to was quantity vs quality. Don't get me wrong, they had some quality pieces, but pricing was hit/miss. Some things were market commensurate, while a few others were at some out of this world prices (laughable, actually). This store didn't strike me as friendly as Dallas. I only noted one woman working the counter and that was it. I asked during my checkout transaction about a store sticker and was told they were out (bummer). That said, they have a very strong social media presence, which was one of the main drivers that brought me into this store. I hope they keep up on that end! Parking was a breeze, either on their own side lot or on the adjacent street side. I'd definitely give them another try next time I'm in town, but I felt a touch disappointed after having such a grand experience in Dallas.

Out of the about 15 record shops I've been to, this one was top 3. Best hip hop collection in KC. Good prices, nothing was above $35. The basement section was so much better than I thought it would be. I found a nice jazz record for only $1! Best in Kansas City!

Another great record store for KC. They have a huge selection of new and used. The soul and jazz selections are never ending. They could use more classical though. The cool thing is that they have turntables set up with headphones so that you can listen to the used records before you buy them. Plus the staff is super friendly.

Great find! Lots of old and new . Wow what a record store! Lots and lots of vinyl through the ages and various genres. I was looking for Pink Floyd and they didn't have many on this particular day. I could get lost for hours reminiscing here. My daughter is intrigued by LPs, so we had a fun visit. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly

Walked into this store after eating at Grinder's as I was heading to my car. Lots of records to choose from of all music genres and type. Located in the crossroads arts district, the brick walled shop is large, fun and chill. Nice to walk around and browse in while a variety of music is playing in the background. Great crowd here.

If you're looking for an awesome record store in downtown, look no further! This place is my fave record store in the KCMO area. They always have the records I want or if they don't, they try and help you find it! Also it's just got an awesome vibe to it.

Dear young Yelp reader, gather 'round for I have a bit of history to share. Once upon a time popular music was transferred from musicians to consumers through the creation of large, round, thin discs made of black, hard, grooved plastic with a single hole in the center, wrapped in printed cardboard with clever artwork and writing (called 'liner notes'), then covered in cellophane and sold in stores. These products were carried home and placed on rotating devices attached to speakers, creating sound by rubbing a hard needle against the plastic, thus producing pleasant and sometimes unpleasant sounds. These round platters were called LPs, which stands for Laser Printers (I think). They have them here. Lots of them. No, LOTS. People like your parents and grandparents were once young and irresponsible like you. They purchased these products in the 1960s and 70s and shared the sounds with other people their age. Sometimes during these listening sessions liquor and recreational drugs were consumed. And often, they had sex while these round products produced their sounds, including you parents. But don't worry, for your parents it only happened once. Truly an era that has passed. For some. Oh yea, Donnie and Marie can be found here. David Cassidy, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Carpenters, BTO, Yes, Kansas, etc. Remember the big hair bands of the 80s, guys with oddly shaped cucumbers in their spandex and enough hair spray to fuel a RuPaul drag show episode? Yea, those albums are here: White Snake, Kiss, Twisted Sister, I hated you then, hate you now. Oh, but what's this? Dizzy, Cannonball, Bird, Monk, Mingus, Miles. Guys that only needed one name to be hip. They're here, and they're still cool. But so are the New Christy Minstrels, John Denver, Barry Manilow, Tony Orlando and Dawn and the rest. Ewww. Yea, this store has it going on. It's like a museum of the music you forgot, music you should STILL be listening to, and the stuff you deny to this day listening to but everyone knows you did: uh huh, you dug ABBA once. Stop pretending. Everyone's on to you. It's all here, in its glory, that which we cherish and want to forget. God I love this place.

I've seen this place many times but never been in, well I was in the neighborhood checking out a new place and so I went in and , they have many different albums in the store, anything that was made on the album it was there, artists that I like and never saw their albums I finally seen, the album cover- some good design were made, they sell record player to, they have your favorite pop, rock, r&b, CW, movies, foreign in their own section, you could be browsing for hours just to look for what you want, plus the best Park is they have their own lot to park in that's , will be back to really look instead of quick look

fantastic place, very friendly staff. wide selection, spent my whole paycheck. but i just have a spending problem. great digs, love the place.

Awesome location,fabulous selection and a staff that is VERY customer service oriented. I also like the fact that they seem to have the pulse of the community. Highly recommended. The best Record store in the Midwest.

My favorite place to get records in KC! Huge variety and has the best prices of anywhere else.

