Hip Cat Records

Good selection of classic rock. Owner was very kind and helpful, had a fun chat. Recommend stopping in!

I had a very bad experience here. I bought a Grateful Dead album here that was listed as VG+. When I purchased it the shop owner said there would be very few scratches and it would not affect play. When I played it there was constant noise and a repeating skip. So I called and emailed the store but go no response, so I had to go back to the store to return the album which was about 45 mins away. When I get there I walk in with the album and he looks at my puzzled and says "is that defective" and I say "yes, it skips". He then tells me that he "I play test all of my albums and it didn't skip. It must be your turntable that is sensitive." He then plays the album and it skips at exactly the point I said it would and he says "ahh man". Obviously, my turntable wasn't sensitive, he didn't play test the album and it shouldn't have been rated at VG+. All of that was lies. He then puts a lot of weight on the tone arm and spins the record at an extremely high speed, essentially digging a new groove into the record and gets the repeating skip to play through. He then hands the record back to me and says "I fixed it, there probably was just some gunk in there". Which I refused and said I wanted a refund. He then tries to sell me new records with I refused. He shows me a different Grateful Dead record which I didn't ask for, then says actually I am going to keep this record. I started getting really annoyed and I insisted I wanted a refund where he then offers store credit. He gives me $54.95 which was the price before tax. When I returned the album I should have received the $60.48. I ultimately had to dispute this charge with my credit card company and get a cash refund through them for the whole price. I have been collecting albums for years and this was the worst customer service experience I have ever seen.

Been coming to Hip Cat since the ‘80’s, when he was located in Wheeling, and bought many records there. Jim is very knowledgeable when it comes to music. I go there very often and will continue to patronize his store. Keep up the good work!

I've known Jim the owner for years. He's got everything and can special order things if needed. Very relaxed atmosphere and he is very old-school and analog, so all you vinyl lovers especially are in for a treat.

Very chill atmosphere, super helpful and knowledgeable owner. Regulars are also great. Incredible pricing, awesome variety. One of my favorite record shops, full stop.