Beautiful World Syndicate

There are aspects of your shop that i LOVE. There are other things I don’t. Yes, I’m being vague.

Worst store in the city. Run by a bunch of jerks and morons that will rip you off anytime they can. Don’t waste your time or money in this scumbag rat nest.

The boyfriend and I go to BWS every time we’re in Philly. It’s our thing. This is a great used record shop. It also has some interesting magazines and books (quality over quantity — there are more records here).
Beautiful World syndicate is one floor (there’s a set of stairs, but upstairs is for employees only). The listening station is by the front of the shop by the store window.
You’ll find rarities at good/​fair prices here. There are a good number of stacks to rifle through even though it’s a relatively small shop.
The store is nested in a densely packed neighborhood, so you’ll need to find street parking if you’re using wheels to get here. It’s a doable walk from the Tasker Morris Station, too.
If you come here, plan to stay here a while. There is so much to check out, but you should also allot some time to listen to your records to check sound quality before purchasing anything. I love Beautiful World Syndicate!

One of my new favorite record stores. Good foundation of incense blends perfectly with the aroma of dusty, musty record jackets and the system is bumping out excellent tunes.
Very deep new arrivals bin greets you as you walk in, though not sure how often it’s refreshed.
Wall records are immaculately curated, but they know what they’ve got and you won’t necessarily be finding a bargain, but it is a sign of what is to come, namely excellently curated bins.
Made some awesome pickups: Kim Fowley, Metallica, Alan Vega… and ended up having to pass on more than I purchased given that I don’t want to lug more than 15 records on the plane!
Will have to make a dedicated trip back when the weather is nicer and I bring a record bag!

Best place in Philly for used vinyl. I always find hidden gems in their new arrivals section and often leave with an armful of music.

I think that BWS is a good record store and worth a visit, for sure. Some thoughts:
— the selection of used vinyl is very good, nigh overwhelming. If you were going through each bin carefully, you could easily spend all day in here. And you will find great stuff hidden amongst multitude of records.
— the condition of the records is very hit or miss. I usually shop at Main St. Music in Manayunk, and they have an extraordinarily high standard for the vinyl they sell. At BWS, you really have to check the vinyl before you buy it. I bought 6 or 7 records here and didn’t really look at the condition (my fault), and about half were in very rough condition – lots of skips, pops, and hiss. The worst part of this is that the price did not reflect their condition. I think some were as high as $ 8, when other stores would have probably (if they didn’t trash these) move them for next to nothing.
— the staff was nice enough if you asked for help.
Overall, I would make the trip here again for a day of browsing, but I would check the quality of the records carefully before buying. Cool spot.

Found some great old school Latin vinyl. Not a large section for Latin but got lucky with some key finds. Nice and hefty Jazz and Punk sections.
The place is bit dusty but I guess if your afraid of some dust while digging for vinyl you shouldn’t be looking and should just stick to eBay, Amazon or Discogs.
The prices are reasonable. Nice artwork in the process on the back wall.

The best vinyl record store in philadelphia. Hands down. No bs, just friendly staff and people who know their wax. Prices are very fair, you’ll find collectors pieces here, but you’ll also find some bargains as you dig.

Great record store where you can avoid the high prices found elsewhere. Beautiful world has a huge variety from soul and jazz, to punk, metal, country, pop, classical — they seem to have it all! This is the only place I have been able to find noise records and I have never left without having to put back half of my stack of finds, simply because there is so much!

As a vinyl junkie and Philadelphia resident I’ve been to almost, if not all the record stores in the city and I have to say by far Beautiful World Syndicate is my favorite. They have a super large collection of vinyl with fair prices. I’ve been able to pick up hard to find records and not break the bank and as a college student that’s something that is really essential in a record store.
The staff is extremely helpful and the records are very well organized, although as I frequent the shop more and more I’d highly encourage you to check out the new arrivals section on the right just as you walk in. These records aren’t organized by genre or artist but some of the best records I’ve found in this store were in that section. They also have turntables available for you to listen to the records before you buy, which you don’t always see and is very much appreciated. If you’re a lover of vinyl and anywhere near Philly be warned — you will want to come back all the time!

Best used record store in south philly and one of the best in the whole city. Go here and have a chat with whoever’s working. It’s a really chill place, promise. Like the others said, make sure you check out the contents of whatever you’re buying because used records are… USED.

Ok, so, I heard about this place from my neighbor and had to check it out. And judging by all the reviews, I had high hopes for this place being «the best record store in Philly», and it was in my top 5.
Lots (and when I say lots, I mean it) of used records, more than one person can look through in one day.
Left with The Doors «13», Led Zeppelin «Physical Graffiti» (it wasn’t complete, but I didn’t care for $ 2 and a nice piece of wall art) and a Univox test press, all for $ 15 well spent. Totally going to return quite soon.

The key to this place is that they operate in volume. They are constantly acquiring full collections and their prices are always on the low side. Things move quick. Stop in one week it will be different stock than the week before. Note that their best hip-​hop, house, techno and disco goes on sale online (username «philadelphiamusic» on discogs website) and are _​not_​put in the first floor shelves. However you can browse these online, purchase and ask for an in-​store pickup instead of shipping. They have a rich classic rock, punk, metal, r&b and even some nice world (reggae, latin, asian) records for browsing. It’s 99% old stuff but they have a small new releases and used cd/​dvd section near the cashier. Value wise, there’s no better vinyl record store right now in Philadelphia.

