Like a whoa, I have driven past this little gem for at least 5 years before finally stopping in tonight. I guess I am a little, how you call it? Slow. The size is decent and the selection pretty good. They don't have everything you might be looking for, but there are surprises and it's a manageable enough size that you can navigate the aisles of music easy enough to find something unexpected or that you didn't know you really desperately need. That said, they did have exactly what I was looking for, which shall remain nameless as it's part of a pending birthday present for the beau. Prices are fair and the staff while kinda aloof is helpful when you get their attention. Bonus-buy 10 CDs and get the next under $8 free. Shucks, they won my heart with that one. read more

I give this 4 stars b/c the store was really chill. The vinyl selection isn't anything to wrtie home about but I didn't find the Offspring - Smash album I've been searching for on vinyl. It was $3 cheaper than the ticket price when the dude wrang it up which both he and I were stoked about. Go here, just becuase it's a brick and mortar and you might come out with a great find and experience. read more

I've been going to this store ever since it opened, and even before when the original store was on Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks and owned/operated by a guy named Steve. In fact, it was me who one day when I was out there in his store in T.O. buying music, as I was working out there at the time - around 96'-98, and we had become chatty over some time, and I mentioned to him that I lived in Woodland Hills (of which I still do today) and that if he ever thought of opening a second store, he should consider the Woodland Hills or Tarzana area on Ventura Blvd. as there wasn't any real competition at the time. And still isn't today. He made the move into the valley. It's a great store. I used to work in the old, classic record stores of the late 70's, so I still enjoy and prefer going into music stores and thumbing through the stock to find a lonesome gem that I may have forgotten about, or add something new into my music library at home. I miss Steve. He had a nice, gentle and kind personality, perfect for customer service of this product nature. But he moved on to do something else with his life. Good for him. I'm happy that the store is still open. It's a place for me to go and disappear for awhile, and it makes me feel like a teenager again . . . keeps me young ! P.S. - There's only one way to keep these places around and keep their doors open, and that's to support them, in a way that only a community can . . . read more

CD Trader is not as big or trendy as that behemoth down in Hollywood, but what it lacks in size and stature it more than makes up for with selection and affordability. I'm a vinylphile, and have been to some real ratholes in my day, so I really appreciate the amount of organization--even amongst the used records--that is sometimes completely lacking from music stores nowadays. The record selection is rivaled only by the DVD selection--which is also well organized--and their prices on movies are also low low low. What's more, they pay top dollar for used items. In short, CD Trader is the spot! read more

Love this place! I always find what I'm looking for and the prices are really great. The personnel is always helpful in giving good advise on new releases. A must if you are looking for Music or Movies. Ask for Ken, a wealth of knowledge read more

Yeah totally screw this place. I WAS a customer for years with them. Once you go to sell anything to this place these jerk clerks that work there all of a sudden treat sellers like bums on the street and like they are doing you the favor and then they will proceed to make you wait hoping you will shop while they take forever to pick and choose what they do or don't want to buy from you. I didn't have many CDs to sell them but yeah I stood around waiting for this jerk to finally find the time to go through them and pick and choose what they wanted or didn't want. May I suggest to the owner that you have a guy that answers phones and takes care of customers and then another guy who does the buying. They only had one jerkass dude and he was having to answer phones and ringing up customers while I waited and waited and wasted my time. I get it, it's a business, but this is rude and bad business practices. Finally once he was done (about a half hour later), he offered a lame stupid amount price offer for the good CDs I brought in. Was like, "I can give you x amount in store credit or like half in cash.". Was a stupid silly amount offer. Such a waste of time and the people they have there are rude and think they are doing you a favor if you go to sell to them. And as another reviewer stated, yes this place is "VERY super picky" on what they buy if anything. If they don't have the time then they don't care and you will be wasting your time waiting and waiting for the Jerk Clerks to even go through whatever your selling IF they even ever do. F THIS PLACE FOR GOOD! Never will I walk in their doors EVER again to buy anything. People looking to "trade" or sell, your better off selling your records, CDs, DVDs at a yard sale, on Facebook Marketplace or ANYWHERE but this dump. Record Trader is a laughable name for this place. More like Record Traitors they should call it. read more