Very cool record store tons of vinyl good prices super friendly staff keep it up

I was very excited to see the Dallas-based Josey Records were planning on opening a location here in Kansas City. The music scene in Kansas City has always been strong across the board, but the vinyl selection here had been less than thrilling until the last few years, when all of a sudden, we were blessed with several great shops around town. What got me most excited, though, was that Josey was started down in Dallas in part by fairly well-known house music producers/djs, JT Donaldson and Waric Cameron, both of whom had come up to play KC a bunch in the 00's and loved the vibe of the city. "Electronic" music, despite having sustained the vinyl industry for the better part of the last 20 years, is woefully underrepresented in the bins and shelves of stores around the city, so I felt like this would be a great spot to pick up some well-curated classics and some cutting-edge releases, as well. We stopped by on a blistering hot Monday afternoon and were immediately impressed with the open, airy layout of the store. There was a big square desk area in the middle that resembled an employee command center of some kind, with a guy looking through records online and another employee towards the back weeding the Jazz and Soul section. I cruised around the outer perimeter, getting a feel for the selection. I kept seeing "Rock Music" "Rock Music" "Rock Music" on the little placards and it was right about then that I realized I'd set my expectations too high. The records facing me were the same Goodwill/dad rock crap every other place had and overpriced, as if I owed them for saving my Saturday mornings by perusing the horrible suburban garage sales for a month for me and collecting the 10/$1 AC/DC, Boston, and Yes records after everybody's uncle had upgraded to 24k Gold CD in the late 80s. I asked the guy at the counter if he could show me where the electronic/techno stuff was, and after mentioning some of it would be up front with the new stuff, he walked me back to a little section about 2 bins wide, full of the crap dross cut-out bin nonsense that probably hadn't seen the business end of a 1200 in well over two decades, if ever. One part of me screamed "BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY" to unload a significant amount of more contemporary house and techno records and actually shore up this pitiful selection, but honestly, I'm not really sure I'd find myself back in here any time soon, and despite the Donaldson/Cameron connection, I wasn't terribly confident that anybody I'd talk to here would have the first clue what I was even bringing in, much less give me a reasonable offer. Back up front, I hoped the New Arrivals would yield some gems, but it was all overpriced, ironically self-aware indie stuff or major label reissues that ranged from "kinda recent" to "well, it's still sealed so it's new," most of which seemed to rely on packaging or color variant gimmicks (OMG triple gatefold pink splatter!) to support outrageous pricing. I get that that's what's "hot" in the market right now, but on the other hand, a long time ago I gave up supporting businesses that rely on uninformed, impulse customers overpaying for nostalgia and gimmicks in the name of "supporting local business" - especially when the commodity at hand is the product of a mega-industry only concerned with the potentiality of billions in "untapped" revenues staring them in the face with every Crosley sold at Urban Outfitters. I'll give Josey the credit that they are just opening, and that the space itself, located just south of Power & Light on Oak, is well designed, with a lot of potential - beautiful wood shelving, listening stations all along the walls, huge album cover art all around, exposed wood and brick, live event area, and a volume of selection that looks nearly impossible to get through in one setting. This is what "modern" record stores look like elsewhere, however the antiquated selection factored all of that out. Were there things in the bins I probably would have picked up, had I spent more time in there? Probably, but I have already committed to myself that I will not dig through Clapton, Joe Cocker, and Commodores records looking for Cocteau Twins eps ever again - Discogs and Ebay all day long. I would like to see a MUCH better curated electronic section, and a bigger emphasis on truly independent/boutique records from the past, present, AND future that attract the truly obsessive music devotee instead of trying to appeal to the casuals trying to re-create the local classic rock, easy listening, or milquetoast NPR station's playlists song by song. This sort of lowest-common-denominator thinking is exactly why record shops dried up and blew away in the first place.

Last minute before heading to the airport, checked out this place. Decent number of vinyl, I like they have listen station to check out the disc before buying. Price is on the high side but consider the services, it's acceptable. Most of the 80's pop and jazz are $4 to $8. Very limited classical or real good jazz. I did not see any Decca SXL 2k or 6k series for example. No Bluenote either.

This has quickly become one of the best record stores in all of Kansas City. Their new stock is plentiful. Most of the jewels here can be found in their used new arrival section...i find like 10 things I want every time...things you never find in the wild. I went to Amoeba in Los Angeles a couple of months back amd the used selection rivals theirs or maybe even surpasses it. They work woth local buisnesses to sell homemade record crates. They have posters, vintage audio gear, cassettes. It's great to have this place in Kansas City.

Great vinyl selection with fair prices. Many categories and artists. I was really surprised. I will definitely be back again for sure!

This was a cool little record store. I didn't find anything but had a great time looking around.

Stopped by on my way home from a long vacation/roadtrip out West. Super friendly staff and an incredibly large selection of used records. Very happy with the selection and the prices. I went to a number of record stores in a number of cities on this vacation and Josey Records was my favorite hands down.

