Let me be straight with you. Not every pile of vinyl is a bargain bin.
The owner here posted a blunt warning. This is NOT a garage sale.
What is it then?
A carefully curated collection of one hundred thousand LPs and seventy five thousand CDs, built over eighteen years.
He has hosted buyers from all over the world. He knows exactly what his records are worth.
But the dated complaints still sting. People who want everything for nothing, who have no idea what it costs to pay rent in New Jersey.
This is not a thrift store. It is a serious record shop for serious collectors.
Come correct.
A Collection That Defies All Logic
Walking into Ez 2 Collect feels less like shopping and more like stepping into someone’s lifelong obsession made physical. The numbers alone are staggering.
Over 75,000 LPs and more than 60,000 CDs fill every corner of this Elmwood Park store.
Full TV season box sets line entire rows. DVDs, VHS tapes, vintage game cartridges, and posters compete for your attention at every turn.
The sheer volume of physical media here is something you genuinely have to see in person to believe.
Owner Irv Lukin has spent more than 50 years building this collection, and that dedication shows in every packed shelf and overflowing bin. This is not a store where someone grabbed a few boxes at an estate sale and called it a day.
Each section represents decades of intentional collecting, which means rare and hard-to-find titles show up here that simply do not exist anywhere else nearby. Plan to spend a good chunk of your afternoon.
The Old School Record Store Experience Is Alive Here
There is a certain kind of magic that only exists inside a real, old-school record store, and Ez 2 Collect has held onto that magic tightly. No sleek digital kiosks.
No barcode scanners pointing you to a tidy app. Just rows and rows of physical media waiting for curious hands and patient eyes.
The atmosphere feels genuinely nostalgic, like stepping back into the kind of Saturday afternoon adventure that used to define weekend plans before streaming took over everything. Album art faces outward.
Spines beg to be read. The whole experience rewards slow, careful browsing rather than quick searches.
For anyone who grew up flipping through record bins at a neighborhood shop, this place will feel deeply familiar. For younger visitors discovering physical media for the first time, it can feel like uncovering a whole secret world.
Either way, the experience itself is the point. Ez 2 Collect delivers that old-school feeling with complete sincerity, and that alone makes the trip worthwhile.
The $5 Bin Is a Treasure Chest Worth Digging Through
Every serious record store has a budget section, and the $5 bin at Ez 2 Collect is genuinely one of the best reasons to make the drive out to Elmwood Park.
Shoppers have stumbled across real finds tucked inside those affordable stacks, and the thrill of pulling out something unexpected for just five bucks never gets old.
Budget sections at record stores can sometimes feel like the leftovers nobody wanted. Not here.
The variety runs deep, spanning decades and genres that keep even experienced collectors circling back for another look. You might flip past something forgettable and land on a classic that makes the whole trip feel like a win.
The key is patience. Go in without a rigid shopping list and let the collection surprise you.
Some of the best finds come from titles you were not actively hunting. Rare 45s have turned up at surprisingly low prices too, so do not skip the smaller formats tucked alongside the full-length LPs.
This bin alone justifies the visit.
Over 60,000 CDs Mean You Will Find What Streaming Forgot
Streaming services come and go, and titles disappear from platforms without any warning.
Ez 2 Collect quietly solves that problem by stocking over 60,000 CDs covering music, full TV seasons, animated series, and movies spanning from the 1950s all the way through the mid-2010s.
Physical media does not vanish when a licensing deal expires. That is a genuinely underrated advantage, and this store leans into it fully.
Complete TV series box sets that cycle in and out of streaming availability sit right here on the shelves, ready to own permanently. Some items are still new and factory sealed, which is a pleasant surprise inside such a densely packed space.
Checking disc surfaces before purchasing is always a smart move, since many titles are open copies. A quick inspection at the counter can save you from getting home with a scratched disc.
The range of titles available here covers ground that most digital platforms simply never bother to touch, making this store a genuinely practical resource for collectors and casual fans alike.
Vinyl That Could Give You a Master Class in Records
Collectors who care deeply about vinyl quality have found some genuinely impressive pressings at Ez 2 Collect.
Classic rock albums, jazz records, and rare titles from major labels have shown up here in condition that feels almost impossibly good for a used store.
