Rhino Records

Rhino Records in Kingston, NY is a spot my friend who is a local told me I had to check out. She knows that I'm into eclectic and obscure records, jazz, afro-beat, punk, funk, etc. so I decided to check it out. When I walked in, I was a bit surprised that the record selection was just this one side of the store, the rest of the store is mostly books, and all of the records were stuffed into this one shelf and I was thinking, "wow, I wonder if I'm going to find anything in here?" I started on the left side and started making my way to the right. Sure enough, I started coming across all kinds of cool records everything from rare jazz to ambient and world music. I was on a trip and I didn't want to buy too much so I just picked out a couple of records that I really wanted. I came across a Raymond Scott record that was before his electronic music era where he was conducting a big band, I mentioned it to the record clerk (I believe his name was Andy) and he said that he hadn't heard it but was down to put it on in the store so I could hear it. I love that, great gesture. After finding lots of cool records in this one wall of shelving, I was really pleased that it was so well curated. These dudes know what they're doing. Some of the records were hard to shuffle through because they were really tightly packed in, but it's a tiny store and records take up a lot of space. Anyways, I walked up to the counter to purchase a couple records and Andy looks at the Felt compilation I was about to buy and he said, "now this is a great record!" and I just always appreciate when record store clerks say that kind of stuff. I've worked at record stores, record labels, and have been around the industry for a very long time and it really bugs me when you spend good money on awesome records and some snotty little pretentious clerk rings you up without making eye contact or acts like their job is really tough or they're too cool to acknowledge your existence. So... after Andy complimented the record I had selected, I looked over and saw a copy of LOVE IS A REAL THING, a afro-beat compilation on David Byrne's label Luaka Bop which I had owned 20 years ago but lost in a break-up (it happens). I though, "why not!?" and added it to the stack. I paid for shipping and a week or so later the records arrived. Unfortunately, the African comp which is a double LP had two copies of the second LP and I was mega bummed because my favorite track had always been the first song on the A Side, this was THE track that got me into Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. I called them up and they said, "no worries just ship it back and we'll send you a replacement." Awesome, that was easy. I sent it back and was checking the tracking. When I saw that it had arrived, I gave them a call to make sure everything was okay and they told me that they actually had another copy on hand but they checked it and it too also had the same issue, two copies of the 2nd LP. Totally not their fault, this is an issue with the pressing plant that assembles the records. So I waited a bit and got a call back that they found a good copy at their other store, they shipped it to me and it just arrived in great shape, sounds great and I felt compelled to write this positive review. Kingston is a beautiful little town and they are lucky to have such a hip store in such a small city. I live in a much larger city in Texas and we don't even have a record store, nor the community to even support something like this. It's a special place and I will def be back next time I'm in the HRV, thank you Rhino Records!

Fantastic selection of new and used books, vinyl and CDs. Owner was super-friendly and welcoming to us and our dog Elvis, and provided us some thoughtful industry advice. When in Kingston, visit Rhino Records!

Its my upstate version of 90s era generation records on bleeker st. And YHAT is quite a compliment

I walked in, asking about a certain record, which I did not initially see walking in the store. The shopkeep then thoroughly searched the whole store and found it! Great atmosphere, super nice and personable staff, and a really well organized jazz collection.

After one visit, my conclusion is that Rhino Records is one of my favorite stores in the world. Like the other reviews here note, it has stellar curation of music, books, and comics. I went in to poke around the vinyl selection but wound up spending a long time perusing the store's great comic book selection. And the used literature is just so finely picked: only tremendous publishers and writers. What an absolute treat this was. My picks today were The Road to Los Angeles by John Fante, two volumes of Raw (the underground comic anthology), and Last Gasp's Go Naked anthology.

Came here for the first time summer 2022 and spent around $400. One of the best record shops I’ve been to. They always seem to have things no one else does or albums I’ve never seen anywhere before. Summer of 2023 I was not disappointed. I could spend hours and several paychecks in this place. Great selection of old and new vinyl & cd’s not to mention books. I’ve found records I didn’t even know existed here. I hope they stay around for a long time.

Well curated and very broad range of categories from pop to obscure rarities. Well organized with care. This is not the place to come to looking for the biggest bargains or crazy deals and steals although you will find a few. That said, you also won’t have to cull through bins filled with trash. Once you understand that little is “priced to move fast” there is no room for complaint. The prices are not on the low end but stock is generally high quality in VG+ or better condition at competitive prices. I rarely go in and come out empty handed.

I walked into this establishment with very high hopes, only to be diminished upon the first 4 or 5 album views priced at $20 or more....really ? I found at least 5 albums down the street at pricing 50% less and in the same condition. I hate being critical about places that I know I should love, but somehow this was not the place for me. Having travelled to several used shops in the past week, this place had some nice inventory but pricing was simply out of the ballpark. I will visit again, but my expectations are very low.....and that really bothers me because I LOVE to support local business.