Tonnage. That's the word Dan Rather used to describe CNN's coverage back when Christiane Amanpour was over in Bosnia, and one I'll borrow for this place. It has size and a certain look, and I knew what to expect from having been to their Dallas location. If you're looking for anything new, or Record Store Day releases, or even some supplies, this is the Size Matters place. (It could even one day morph into a reincarnation of Tower Records!) On the other hand, if you're just looking for the best collectible used vinyl you're likely to be underwhelmed. The bins give the appearance of lots of stuff available, but a closer look reveals a stark split between sub-$10 stuff where the supply vs. demand still greatly favors supply (e.g. Carpenters, Steely Dan, even Robert Goulet), or, in cases where they DO find something, sticker shock. I saw a number of price tags at $40 and up that would have been $20s at other places. I know they've got overhead to pay and all that, but it can be a bit deflating and de-energizing to see that even if you were to find something with strong interest, the price could be a deal-breaker. If you look around to get a feeling of the pricing philosophy and see a lot of that, it discourages further efforts or visits. So I think they do a lot better on the new-product part than the used. With new product it can winner-take-all based on size (the old Tower approach that worked until it didn't). Used is trickier, as you need to pay enough for decent product (and be selective), but can't mark it up too much. A large store size can even be a curse (check out Banana's in St. Pete, Florida) because you want it to stay filled, even with tonnage. Amoeba Records has the best approach to used records of any large store I've seen, and this place isn't quite there yet.

Large selection that's not well curated. Due to the amount of vinyl this isn't a place to stop in if you only have 15 minutes. But my biggest gripe is that they have the worst lighting for checking the condition of a record before you purchase it. KC has too many better record stores to devote too much time to this one.

Well, after recently moving to the KC area, it was nice to find Josey Records. After living in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale/Miami, and DC, the past 15+ years, Josey Records has to be one of my favorite record stores. The staff is courteous and knowledgeable; great selection; prices are reasonable - especially compared to stores in Chicago & Miami, which were, IMO, completely overpriced for used LP's. I visit the store at least 3 days a week and I always find something in the New Arrivals section - in mint condition. I even glanced around the other sections of the store and found a really cool LP in the 'Greece' section from '72 for $4 of a Greek guitarist (LP was in MINT condition). There's something for every musical taste there, you just have to look .... and you'll find it.

Decent selection. Couldn't tell who the staff was when we were ready to check out. Prices were reasonable.

One of the largest, organized and reasonably priced records stores I've been to. Every time we go out of state we visit all the records stores searching for our unicorns. My husband found his at Josey's! The staff were very friendly. We visited other Record stores in KC but Josey's not only had a huge selection but a parking lot and restroom as well. We bought 10 records and it was less than $40. The highest record we bought was $7, cheapest was $1. They had new artists and old. Definitely driving back up

Josey Records has a plethora of vinyl, as well as plenty of CDs and Tapes, and even some DVDs. They have a wide variety of albums, old and new. I went there to browse some hip hop vinyl. I was mainly interested in 80's and 90's hip hop, but I was open to explore. I found a few good ones, like Dr Dre's 2001, and Fugees' The Score, as well as a few others, but that was it. I couldn't find any of the more influential, bestselling albums, and that could be something to do with their stock rotation or something, but it was all the while disappointing. Not a single Tupac Record, nor Biggie, two people I thought would have plenty of redundancy. What Josey Records excels in variety, they lack in hits. I didn't look at the CDs or Tapes too extensively, but the priority was vinyl for me. If I'm looking to explore new things, I'll go back, but if I want a copy of a mad hip hop hit, I'll have to look elsewhere

Not a store for serious collectors. There aren't many quality albums, and the bins are barely curated. If you are looking for something in particular, it's nearly impossible to find what you are looking for. Albums are not organized in alphabetical order, just thrown together by first letter. The space is large and attractive. I hope they can find some better albums, at competitive prices and organize them better.

Great shop. Way bigger than I expected. Friendly staff. Great selection of used vinyl. Very reasonable prices. And they have listening stations. Highly recommend.

I visit this place whenever I'm in Kansas City on business. Just went in a couple weeks ago and their selection has grown considerably since it opened its doors. Great staff that has answers to all your nerdy vinyl questions. I'm going to keep coming back to this place every time I'm in the Midwest to dig up some tasty gems for my collection. Must see for all vinyl heads west of the Mississippi.

Just visited again and the collection grew considerably. This place is def worth supporting, these guys are obviously working hard to make this place something special

Friendly staff, and decent prices. If you have time to dig, you won't be disappointed. If you don't have time, the bins not being alphabetized might be a problem for you.

This is a huge store filled with a great selection of new and used vinyl. They also have a lot of CDs and cool merch as well. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Definitely a store any music lover should visit!