Inside view of Used Kids Record, a record store on Summit Street. Credit: Helena Hennessy | Managing Art and Life Editor

While many of Ohio State’s students grew up and discovered their music taste in the age of digital streaming, Used Kids Records continues to preserve a more traditional, physical appreciation for music.

The record shop, located at 2500 Summit St., sells a collection of used and new vinyl records, CDs and audio equipment. Used Kids Records was voted best small business in The Lantern’s 2026 Best of OSU special edition, receiving 231 votes from Ohio State students and community members. “

That kind of energy between having a physical product, having a place where people can come and hang out and talk about music and get turned on to cool music, and also to book the shows and put the whole focus on music — kind of on steroids,” Greg Hall, owner of Used Kids Records, said. “That’s basically the blueprint that I’ve been trying to follow for the past many, many years.”

Used Kids Records originally opened on North High Street in 1986 as the sister store to School Kids Records, Hall said. The vision for the space was curated by Dan Dow, who approached his business partner, Curt Schieber, with the idea of opening the shop.

“School Kids Records eventually went out of business, unfortunately, and Used Kids Records stayed in business, and then over the years, Used Kids started bringing in, since there was a gap there [and] there was no store on that block, bringing in new records,” Hall said. “I worked for School Kids for, I don’t know, almost 10 years or something like that … That’s how I paid for college at Ohio State.”

Hall purchased the shop in 2014 and moved it into its current location, he said.

Outside view of Used Kids Record, a record store on Summit Street. Credit: Helena Hennessy | Managing Art and Life Editor

While the shop curates a community of music lovers through its wide variety of physical media, it also attracts audiences through its listening parties, artist performances, meet-and-greets, and its showcasing of two local bands on the first Friday of every month.

“When we’ve had listening parties for Twenty One Pilots, we had to do back-to-back,” Hall said. “We had 225 people in here for the first one, then just around 200 for the second one.”

For these live events, the shop offers a stage transferred from the original North High Street location that doubles as a workspace for employees — allowing them a designated area to sort and organize records, Hall said.

Just as the shop offers an extensive collection of music, spanning all genres and sub-categories, Hall said he aspires to cultivate a diverse range of clientele.

“[Our audience] spans culture and race and gender persuasion,” Hall said. “In our inventory, the shop kind of reflects that. We’re standing in an area that’s got jazz, country, blues [and] soul. Obviously, we have rock, punk rock, post-punk [and] world music like Brazilian music, in particular, that we’re kind of big fans of. So, just by casting that big tent, we bring in a lot of diversity into our shop. I’m a huge, huge believer in that.”

Jimmy Buttons, a Used Kids Records associate, or “Record Jerk,” said he was a frequent customer before becoming an employee. When traveling as a roadie, he said the record shop was always his first stop in Columbus.

“It’s this organic kind of mish-mash of all of the music scene that Columbus generated, beginning in the 1950s, 1960s, then kind of flourishing in the ‘70s and ‘80s into the ‘90s, and you know, it’s just this organic amalgamation of all that,” Buttons said. “It starts with the center of Columbus’ music scene, and then it kind of goes out from there.”

Raymond Schwab, a DJ and Used Kids Records associate, said the shop also contributes to the local music scene alongside other music venues in the University District, including Rumba Cafe, located at 2507 Summit St., Skully’s Music Diner, located at 1151 N. High St., and Newport Music Hall, located at 1722 N. High St.

Though the shop regularly hosts emerging local artists, Schwab said it also promotes up-and-comers through playing their records in the store — the shop features a record player near its stage that employees queue their selections on.

“We all have such diverse tastes,” Schwab said. “We have our jazz people. I’m more into soul and punk, and, you know, [Buttons] knows his metal and his punk and post-punk, which I’m real big into. So it just depends on our mood and what type of atmosphere we want.”

As the internet grew in popularity, Hall said he noticed a disconnect within daily life, as people stopped engaging with physical media. Through the shop, he said he hopes to foster human connection and experiences between community members.

“That’s kind of the tangible missing piece and I think, in human experience, that’s why this works so well, because it’s not just about being able to read it and feel it and touch it and smell it,” Hall said. “It’s about also, then, being able to use that as almost a catalyst to engaging with friends about music, you know? Whether it’s, you know, talking about, ‘Oh man, have you heard this record? This is great. Have you seen these guys live? They blew me away.’”

Hall said he wants the shop to be accessible to all Ohio State students, including those who merely want to browse the shop’s collections or those who simply want to attend a free event.

Ohio State students have an opportunity to engage with Columbus’ diverse music scene, Buttons said, and the shop seeks to promote new artists within it through hosting them and selling their records.

“[The Columbus music scene] is this thing that will never end, because, you know, it’s a college town,” Buttons said. “There’ll always be young people and that youthful energy. There’s always new people coming in. There’s always interest in music and starting bands and putting out art and being out there and, you know, we’re always pushing local artists. We’re always getting them to play here, put their records in our store, sell their records, come into our store and promote their records.”

For those interested in immersing themselves in Columbus’ music scene, Buttons said students should take the process one step at a time.

“You really don’t need to have the record player first to get the record,” Buttons said. “It doesn’t matter if you have the record player first or the records. You’re eventually supporting music.”

While the shop focuses on providing for its clientele, behind the scenes, Hall said he also focuses on supporting his community by donating to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective — Ohio’s largest food bank, according to the website. The shop hosts fundraising events where Used Kids Records matches the amount of money raised by attendees.

For Hall, continuing the shop’s legacy means preserving its role as a staple space for Columbus music lovers to frequent.

“School Kids was definitely centric to the Columbus music scene, and it wasn’t just about selling records — it was about talking about music, doing music as bands coming out of Columbus, and not only that, but also booking big bands,” Hall said. “What does it mean to me? It really means carrying on a legacy that was there before me.”