The Horrible customer service completely cancels out the great & amazing collections of CDs, Records & LPs this store has. I live exactly 16 miles away form this place, I go there the first day & find some amazing titles. But my 1st run-in with their bad customer service came from one of the staff members - his knowledge wasn't as great as I thought it might have been. 2nd bad customer service: There was a rare Cajun CD that their preview system didn't read in their Data base, so I asked them (It was used) if there was any other way I could listen to the CD to see if I was gonna put it on the rest of the CDs I had & getting ready to pay $60 for. My response was, go find the album & see if you can listen to it on the internet. Any other Records store would have at least extended me the courtesy of letting me listen to the album for a few minutes. 3rd Bad customer Service: I get ready to pay $50 for some rare 1920s Blues CDs I wanted to buy, and the guy - the owner perhaps who went by the name of Dave, told me that my Bill was too old for him to accept and that I needed to go find a newer bill to pay with. I asked can he put the item on hold for me, he agree but only until the next day. So they EXPECT their customers to have internet access at home (which I don't) & they expect an easy internet access for all of their customers, and on top of that they must rbing in new clean crisp bills if they want to pay in cash. 4th Bad customer service Experience: The Next day I go back feeling all excited that now I can finally but the CD's and hear some rare 1920s Blues music, - I took 3 CDs of mine to see if I can actually trade them and get even a better discount so hopefully I can get some more CDs- One of the people who works there tries to complete with me to get inside before I do, and then turn around and tells me that the buyers is on his lunch & he can't serve me for another 35 minutes and that I need to wait. It was 3:45 pm, so I didn't understand the whole lunch thing given that it wasn't exactly lunch hour. I tell the guy, look I'm parked on the street and If I wait for you buyer to come my time on the meter will run out, can they please call him up, I'm here getting ready to pay them $60.00 RIGHT NOW- These are just 3 discs. He said I need to wait, I tell them have items on hold & I am about to make a $60.00 transaction- he told me he didn't care & that I needed to wait. So they pretty much expect their customers to make things ways for them & adapt to them,, but they refuse to do anything for the customer. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that this place has no competition, they can get away with giving their customers poor service, and Oh yes, I'm a colored man, and everyone working here is white pothead dressed up like wackos as well, so go figure. I guess there are enough crackpots in the neighborhood that reward them for their bad behavior, or maybe because their fine details matches the fine details of them, they go out of their way to help them but not me, which means, this establishment at BEST is also RACIST, a man of color want to pay but has a good Old bill, they make him go change it, then they make him wait. As if the customer doesn't have a life of his & other things to do that he has to wait for them. NO NO NO, I don't recomend this racist establishment with lots of white potheads working who expect you to bed over backward for them & give them you money. DON'T GO HERE! LET THEM GO OUT OF BUSINESS SO THEY LEARN A LESSON ABOUT MAKING THINGS EASIER FOR THE CUSTOMER. I spet a total of 96 miles in 3 days trying to drive to this place to see if I can finally buy these CD's and in the end, I was still given more bad service & inconvienience, and a no refund policy, and lying to other customers- This place is a Big NO NO NO! Let them go out of business! read more

I happened to wander in to kill some time yesterday and this place frickin' rocks!! They have a large selection of vinyl, CDs and....drum roll...cassettes!! WHA?? These guys are killing me. I even picked a free 'zine on the way out...be still my heart. A nice trip back in time here. Please support! read more

Good CD & DVD selection for an independent music store. Decent vinyl selection. The staff tends to be snobby, but the selection is easy enough to browse through on your own. You can't get overwhelmed here like you can at Amoeba. read more

Always find some choice vinyl here although their prices are somewhat expensive. Still, I've found some great stuff here I've never seen anywhere else read more

Great selection of hard to find CD's, and DVD's. This is where i go if i am looking for something a little bit harder to find or a little older. They do have a great variety of new items as well but i know that if something is hard to find odds are i will find it here. I appreciate that there is someone close by to help me if i ever can't find something and i really like the vibe that there is here, it's always great music playing and really relaxed so i feel like i can take my time and really get a good chance to look around. read more

a great little shop that buys/sells/trades used cds/records/dvds. they don't have everything you're looking for but the selection is very strong and has many hidden gems. (+) gives superior trade in value in comparison to the hawks at the trade in counter at amoeba. frequent buyer bonus program. read more