The inventory spans genres and eras in a way that keeps experienced diggers coming back repeatedly. Queen, classic soul, vintage jazz, and obscure imports all share shelf space in a collection built over five decades of serious hunting.
That kind of depth is not something you can replicate by ordering online.
Holding a well-pressed vinyl record that has been properly stored and handled carries a particular satisfaction that digital files simply cannot match.
The tactile experience of flipping through physical albums, reading liner notes, and examining original pressings is exactly what draws collectors to stores like this one.
For anyone ready to invest time and genuine enthusiasm into the search, Ez 2 Collect offers the kind of vinyl education that only comes from being inside a collection this large and varied.
VHS Tapes, Vintage Games, and Memorabilia Hiding in Plain Sight
Ez 2 Collect goes well beyond music. Hidden between the record bins and CD towers are VHS tapes, retro video game consoles, vintage game cartridges, posters, and all kinds of memorabilia that feel like artifacts from a different era.
SNES consoles have appeared here. So have 8-track tapes and cassettes.
For anyone chasing a specific piece of nostalgia, this store rewards the patient visitor who is willing to look carefully. Items are not always front and center, but they are in there.
The thrill comes from the unexpected discovery, the moment you reach past a stack of DVDs and find exactly the thing you had been hunting for years.
One shopper came specifically looking for a VCR to convert old home recordings and found one here after striking out at every other local spot. That kind of specific, hard-to-find item availability is genuinely rare in 2024.
Ez 2 Collect functions as a physical archive of pop culture spanning several decades, and the breadth of categories covered makes every single visit feel different from the last.
The Wu-Tang Connection That Makes This Store Legendary
Ez 2 Collect carries a piece of pop culture history that most visitors do not expect.
The store served as the filming location for Bleecker Bob’s Records in the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga, bringing a slice of New York City music history to a Broadway storefront in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.
That kind of screen presence says something real about the store’s visual authenticity. Production teams chose this location because it actually looks and feels like a genuine old-school record shop, not a set dressed up to appear that way.
The cluttered shelves, the packed inventory, and the overall atmosphere all contributed to making the space believable on camera.
Amateur filmmakers have also used the store as a backdrop for independent projects, drawn to the same visual richness that attracted professional productions.
The storefront itself catches the eye from the street, and the interior delivers even more character once you step inside.
Visiting a place with this kind of creative history adds a layer to the experience that goes well beyond ordinary record shopping.
Organized Chaos That Rewards the Patient Visitor
Calling the layout of Ez 2 Collect straightforward would be generous. The store operates on a system that makes complete sense once you spend enough time inside it, but the initial impression is genuinely overwhelming.
Albums are broadly categorized, and the owner can locate specific titles when asked directly.
Sections exist for jazz, rock, classical, soundtracks, and more, but the sheer density of inventory means browsing requires a relaxed mindset and comfortable shoes. Moving slowly and looking carefully pays off in a way that rushing absolutely does not.
The store rewards curiosity over efficiency.
Give yourself at least two hours minimum. Seriously.
Shoppers who arrive with a rigid checklist and limited patience tend to leave frustrated, while visitors who treat the experience like a treasure hunt leave with armfuls of finds and plans to return. The organized chaos is genuinely part of the charm here.
Ez 2 Collect is not a store you conquer in thirty minutes. It is a destination you return to repeatedly, finding something new every single time.
Why Ez 2 Collect Stands Apart From Every Other Record Store
Physical media stores are disappearing at an alarming rate across the country, which makes Ez 2 Collect feel even more significant.
This is genuinely one of the last real record stores operating at this scale anywhere in New Jersey, built on more than five decades of passionate collecting and maintained with serious dedication.
The combination of 75,000 LPs, 60,000-plus CDs, vintage formats, games, and memorabilia under one roof does not exist anywhere nearby. That alone makes the store worth visiting at least once, even if your collection is already substantial.
Stumbling across a title you have been searching for, or discovering something you never knew existed, is the kind of experience that keeps collectors coming back.
Ez 2 Collect operates Monday through Saturday from 11 AM to 6 PM, giving visitors a reliable window to plan their trip. The store is closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.
Whether you are a lifelong vinyl obsessive or someone just starting to explore physical media, this Elmwood Park store delivers something genuinely irreplaceable.
Address: 133 Broadway, Elmwood Park, New Jersey.
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