Was in town for an event at UMass and had an hour to kill. I always try to check out local music stores. This place is tiny and it's hidden behind a coffee shop in an older two story house. The records were categorized well so it was easy to browse. Most of it wasn't my cup of tea but I did purchase a couple items to support the cause. There's a decent amount of records off the beaten path if that's your thing. I mostly skew towards punk and metal which there wasn't a lot of. I did take a flyer on one of their recommendations so I'll see when I get back home to my turntable. Worth checking out if you're in the area. read more

One of my favorite places to dig for old vinyl. Well organized store with a huge amount of inventory. The staff are fantastic and helpful but also give you plenty of time to enjoy your browsing time. I've bought a few great, but hard to find, albums for what I feel is a very fair price. Give yourself at least an hour or two so you can really dig in. Enjoy. read more

One doesn't expect to see such a store with so much collection in a place like this. So many options and priced so well. Sad there wasn't much of the classic rock however definitely will be back for few which I didn't buy now. Definitely a go to place in the downtown Amherst area. read more

Wonderful, small, independent record store. I'm a regular there at this point. Cynthia, one of the owners, is a lovely person. She's very warm and always incredibly helpful..There's a lot of variety. You can find some pretty uncommon stuff for not too much money at all. They will also order pretty much anything for you if you need something specific. DEFINITELY check out mystery train. read more

Expensive, but GREAT place to browse forEVER looking for records! - I had no idea this place was here - and it's easy to miss because it's an old house sitting BEHIND the stores on the main street here. But - the bright colors help you find it (see my pic). I walked in and was glad to see a place that still sells the good stuff! You can spend forever here just flipping through the discs. It's well-organized, but you get the feeling that you're missing some stuff because there are hidden boxes of records underneath as well as some on inaccessible bookshelfves behind racks. The second floor has a lot of discs too - and I found some good stuff there. Not a lot of the good albums though - I had a hard time finding legit old albums from the Stones or Aerosmith. Mainly you'll find greatest hits or records that aren't actual albums, etc. BUT, I did find some that I wanted and spent the $ to get them. Good store and a cool dog chilling out on the couch downstairs that you can pet! Good news - I saw a dog today! read more

Mystery Train Records - A Hidden Gem. - Books, Mags, Music & Video Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

Cheap cd prices. Good new vinyl. we all know this area is a music enclave so the used stuff has some real gems. AVANT-GARDE and GARAGE ROCK!!!! kills it and the Jim Jarmusch reference Note: Haven't been to the new place read more

I've been to Mystery Train a few times. In comparison to other 'local' shops it definitely has the coolest location. Both the town and the building are a nice setting (for a lot of things.) Pleasant Street is very nice to walk down, with lots of shops and restaurants etc. In terms of vinyl they do have a lot (two floors worth). There appears to be a pretty wide variety of genres and the quality of their stock is a little above average. As is the case with most small college towns they have a lot of Indy and offbeat stuff. My best find there was the first Fishbone EP it was like new and around $11. Worth every penny. read more

When I rolled into this place, they were playing songs from the Roky Erickson "I Have Always Been Here Before" anthology disc. In other words - my kind of place with my kind of tunes. I managed to acquire Arthur magazine and a copy of Love's Forever Changes. It isn't immediately accessible to wheelchair users, unfortunately - the store is a bit too small and too crowded - and they have two stories, both filled with all manner of music, from cassette tapes to 8tracks to vinyl to CDs (plenty of used CDs!) I can't entirely recommend it to those in a wheelchair, unfortunately - but if you can manage it, it's definitely a great place worth checking out. For someone like me, who is into a lot of 60s rock (but you should know THAT from the reference to Roky and Love above) it had a decent selection. I can't tell you if they'll have what you need, but the gentleman and lady I met there were both very friendly and helpful and they seemed to have a very diverse selection of material, at least on the first story. read more

Never open. . Selling out to internet sales. Still a fun place win a good selection (when they're open). Less Han stellar staff, they make me feel like my presence is a hassle to their beer drinking. read more

This is the greatest record store in Western Mass. A stop to the Pioneer Valley without a stop at the Train is like a stop going to Harvard, early 2000's, without stalking Natalie Portman. read more

Love this place to death! Been going here for 14 years and never get tired. It's an awesome store that is full from floor to ceiling with awesome tapes, cds, LPs, 7"s, 78s, record players, magazine and on and on and on. They have an awesome store dog, China, and the owners rule! read more

The guy who works there is so rude and unpleasant, maybe he was hungover when I went there. No good records at all, bad condition etc. I'll never go again and I will tell people around me not to go too. Wrong shop. read more

Nice place to explore and find a few more LPs, 45s and even a CD for our collections.