I came here to say what user Sean said. I have found so many seven inches and LPs for cheap. The seven inch section is incredibly small, but I still found so many great stuff! They price out of print seven inches for maybe $2 or so. It seems like they are one of the only record stores that don't go on eBay to check prices, which is great! They do price the obviously out of print stuff rather high, but most places do anyways. It can take forever to look through the LPs, but if you take your time, you can probably find something really good. read more

I called all over Los Angeles Asking around for a particular classic James Brown CD. I could have easily ordered it off of Amazon but my week has been insane so my time was short I was visiting my father one day before and totally freaked out that I did not make the time to order the CD. After calling all over Los Angeles, I came across this wonderful business that had the CD that he really want it, so I was relieved and very happy. On the phone I didn't get the man's name however he was kind. When I went in hours later there was a man who mumbled some words letting me know where the city is which wasn't helpful at all considering the fact that there are so many CDs. So someone at the front desk said they would help me and I explained that would be very helpful to at least point me in the correct direction. Furthermore, the nice man helped me all the way to the CD location and to check out. I am not disabled or don't have any complications to where I'm not capable of finding a CD, I just expected better customer service which I did receive in the end. read more

I stop by here once in a while during my break time from work. I've found some rare New Jack Swing and R&B albums here. The selections here are great and once in a while I always look to see, if they have any used but old classic R&B music. Highly recommended to find rare music that you are looking for. The only downfall is I wished the staff would smile a bit more and be a bit more sociable. read more

Most of the used music places have gone under. This place is nice, with a good selection of used and new. Shop is not fancy, but a good selection of music and movies. Vinyl and cassettes as well. Prices are very reasonable, staff are helpful. read more

An AMAZING local record store in that's one of the bright spots in the extremely dull SFV. They've got just about all the standard stuff at great prices. Their bins are must-see stuff. I've found great-sounding copies of Led Zeppelin I, Songs of Leonard Cohen and Revolver in there, each for under five bucks. The staff is pretty friendly and helpful and they're usually playing some cool, new stuff. read more

What a nice store. Reasonable prices and great selection. Some great bargains here, too. Will visit again when I'm in the area.

This place is cool. I've been here about a dozen times. Each time I go I leave with great pieces of vinyl. However, since the selection isn't huge I often don't get what I left the house for. That's not always a bad thing...I'm still satisfied in the end. At times I sell used cds and vinyl to them, and the prices they pay me, I feel are fair. Definitely a great place to check out! read more

Huge vinyl selection. Ive hit about every store in the LA area (check my reviews) and this store had stuff I had never seen before. I found Linkin Park, Minutes to Midnight for HALF of what it was going for eBay. Mind you this record had been released and sold out for months before I found it sealed on the shelf. read more

I have to agree with other people about the rude/don't give a sh*t attitude at this store, but the manager of this place takes the cake for bad/rude customer service. If you are a vinyl buyer I would recommend another store. CD Trader has very high prices for collectable LPs, and a no-return policy on new LPs! I have been a loyal customer for the past year spending $100-200 a month on mostly vinyl and some CDs/DVDs. Over the course of a year I have returned 4 LPs all brand new, each with a very bad and obvious defect, ie bad warp or off center spindle hole. Each time I was given a hassle and treated rudely in returning a brand new defective LP, as if it was my fault the product was defective, or I was "just being to picky" as the manager called me. Today was the last straw when I tried to return a brand new 2 record set that had an obviously large warp in the vinyl and was unplayable on my system. The manager refused to refund or exchange my copy for another, complaining to me that it was not his fault that the record was defective and that I am just too picky a customer and will not take anymore returns from me. In this economy what kind of store manager would turn away a loyal paying customer to save a few dollars on a single purchase??? The funny thing is that the records I previously returned just ended up back on the shelf reduced by a $1-2 or re-wrapped as new, so basically he looses $1-2. But by insulting a loyal customer he looses all my future business, $1000's. Smart business decision! All I can say is buyer beware, drive to Amoeba for a better music selection, no-hassle return policy and great customer service. It's worth the extra drive! read more

Awesome music store with a classic vibe, good selection of CDs and vinyl, a tad expensive when not on sale but still worth it, good used prices too read more

Bar none, it's best music store left in the valley. Better than Amoeba in my opinion. Yes, Amobea is bigger and has more traffic coming in and out, and thus has more new/old stuff being traded/bought into the store, but you just cannot beat the selections here, per capita. Yes, pretty much every male working there is weird as hell and you feel like you're offending them by asking them a question, but it's a small price to pay for all the great selections. So if you have a question, direct it to the coolest employee there, Cassandra. She knows her music and she's extremely nice. read more

I have been buying my music here it seems forever. Friendly atmosphere and plenty of new and used vinyl, CDs, movie DVDs, and 5.1 audio.

