Encore Records traces its roots back to Liberty Music Shop, which opened on Main Street in 1939. More than 85 years, a few moves, and two name changes later, the record store is still going strong, now from its home in Kerrytown.
Longtime employees Jim Dwyer and Bill McClelland took over in 2011 after owner Peter Dale retired, purchasing the inventory and reopening the shop as Encore Records. A year earlier, Rolling Stone had ranked Encore Records No. 7 on its list of the 25 best record stores in the country. Encore stayed at 417 E. Liberty St. until 2019, when an uncertain lease situation pushed Dwyer and McClelland to look for a new home. Their friend Vicki Honeyman was closing her Kerrytown shop, Heavenly Metal, and tipped them off about the available space. Encore made the move to 208 N. Fourth Ave. later that year.
Inside, you’ll find crates of vinyl alongside 45s and 78s, cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, books, and music memorabilia. Keep digging, and you may even stumble across the sea shanty section or the shop’s collection of Muppets memorabilia.
Encore also buys collections. Bring your records, CDs, tapes, or other music items to the shop, and the staff will evaluate them on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment is needed, and Encore offers cash, trade, or a combination of both.
Find Encore Records at 208 N. Fourth Ave., just a short walk from the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Next time you’re in Kerrytown, stop in and flip through a few crates. You might walk out with a record you forgot you loved.
