What Cheer Records + Vintage

Very cool place! Not only is the selection of albums great if you are into rock and alternative, but the soundtrack in the store is great while you are looking through albums. Staff is friendly. If you liked going to the record store in the 70s, you should check it out.

Beautiful record’s postcards and books they even have some clothes and a few shoes. The old dewi-​decimal system cabinet has so many different things inside of the draws including, door knobs, marbles, plastic kids toys, old photographs, and little hotwheel cars. This would be a great place to spend your weekend looking over things. Although small in size the space is completely filled with interesting nick-​nacks.

Whenever I travel to a new city, I try to find those hidden unique gems that add to the spirit of where I am. What Cheer Records + Vintage is that charmer of a shop that reflects the understated personality of Providence. The city is quaint and beautiful in its small size, and What Cheer is no different.
What Cheer has this 70’s hippie vibe that is completely genuine and gives you a very clear idea as to what you’re getting yourself into as you walk up the stairs to the shop. Inside this tiny shop are records from wall-​to-​wall (and almost ceiling)! I’ve found myself in more record stores than I can count, and this is one of the most unique. Among the records (that are well-​priced, might I add), are vintage pieces that could add character to anyone’s apartment or home.
The charm here is outstanding, and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll completely miss it! This place is not to be missed, even if you aren’t a fan of old, dusty records. The personality is undeniable, and it speaks volumes about the city of Providence.

tight but well stocked record store, pleasant owner. First trip I was happy to find one of the new Beatles MONO which she is selling broken up. A nice idea for us who do not wish to buy all 14 albums. My second trip back however was a major disappointment. I came back specifically on RECORD STORE DAY (black Friday) and could not even move in the store. The shop was full of self involved college kids listening to a local band. This is a shop the size of my bathroom. It was reminiscent of the Flying Concords «party in a closet» episode. I must have asked at least three people to nudge over a bit so I could look for the special albums released that day but each look thoroughly annoyed. There were there for a party and why was I so insistent on shopping. I get the idea of trying to drive traffic to your store in creative ways, but seriously, you caused me a wasted trip into town and therefore will not be back. I must have hit five other vinyl shops that day, there are better places to shop.

Great little shop located on the 2^nd floor of the building it is in. The entrance is on the side, I had to look twice to find it. There is a mix of mostly records with vintage clothes and antiques mixed in. The owners (a husband and wife) were quite nice and helpful, great to talk to. If you enjoy records, this is a great shop. I noticed there is a smoke shop inside the building right next to What Cheer records so if you enjoy that type of shop as well this is a bonus. If I lived closer i’d go more often.

This place is an emporium of curiosities and oddities, vintage finds, prov history, and general weirdness! LPs are a little pricier here than other record stores I find, but it’s almost forgivable because everything else about the place is so great! I could probably spend a few hours in this store peering into the different drawers of randomness and rummaging through the clothes racks and book shelves. The girl behind the counter was laid back and pleasant. Definitely one of my fave stores and really embodies the freaky, funky, gnarly, weirdo mystique that to me is Providence.

I moved to Providence from Philly last year and yearn for the abundance of thrift stores I left behind. Perhaps even more so, I miss the stores I used to call ‘hoarding fronts’, which can be found everywhere, but are especially common in the outer reaches of my former city: tiny shops with clutter packed so tight and piled so high that the safety seems questionable, even more questionable than the premise of a store where the shopkeeper is obviously reluctant to part with any tiny trinket from his incomprehensibly vast supply.
I miss the adventure of perusing a hoarder front. You never knew what you would find within the folds of a filthy, fraying baby blanket locked inside a centuries-​old wooden box hidden behind a decapitated porcelain statue. What Cheer is not a hoarder front, as the clutter and disarray levels fall far below that threshold. I suppose this is good news: there are obvious places for everything and all walkways are clear, it’s not at all a fire hazard; the stuff is priced and definitely for sale, not just maybe, if you can convince the shop owner that he will never have a use for size 7.5 Victorian lace gloves; you will make it out alive (and it’s centrally located enough that people will hear you scream) if the heaviest thing in the store does come tumbling down onto you, but it’s stable enough that such an occurrence is incredibly unlikely anyway; etc. BUT. There are things behind things. There are things underneath things. There are things underneath things inside boxes of things. There are little treasures waiting to be discovered by the patient peruser and lover of vintage stuff of the widest variety, but that peruser isn’t taking their life into their hands by perusing, unlike at a hoarder front. Really I do miss the adventure, but this is probably for the best.
I don’t know why I didn’t go into What Cheer until ten months after I moved to Providence. I live on the East Side and sort-​of pass by it at least daily. I guess I just assumed that it was what they surely are attempting to mold themselves into: The Vinyl Shop of College Hill. But there is so much more, and the shopkeeper (owner?) assured me there always will be as she rang up my purchase, after having spent almost two hours I didn’t intend to spend browsing through vintage sewing notions, cookbook ephemera, fabrics, and their giant old card catalog filled with antique hardware and other well-​seasoned knickknacks.
I felt I got an incredible deal on some vintage fabrics that were precisely what I’d been seeking for a project for months, obsessively checking etsy and ebay to no avail. Being the sort of person who surrounds myself with old things, there was a lot of other stuff that I might have taken home with me were it not for the prices. The prices for things like vintage glassware and the vintage cookbook ephemera (of which I have an ever-​expanding collection) were higher than I’ve seen pretty much anywhere else. I could never bring myself to pay $ 5 + tax for a tiny old leaflet splitting apart at the joints, much as I might cherish it. Other things were not so outrageously priced, and for those things I would return. Since moving to Providence, What Cheer is the closest I’ve come to matching the excitement of pushing through mountains of crap in a hoarder front, the outrageousness of which is slowly being mythologized in my memory.