I came in to sell some vinyl records. I had a huge box full. I got rid of maybe 60 out of the 200 or so. He was really nice and came to my car because the box was to heavy. He went through them all and took the ones he wanted. I am not sure the price, but he gave me $65.00. Store was really nice and a lot of cool old school music photos on the wall.... Definitely a jem store, thanks for your help. read more

Best place for CD's, Records, DVD's around. Prices are great and the personnel are very helpful.

As a DJ, I subscribe to a music service; but I still need to pop into this place at least once a month. Yes Amoeba is cool, but why go all the way to Hollywood when you can drive 10 mintues to CD Trader. I swear it's the first place I go when I buy someone a gift; Music, DVD's, TV Collections, New & old Vinyl. Yes the staff is straight out of the John Cussack movie "High Fidelity" but if you don't act like a major tool with them they will steer you right. Lastly take advantage of thier buy 10 get 1 free deal! (Free is always cool) read more

Coolest record store in the valley, I say that because it is, I always find awesome records new and used. They have tons of selections of vinyls, cd's, movies, clothes ect. Love seeing these shops still open. If you were looking for a specific band, look no further. read more

I have spent hours here and have always found great stuff. The prices very and sometimes they CAN be outrageous. Worth digging around in this place though. read more

Love this place. Good selection of used albums but i came here the other day for a record that was released that day. They had 3 different special edition versions of the album on vinyl which i was happy to see. They were also giving out promo posters and as a total over excited fan of this band, i was really happy to get a poster. Happy i don't have to drive to Hollywood to go to Amoeba. Will be back! read more

I've been shopping here for years because they always have a good selection, new records come in frequently, and they often have 30% off sales. I do not go to ANY record store to ask if they have such-and-such in stock. I look for it myself. That's exactly why I drove there: to dig thru some records! You wanna treat a record store employee like a personal shopper and you get attitude in return? You earned that brother. You can search a vendor's inventory online with key-words. Go get your "vinyls" like that. This is a real record store. Dig a little. read more

This place is like second spin records. Its a good place to find bargains. They have a 3 dollar section where they sell cd's that have small flaws, and ive been able to find some killer steals in that pile. But overall the customer service is good. Not as good as you would like it to be. But theres not big deals on used cds. They have quite a variety of dvds as well. And they like to showcase those rare LPs on the walls. I definately go every other week to check out the deals they are offering. read more

I've been visiting CD Trader for 4 years @ least now and they really are cheaper than Ameoba Records but then they don't have their selection either. I find their selection very good though,always seem to find that CD promo copy or vinyl I'm hunting for.I disagree with the staff thing though,they are helpfull when you inquire and they do know their product, in fact talking to them about music is a treat for me because it is one of my favorite subjects. It is difinitly worth a visit and the card stamp thing is great not to mention get on their mailing list for their weekend sales I have always found lots of stuff further reduced in price. read more

I buy too many records. I would rather have a new record than eat for a day. That's saying a lot, really. For the most part, I buy old punk records. CD trader will special order a record for you if you don't see it in the store. Convenient, especially because I am pretty fond of re-issues. Luckily, I live close by so I can drop in weekly and check the new arrivals section and 7"s. LOVE the frequent buyer punch card thing. Anyway, support your local record store! read more

Kids who "grew up" on Napster won't get this, but there is a distinct, almost euphoric pleasure that goes with walking into the neighborhood record shop and browsing for CDs and Albums. With that comes the excitement of opening a new record and listening to it for the first time that for me just can't be matched by a download or shopping online. Sign of the times I guess... OK, let the age jokes fly, I'm fully prepared! read more