Really awesome store. I was having problems with my record player and I brought it in, and the guy at the counter was SO helpful. He really went out of his way to help me figure out what was wrong. Also the stores selection is excellent, and a decent price. It's got a really hip atmosphere with all the art on the walls and the music they played. Walked out with 9 really hot records for $80 all ranging from $16 to $3. If you're in college and you need to get some vinyl this is the spot read more

A really cute mom & pop store with a surprisingly good selection of records (as well as used cd's). The owners are super friendly & there is a station so you can listen before you make your purchase. I would say it's the best place in Amherst/Noho to shop for records, they have a pretty eclectic selection (although for newer or underground hip hop Dynamite in Noho & even Newbury Comics in Amherst is a better bet). read more

Really great selection of music in this store. Always walk away with a sweet new (to me) stash. Did get the 'holier than thou record store clerk attitude' from a staff member..Been a while since I've encountered that. I Hate elitist record store clerks whom I probably have more knowledge than..Anyway, a cool store w/ a diverse selection.Go there for this reason if nothing else. read more

Mystery train ranks in the top three record stores in all of mass...vinyl is priced to move, stock is constantly changing, they always amaze me with what they find. Cassettes, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes and 8-tracks, books, magazines, posters, paintings... great selection of pop culture weirdness and oddities as well. As a vinyl-junkie I often have records to sell or trade, mystery train is the only place I'll go, they know what stuff is worth and they are always fair/generous. read more

Mystery Train is a pretty good used record shop, and sure to have something of interest to music lovers. Only issue is that they recently moved into a new place, and it seems like they have a lot less inventory, especially of older vinyls. Perhaps there's an upstairs I didn't see? They definitely have rare stuff, though. Last time I was in, I saw a Sex Pistols 8 track, and they had heaps of mysterious punk/emo/indie 45s for about $3 a piece... perfect if you remember all the mid 90's Maxirocker and Heartattack record reviews and want to fill things you forgot to buy back in the day. Some of it's surely worth more than they're asking, too. They also carry a smattering of books, old fanzines, movies, and other things that might interest, as well as a whole area of old band demos. read more

I too have been shopping here for years, both before and after their move down north pleasant street. I like the store- I only buy cds, and have found some real gems for reasonable prices. Most of their cds are priced between 6.50 and 10.00. It's true that their selection in their new location is more limited than the old, but if you can stop in relatively often you have a good chance of picking up something that you will like. I've found some uncommon cd's for less than internet prices- so not only are you supporting a long standing local business when shopping here, but you're saving a buck or two while you're at it. It is also true that one of the owners is kind of shy, but he has been that way for as long as I can remember. He's nice and polite, but don't expect him to strike up a conversation with you! One plus of the new location is that they have free off-street parking that they share with another business. Look for their sandwich board on the sidewalk and you'll know they're open when you drive by. read more

Since they moved, their used vinyl selection has been really lackluster. Anything good of any kind now goes straight to ebay. The owner of this shop needs lessons in social skills. Change has not been good. read more

I dunno, the employees at this place always made me feel inferior when I was in high school, rejecting my Nirvana CD's that I was trying to sell and such. However, I'm not sure I had the best taste in music back then (aside from Nirvana), so in truth they probably were being excessively nice to my 15-year-old self. read more

off the wall record shop. quite out of the ordinary. modern and classic era psych cd/vinyl selection is worth a few hours of your day. rustle some leaves and get down there. read more

Definately not the same since they moved. The old location was great, there was a lot of space, there were records, cassettes, cds, toys, books, magazines, posters. The new location is so small and much of the stuff I remembered from the old locale isn't there. That being said, there is still an excellent collection of cds. You can still find rare live cds that you can't find anywhere else. read more

Absolutely love this place. I spent ALL of my non food and beer money here as a student at Umass. So many gems to find in this great spot. And the owners are awesome. read more

You'd be an idiot if you didn't like going here. Cynthia & Josh are the best, and there is always something you'll want to leave with.

Great African and Reggae stuff. Fantastic oldies room upstairs. Very good prices. I've always found something memorable. Very friendly staff. A hidden gem. read more