Musicology Co

Musicology Co grew from a decade of community-building in Edmonds' local music scene. The shop brings together records, CDs, cassettes, live music, local artists, and a gathering place for listeners across generations.

---

Interview with Musicology Co

Musicology Co is a specific kind of name — it suggests a study of music as much as a shop. In your own words, what's Musicology actually like, and how did the shop come to be in Edmonds?

Musciology Co came about after spending ten years in Edmonds volunteering and community building in the local music scene. I have been booking music for local festivals and events, creating music series, teaching lessons, playing in bands, dj'ing at local venues, writing local music scene articles and more; it's been a journey of getting to know the immense talent in this area and seeing the interest and support for music. This led me to wanting to create a brick and mortar space for the community. The name is a nod to a few different things: the study and knowledge of music, a song by Prince, and a love of the Vitalogy album by Pearl Jam. The goal of the shop is to be a record shop and more. The more includes a live music venue, a gathering place for vinyl enthusiasts, CD collectors, cassette appreciators, a location where people can find new music, a place to honor the local music scene and a collaboration opportunity for local businesses.

Downtown Edmonds is one of the great small-city downtowns in the Puget Sound — the ferry terminal, the walkable blocks, the arts crowd, a completely different feel from Seattle. For someone visiting the shop, what else on 5th Ave or nearby is worth their afternoon?

I love all the shops downtown! If you are looking for retail or gifts my favorites are Crow, Treasures & Teas, Curious Nest, FIELD, Camp Vintage and more! For clothes I love going to Anchor Chic consignment, Pear Tree or Rebekah's. There are also so many great art galleries, coffee shops, restaurants and bars. I am always offering suggestions to customers when they come through. There is something for everyone in downtown Edmonds.

Being a suburban/small-town shop north of Seattle means your customer mix is very different from what a Capitol Hill shop sees — more downsizers, more families, more ferry commuters. Who actually walks in and buys?

It really is a mix. We have some overlap with Seattle shops as a lot of people are finding Edmonds and moving up here from the city. They then like having a local shop when they aren't wanting to drive south for buying records. We have also seen that we have a lot of young customers. We have a lot of high schoolers who come in looking for popular new releases or finding old classics. We also have a lot of families coming in who love to pick out records to share their musical past with their kids. It really is a wide mix and we like to carry a really wide assortment to have something for everyone.

On the buying side: what genres are you actively hunting for right now, and what do you tend to pass on?

We actively look for the ones we know our customers like which includes a lot of classic rock, 80's and 90's, indie, grunge, alternative, pop, jazz, hip hop and honestly really anything. We try not to pass on items because we love finding a home for everything, but there are a lot of older records from the big band era that can be hard to find homes for. Any record store will have a fairly typical dollar bin with similar records. But even those I try hard to find homes for! Every once in a while we will find ourselves with excess inventory in genres that don't sell as well and then we reach out to some of our local record stores to do some swaps. There is an amazing supportive community within indie record stores up north.

What quietly turns out to be worth more at Musicology than sellers expect — a record they'd almost throw in the free pile that you're always glad to see?

That's a great question. A lot of times it will come down to pressings on popular albums. Sellers come in with a pristine collection they have been holding onto since the 70's and you find that first edition Pink Floyd or a hot press of Led Zeppelin. Those are really fun finds.

And the reverse — what do sellers most often walk in overvaluing?

There is a lot of classical and opera that comes in that a customer will think will sell for more but it's a challenge as value from a quick internet search doesn't always mean value for a record store. 78's are another one that I have to turn away at times. They could be great artists and have decent value in specific markets but they are harder to sell and they aren't an easy item to ship if you try to sell on discogs.

Cash or store credit — how do sellers usually decide, and what's the honest case for one over the other?

It's a mix. We have some regulars who prefer credit and then some who prefer cash. When we have large collections they most often are looking for a cash buy. We give a small incentive for store credit but ultimately we are open to either. Everyone is in a different place in their journey of vinyl collecting.

For someone visiting Edmonds (maybe taking the ferry over from Kingston, or driving up from Seattle) and trying to actually plug into the town — beyond your shop, where would you send them?

The retail shops listed above plus I would say checkout some of our great coffee shops (Walnut Street coffee is my fave!), or some of our fantastic wine locations like Vinbero, Fox and Bottle, Dusted Valley, Virtue. For restaurants we have so many it's hard to narrow down. I love going to Salish Brewing, Leftcraft, Taki Tiki, Kelnero, Santa Fe, Fire & Feast, San Kai, the Market, Niles Peacock. For live music or DJ's I am often checking out Engels, Bar Americano, Calypso, Brigid's or the Boathouse. I am sure I left off many of my favorites as it's just so hard to narrow it down and we have so many great options.

Last updated: 2026-08-26

Store owners

Add a VinylPackman badge

Use this small badge on a Press, About, Links, or News page to point visitors back to the feature.

Show badge code

Need to fix store details?

Owner or staff? Send a correction for review.

Correct this listing