I’m from Michigan, and I love shopping in the Detroit area, but I also love Philadelphia’s record stores for similar reasons. BWS is a great little shop and the one I’ve found most loaded.
I’m not a hardcore «NM» record buyer. With BWS, that’s good. They know how to grade records, so they have nice stuff at prices that nice stuff obliges, but they don’t shy away from «EX» or «EX+» level platters. I like this, because it means I can find decent copies of records I want at reasonable prices (Pet Sounds, $ 3…). If you find something cool (e.g., I found a bunch of 70s Bowie here last visit) at prices that seem too low, don’t forget to look at the vinyl itself… just so you know what you’re paying for.
Dudes here are cool record store type dudes. Not sure how helpful they are, but seriously, if you want «help,» maybe a used vinyl shop is not where you should be.

Cool little shop. Acquired a good copy of Kraftwerk’s «The Man-​Machine» for $ 10. Painless to search through its stacks.

Why 4 and not 5? Well, not for any fault of BWS, it’s just that I’m not a vinyl junkie. I wish I were — I wish I had the space for records, crates of them — I would use them as my furniture and use spare ones as dishes. I would bathe in vinyl records, cut my hair with them, and floss my teeth with them.
…but alas, I can only hunt for used cds and dvds, and even THAT is an imposition on the spacial limitations of my tiny apartment. That being clear, I DO INDEED love Beautiful World Syndicate. The prices are right, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the employees are awesome and are always playing great music that keeps me in the store far longer than I ever plan. It’s like being transported into High Fidelity, minus Jack Black. No one there is that uppity.
I DO wish there was a bigger used cd/​dvd collection, but they DO have the whole collection of every season of the Golden Girls on dvd. Now that’s saying something. …SOMETHING GODDAMNED AWESOME.

Great record store, I was goin insane trying to find «Life of Leisure» from Washed Out and they had it, very happy about that.
And they take credit cards!
–AM

I need to update my review now that I’ve been to a few other record stores in Philly. None of them come close to having the selection that BWS has. And although the prices here are still a little steeper than I’d like, they are far more reasonable than those of AKA Music and Philadelphia Record Exchange. Every time I enter this store (at least once a week), I have to put down at least five records before I check out. They always have something that excites me.
And excuse me, Aaron L., «Record King» (please): I would appreciate not being referred to as «the lady». My name is right there. Secondly, I was merely referring to the selection of Princeton Record Exchange, not what they pay you for your records. I’ve never actually tried to sell anything there, so I wouldn’t know. I have, however, tried to sell records to BWS and they barely took any of them, but I didn’t factor that into my review. Granted, I bought a big lot and was trying to get rid of a fair amount of absolute crap, but there were some decent records in there… the guy didn’t really take the time to weed through them. Aaaanyway, I’m rating these stores based on what they sell, not what they buy. Thanks. Moreover, the Princeton Record Exchange has a SHITLOAD of awesome records for $ 2 or less. BWS has barely any records for this price that are worth looking through.
This store is great for gems, but when you find the gems (and I guarantee you’ll find at least one while you’re there), expect to pay a pretty penny for them. I’m giving this five stars because it’s the best record store I’ve yet been to in Philly, but the lack of cheap records really takes away from what could be a mecca for record-​collectors.

My biggest gripe about record stores in Philadelphia has always been the selection. I mean, let’s face it: anyone who frequents actual stores selling RECORDS is used to clutter, dust, dirt, cramped spaces and everything that goes along with «the search»…heck, a lot of record collectors really enjoy the process of digging to find a gem.
What’s great about Beautiful World Syndicate, particularly their South Philly location, is that in terms of vinyl they have a SLEW of music. And for someone like me who collections 12″ pop/​dance/​rock singles from the 80’s and 90’s, their constant influx of incredibly cheap but-​in-​good-​condition choices keeps me coming back for more.
However what BWS specializes in is punk rock, with some jazz and R&B. If you’re a casual pop rock fan, you’re not going to have a big score at a store like BWS. The CD selection is miniscule and very selective; don’t expect to bring in your old pop/​rock CD’s and trade them in for store credit, because they won’t want them.
Also, besides things being sorted into genres, everything is a completely disorganized mess. You will literally have to crawl under tables and through dust and dirt in order to go through boxes on the floor and stacks of records to find what’s lurking.
What’s good about this is that often times even THEY don’t know what’s laying around. I bought a special DJ promo pre-​release vinyl of the album «Erotic» by Madonna for $ 3; I knew I was getting a huge deal but didn’t know HOW huge until I got home and found it selling online for $ 100 and higher…
The bottom line is this: if you are a genuine lover of vinyl and you have the time and patience (and non-​fear of filth) to invest in searching for records — or if you are a fan of punk music and want that new 7″ or 12″ that just came out — BWS is the place to go.

While I still have yet to officially check out their store front, I do know these guys have a damn good selection of CDs, albums, and even some DVDs. If you’ve ever been to an R5 show at the First Unitarian Church then you may very well be aware of the huge bins of CDs and records that they sell in the back. This is the store that provides these bins and they always seem to offer such an uncanny selection inside them.
Wasn’t there another record store that was associated with R5 not too long ago? Oh Yeah, SPACEBOY! and we all know how good those guys were. so who knows, it might just be a beautiful world after all.
More too come when I finally hit up the official store front…