The 10 best record stores in Washington D.C.

Washington D.C.’s local music scene is still somewhat insular, but few cities are more rewarding to music buffs than the nation’s capital. You can’t escape body and soul inside the beltway: conga drummers greet you stepping off the Chinatown Metro Station; Chuck Brown blares from speakers perched atop the 7th and T Street carryout; and Bob Marley welcomes you to Nationals Park via Kurt Suzuki’s rasta-tinged walk-up playlist. Appropriately, the area is home to a legion of reputable music retail outlets. Each shop accommodates a very unique strain of fandom. This guide serves as a tool to familiarize tourists, transplants and natives alike with the best independent record stores at their disposal.

Click on any photo to launch the list.

Earlier this year we profiled six new artists coming out of Washington DC – read that here.