Bruiser Records

Bruiser Records in Jacksonville is rooted in punk, hardcore, local venues, and a scene-first approach to running a record shop. The interview covers the name, in-store events, buying collections, condition standards, and the pressing details sellers often miss.

Interview with Bruiser Records

"Bruiser" is a tough, memorable name for a record shop — where does it come from, and how did the store start in Jacksonville?

It was actually the name of my old dog who passed some years ago. Thought it was a great way to honor the old boy and sounded pretty cool as a stand alone name without the story. Gave us a good logo to work with too.

Bruiser Records logo.

As for how we got started, I grew up around here playing in bands, booking shows and floating around the music scene for decades. A record store seemed like a natural progression from that and we work closely with most of the venues around here to help promote bands and shows and do giveaways and meet and greets and other fun things within the scene.

What does Bruiser specialize in — what would a regular tell a newcomer you're known for?

I grew up in the Punk and Hardcore scene mostly, so we have a pretty large section for Punk adjacent albums. Like every store we carry a bit of everything for everyone, but most of the events we have in the store and vibe is very much in the punk rock world. We do giveaways, charity events, in store events and give away free beer, water, soda etc so there's fun to be had for just about everybody if they're looking for it.

Jacksonville's a big, spread-out city with its own scene; who comes through Bruiser, and how's the local record world?

Jacksonville is lucky enough to have a few really strong stores here so I'd say the record world is doing very well around here. We get all walks from all over town on a regular basis but have had the Descendents, Black Flag, Pentagram, The Queers, HR from Bad Brains, Guttermouth and a bunch of fun bands stop through to sign some stuff and even do acoustic gigs in the store before their show in town. Ya never know what might be around the corner here.

What should a first-time visitor head straight for?

Well the New Arrivals bins is Record Store 101 but after that hit the Punk section then hang a left to the New Release Rock/Pop/Hip Hop stuff then brave the thousands of used Classic Rock/Soul/Country/Blues/Etc records. Just when you're nearly exhausted, dig through the 2 dollar bins to find a couple weird ones to top it all off.

Inside the Jacksonville shop.

What's the most valuable or surprising record that's come through the door?

I think the acetate for Joe Bataan's Latin Soul Square Dance 45 is a pretty wild one. Still have that at the house if anyone wants to blow us away with an offer....Lol

Do you buy records from the public, and how do you approach valuing a collection?

That's the life's blood of any record store and we are always buying collections of all kinds. The value is dependant mainly on condition, scarcity and how quickly it will actually sell in the shop. Most stuff we can eyeball and have a ballpark on but some of the more valuable obscure stuff we'll look online and figure out a fair offer that works for everyone.

Roughly what does a common record fetch versus something you're excited to buy?

(You can delete this part but I wasn't really sure what this was asking so if the answer doesn't work my bad)

I'd say a standard common record these days in our shop runs in the 8-10 dollar range where as I personally buy old rare punk stuff so like I recently spent $800 dollars on a record I'd been looking for for years now.

Do you buy 45s and 78s, or is it LP-focused?

We don't buy 78's usually since most modern players won't play them and kids really just aren't on the hunt for that form of media these days. We won't turn down some of the super collectable ones but in general we don't carry them. 45's we have some boxes of punk stuff and a couple rows of standard jukebox type 1-3 dollar stuff but I wouldn't say it's a huge focus or something we get a lot of people asking about. The modern record revival is definitely more LP focused than anything I'd have to agree with though.

Should sellers clean records before bringing them, and what condition problems hurt value most?

I mean we certainly wouldn't complain about a collection we don't have to clean before we put out but I wouldn't say it makes a big difference offer wise.

Anything with playback issues is going to usually be a no go unless it's a highly sought after record. There are records we won't buy that will probably play ok but we take a lot of pride in the fact that everything in our store is clean, in good shape, sleeved and organized. We have a scratch and dent section for the bigger name records that maybe have an issue or two but we don't usually put anything out that isn't in the VG+ range so we don't buy things that fall out of that range generally.

What do people most often get wrong about what their records are worth?

Google lens and looking at Ebay for sale and not sold (This one is on Ebay for 300 dollars when the last sold is actually 3 dollars). Not understanding that there are different versions of the same record is the main one though. Just because you saw a first press Parlophone Beatles record go for a few hundred dollars doesn't mean the one your mom bought at Sears in Jacksonville Florida in the 80's is the same thing.

Most people are receptive when you explain things but every now and again you'll have the people who just don't get it and you'll see it go up on marketplace asking a grand for a 20 dollar record and you can't help but chuckle a bit.

FAQ

Does Bruiser Records buy used records?

Yes. The shop is always buying collections, with value depending on condition, scarcity, and how quickly records are likely to sell.

What condition standards does Bruiser use?

Bruiser keeps the main inventory clean, sleeved, organized, and generally around VG+ condition. Records with playback issues are usually avoided unless they are especially sought after.

Does Bruiser buy 45s and 78s?

The shop carries some 45s, especially punk and lower-price jukebox-style singles. 78s are usually not a focus.

Last updated: 2026-08-11

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