Local Record Store Spotlight: Nice Price Books

Its not often that you find a locally owned and operated book store that also boasts one of the best music selections in town, but that’s just what Nice Price Books is; a mecca for book and music lovers. Located just inside Carrboro town lines on Boyd St off of Main, this bookstore opened its doors 21 years ago next to Vis-Art and Cat’s Cradle, but relocated to more “remote” premises and has become a cultural hub of Carrboro with its immense selection of used and rare books, CD’s, tapes, DVD’s, VHS’s, and vinyl records, all for low prices.

Books on every subject imaginable are stacked from the floor to the ceiling and conveniently labeled making it easy to find a book dealing with anything from ecology to science fiction to landscaping. It reminded me of many of the dusty, hole-in-the-wall used book stores you stumble across in London or Paris, which turn out to be full of rare first editions and seem to go on forever.

just a taste of the interior (photo credit: Matthew Eller)

The atmosphere at Nice Price is perfect for browsing their impressive record collection, with plenty of great oldies in good condition and lots of genres to choose from, including country, soul, blues, and worldbeat. Plus they play WXYC in the store a lot, which means if you swing by you could hear some great college radio while perusing. They even have a frequent buyer card, but the prices are generally as low as I’ve seen considering the quality of the selection.

So next time you head out in search of some vinyl records or books, make a trip to Nice Price Books. It’s’ local, friendly, and knowledgeable. Bottom line, they have a good selection and nothing costs too much.

I just spent about 2 hours this afternoon, came back with: Purple Rain by Prince; Elvis’ Golden Records; Parisienne Accordion from Francois Chantal & Orchestra; Made in the Shade by the Rolling Stones; Graceland by Paul Simon; Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers live in Paris; and a techno album from Matador Records with Dälek andTechno Animal tracks… price tag for all 7 records: $28

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