With about 175,000 LPs, Orpheus Records (3173 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-294-6774; orpheusrecords.com) is likely to have something on any collector's wish list. Oddities and relics abound–you can while away hours poking around. The stock is mostly classic rock, jazz, soul, folk, and blues–the genres most common on vinyl.
It's light on new artists, but it's not hard to find a hot act such as Radiohead or the Hives. At $10 to $15, prices are higher than usual for used vinyl, but purchases are guaranteed–no scratched or warped wax here. And the more you buy, the lower the per-item price. New and used CDs take up only a small part of the store, but they're worth checking out for their reasonable prices.
Washingtonian staff contributing to this section were Chuck Conconi, Sherri Dalphonse, Susan Davidson, Mary Clare Fleury, Cynthia Hacinli, Thomas Head, Stephanie Jones, Ann Limpert, Drew Lindsay, Chad Lorenz, Leslie Milk, William O'Sullivan, Cindy Rich, and Jeremy Stahl. Also contributing were writers Cathy Alter, Ann Cochran, and Jenny Sullivan.