I’m probably going to incite a lot of hate, but I no longer recognize or love What Cheer?!
I am always going to be a fan of vintage products, going off the beaten path and rarities. Since the move, it seems the focus has been on becoming THE RECORD shop of Thayer street. I long to take the stroll from Thayer to Wayland and to go down the stairs into the wonderful hidden world of What cheer? While records were still present, the focus was definitely still on antiques. Estate and costume jewelry, tray and trays of eye glasses, the back nook filled with clothing and vintage sewing notions, the card catalog always over flowing with new (old) items.
Now the ability to buy crosley reproductions and records is sort of the main focus of the store. I love that a record shop is back on Thayer, but I miss the pyrex, and abundance of bar ware, and nick knacks. I could do without the playboys being so prominent, I’m not a prude, but wouldn’t want to take a youngish kid in there anymore (which thats how my love of all things antiquated was born)

This place has lots of well-​organized and cheap records, it’s a great place to dig around for any Dj or beat makers out there. They have a lot of really unique ones, as well as some cool old antique stuff, such as old cameras, turntables, and photographs. The best part is everything is mostly organized, so if you’re looking for a certain style or price range (they have big bins of $ 1 records, I found some old calypso steel-​drum samples and jazz piano records in there) this is a great spot to go to.

We love, love, love their new space on Thayer! Easier to find stuff and better organized for an overall great experience! Every knickknack in the world under one roof. People have commented on high prices… I totally disagree. The prices are very reasonable for the quality of what you get. Highly recommended.

What Cheer has Moved!
What Cheer?
180 Angell Street (Upstairs)
Providence, RI 2 906
the New Location is at the Corner of Thayer and Angell Streets above Chipotle and next to the Kind Connection (open Daily!)

Remember how when you were a little kid you would build sheet forts and collect strange, magical objects, and keep things in old cigar boxes? What Cheer Antiques is essentially a grown-​up version of that and it’s rad. Vintage Playboys! Strange and wonderful treasures! An old card catalog with drawers filled with a variety of surprise items! Price points that are a little beyond what they really should be! Oh well. That last one isn’t such a big deal.
This is a great place to wile away an hour on a rainy afternoon. It’s like coming upon your own secret museum.

This little place is like stepping down into a secret room that only you and a few other special people know about. It’s one of the only antique/​collectibles shops I’ve ever seen with a really great paper ephemera collection– menus, postcards, letterhead, etc.
They also have a really good selection of vintage eyeglasses, and adorably organized little bits and baubs like old hotel keys, key chains, furniture hardware, and game pieces. Most prices are fair (except I always eye these library catalog name plate holders that they have a ton of but want like $ 2 each for them!)
Definitely worth checking out!

This is one of my favorite places in providence to crawl into on a rainy Saturday day… I feel like I am in the movie Goonies and am about to find Chester Copperpot’s lucky charm. You tiptoe down some stairs into a treasure trove of nicknacks and clothing. I especially love the front of the store’s sign which pays homage to it’s name :)

Lots
Of well
Organized
Treasures await
For too high of a price in the cute shop.

I love What Cheer – what an amazing collection of antiques. The anal retentive organizer in me was completely blown away by all the little collections of odds and ends, everything from hotel keychains, to eyeglasses, to door numbers. However, some of the prices are astronomical, including many of the records, which was kind of a bummer.

A wonderful store in an area that is a pain in the ass to get to. The people who work there are always friendly and helpful. I buy all kinds of junk and their junk is the best! My only complaint is their record prices. I first met them at a foo fest years ago and it seems the record prices just keep going up. Other than that, I love this place. I have purchased some awesome postcards for my grandfather who collects. Check it out!

secret treasure shop.
vintage seed packets.
old records in excellent condition.
decorative victorian hardware.
maps maps and ephemera.
embroidered fabrics.
estate jewelry.
old skool speakers.
make out with your own bag of booty.
yar yar! what cheer? i’ll cheers to that.

What Cheer? They have tons of strange survey maps and historical accounts of the area going back many, many years. It’s like they robbed the library or hall of records. The vintage music holdings are small but really unique. You could spend days there and still not be able to see everything they have in the place and they get new stuff regularly. Check it out.

Fantastic little underground space crammed with interesting stuff from floor to ceiling (literally; look up to see items hanging from the rafters). The owners are super friendly and carry good books, an outstanding selection of records, vintage clothing, a gigantic chest full of odds and ends that would work well in craft projects, and a simply staggering amount of Rhode Island and New England ephemera. You could learn more here than you could at some local museums. The prices are a little high, but the mix of items is so good that you’re bound to find something you both want and can afford.