My go-to for CDs. Really cheap stuff, especially in the hip-hop section, oddly enough. Sealed copies of new albums (well, albums released in the prior year) by Jonwayne and Mac Miller for under $6. Also, pretty decent new rock CDs when you're looking for slightly more obscure stuff. Solids' "Blame Confusion" was $5 on the week of release. The vinyl selection is a mixed bag. The $1 bin has treated me spectacular for samples (for making hip hop beats). Stuff like Eric Gale and Al Jorreau (sp) (!!) found in here. The guys can be a little snooty, but I haven't found a record store that isn't. Tape selection is decent, I just wish more people bought them-- I've seen the same copy of Freddie Gibbs & Madlib's "Piñata" in the same spot for the last month--I already own it so I didn't bother supporting them. 7/10 record store which equates to 3.5 stars, but I'll round up because they had the Shrek 2 soundtrack (also, i prefer the out-of-ten rating scale). ALSO, they stamp your card twice if you're buying a double album :~) read more

The best record shop in LA (other than Amoeba). Easy parking n free parking! Great Selection, fair prices, and friendly staff! Open till 8pm is very convenient to those of us who work! read more

I'm the kind of music buyer that can be hours in a store, this wasn't an exception. I went back in May and bought three things, a new Kanye West - Yeezus CD for $13.99, a used Christina Aguilera - Fighter Australian CD single for $1.99 (Amazing Condition, Amazing price) and a now Unknown condition Madonna - Confessions On a Dance floor (Limited Edition) for $14.99, which was a great price for an item like that. My issue is with the last named item. When I saw it on one of the shelves I saw that the sticker on the front wasn't in great conditions. But the important thing that It was sealed (My thoughts on it were that It might have spent too much time sealed on an attic or something like that). I took it with all the other stuff I was buying to the counter, and this white long haired guy everyone is talking about attended me. He took a look at the Madonna item and said "hmm..! Great Price, huh?", very kind and friendly, I answered a "Yes!" And decided to take the opportunity to ask him if the Confessions album was new, and he said "Yes", at the end of it he asked me if I wanted some stickers, while putting my stuff on a bag. I paid, and then went to my home. The thing is that when I got home, i started opening my things. The first thing I opened was the Limited Edition Confessions On a Dance Floor. I started looking and the books on the side already had some wear marks, one of the books is a photo book which only had marks on the inside and the other was a notebook, which not only had wear marks on the outside but had this kind of mascara or crayons marks inside. That's when I totally knew that it was used and possibly re-sealed. Can't blame the guy, because the store may have not know that it was used when someone went there to sell it. But I still have my thoughts. That's my experience in here. They didn't had many choices in some areas but its fine, since they had great deals in used stuff. My advise is to check very good if you have doubts on an item, or ievery item in this store to be honest, since you don't know where this item came from. read more

This is my first Yelp review and I left this store so angry that I felt the need to warn the general public. Rudest and most unorganized staff I have ever dealt with. Working in a dying industry like a record store, you need to have friendly, helpful customer service. This place does not. I was looking for a certain release coming out on Record Store Day, so per the advice on RSD's website, I called around to see who would be carrying it. I called the night before RSD, since I figured it would be busy. After getting turned down by two other stores, I called CD Trader and a gentleman, who kept rushing me off the phone, said they will have copies. He did not know how many and could not hold it, so I said I'd be in to get it early. Record Store Day came and luckily I noticed online they opened early at 10am. I called to ensure they were actually open and again asked about the record I wanted. The gentleman said they were open but it was too busy to check on the record and I needed to come there. Fine, no problem since I was told the night before they had it (and it's not one of the more popular titles). I left work to take an early lunch and headed to the store. First there was no one directing people where to go. I wandered around for about 10 minutes before learning I needed to wait in line just find out what releases were still available. That line was about an hour long and I really couldn't afford to wait if the record was already gone. I tried to ask a gentleman who was checking people out and he very rudely told me I needed to wait in the line just to find out if they have it. I was not very happy, but again since I was told they had it before I felt confident it was not sold out yet. After an hour of waiting in line, I got to the counter. I asked about one of the more popular releases and was told it was already sold out. No problem. I'll just take the record I came for. The clerk recognized the band but said they never received any copies. Not sold out. Never had copies in the first place. I asked why was I told last night they had it. He said he didn't know but he never saw a copy and there weren't any there now (with a "not my problem" attitude). I left the place furious, having wasted over an hour for nothing. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! If you like music and want to support a local record store, click the back button and literally go to any other shop you can find! read more

Was disappointed when I went there to sell a large group of dvd's. I was dismissed rather rudely by one of the guy's behind the counter. He barely started looking through the group and stated that he was not interested and walked away. Don't waste your time going there to sell anything, wasted my morning. read more