Radio-Active Records

One of my all time favorite record stores. The store is huge, often has cool in-​store sessions and has tons of genres. The store clearly carries tons of punk but also has alternative, disco, and dance sections. The store gets great used picks and staff is friendly. I always end up leaving with far more than I intended on buying

I lived in NYC for over six years, and Radio-​Active is on par witih (if not better than) the best stores up there. Definitely the best record store in Florida, and probably the best record store in all of the south. Every single staff member I’ve spoken to are incredibly friendly and down to earth, and there’s zero pretentiousness at Radio-​Active. Keep up the great work Mikey and crew.

I stopped in because I was sort of interested in a band. What I found was a fantastic gem of a place that reminded me of all the reasons I love live, local music. The band played from a cozy nook while I perused the eclectic records amongst the eclectic clientele. In an age of autotune and prepackaged stardom, it is refreshing to find small pockets of a genuine music scene. I have an old record player I will need to dust off, as I intend to return to add to my collection.

I came here based on a social media post I saw of someone holding up a record they just bought. People still buy vinyl records??? I had to check it out.
This place is like a museum, vinyl records everywhere lining the wall, vinyls down below filling all the bins. They have all kinds of genres, not just classic rock. Lucky for me since my taste is pretty eclectic. I listen to pretty much all kinds of music… except for Country.
Free parking in the back with random undesirables walking around in the alley. Cool, «seedy» type vibe. The guy at the store was pretty nice, his name is Mickey. Mickey greeted me as I entered the store. They were playing something kinda electronic sounding but with a heavy rock beat and some weird singing. Probably something from Europe, «imports» as us audiophiles like to call em. I expressed my approval by flashing Mickey a thumbs up as I walked by him and and his female employee. He was making her put stickers on CD’s while he stood around carrying on a conversation with some locals. He must be some kind of manager there or something.
Everything is categorized by genre and alphabetical within each genre. Who knew there was something called «krautrock» lol! I was looking for some Peppers but wasn’t sure where to find them since they seamlessly blend alternative, funk, rap, metal, punk, and psychedelic rock into their own original pop stylings. I asked Mickey where I could find the Peppers, he took me over to the «R» section in Indie Rock. And right there was a brand spanking new copy of Californication just waitin’ for me! Sick bruhhhhhhhhh!
I hung around for a few more hours looking for stuff I already owned and asking stupid questions. I ended up leaving without buying anything. On my way out I spotted Mickey on a tall ladder changing some lightbulbs, he called out goodbye as I exited the store. I’m pretty sure he’s the owner.
Pros: All the vinyls are neatly organized. Mickey was really nice to me and it seems the other people that were there like him too. I’ve seen some records go for hundreds of dollars on eBay, so it’s nice to see some records you can buy for only $ 5. On the same strip as the Chubby Hole
Cons: Most of the stuff I was looking for I already owned. I parked at the laundromat next door and they towed my car.

I visited this place for the first time today. I had been wanting to do so for a while. This place isn’t bad at all. The staff seems nice. I was greeted and not bothered. They let me do my own thing. This place has a cool and laid-​back ambience.
PROS:
–easy to find location
–easy to park
–records are very well organized
–decent selection of the genres I was interested in (rap, reggae, jazz, soul)
–clean facility
–I found a record that I’ve been on the hunt for (Roy Ayers: Feeling Good)
–A lot of time is taken to test the records before they are put on the floor. All of the records that I looked at and/​or purchased were in good to great condition.
CONS:
–Items were pricey
–I wanted to by an old Usher single but I ended up passing on it because it was $ 4.95. This is something that should be in a dollar bin, like a lot of things I saw here. I know that I can find that somewhere else for a cheaper price. I found that a lot of the items that I thought were too high were the prices on the vinyl singles and cassettes. There was an album I saw on cassette that was $ 7.95. Despite all of this, they can charge these amounts because the merchandise is of good quality.
I think that this place definitely caters a lot more to people that like to say they go to record stores because it’s cool, not so much real crate diggers. I’m from Detroit so I can be a bit harder to impress when it comes to record stores anywhere else.
I do plan to give this place another visit. I will explore the 45s, CDs, and cassettes more.

I don’t hate Radio-​Active Records but I don’t love them either.
I have a break down of how I rate a record store and this is what it is:
1. Mark Up and Cost of Records — It’s very over priced here for the more well known bands. Random stuff that aren’t hot tickets will be less expensive but it’s not really anything of quality. New records are very expensive compared to what you can get online or at other stores in the Broward area.
2. Quality of Records and Assortment — The records are in good condition for the used products. The assortment is pretty much whatever is trendy in music. I’ve looked for stuff that is more underground, independent, or worldy and they usually do not have it. Unless it was a Pitchfork record you won’t find it.
3. Lay Out and Organization — Part of the reason for the A-​Ok rating is that the lay out is great. The organization is decent. The layout has a ton of space for people and are fairly on point with keeping everything in order by genre.
4. Displays or Store Recommendations — There are displays throughout the store but none of them seem like what I’d see in a city like Austin. I have not received a recommendation from this store.
5. Staff Interactions — The staff is usually gives a colder vibe. I prefer to avoid conversations for that exact reason. It seems like some of the workers are slightly bitter or judgmental even.
Overall I try to avoid this store but I recommend it to everybody at least once. It tends to be a lot trendier and usually packed on the weekends. I haven’t really ever found anything that stood out for a reasonable price. It is a well known popular record store in town so Yes you should go into it. If you are a vinyl junkie you most likely won’t really be impressed. Especially if you’ve lived in Chicago, Austin, LA, NY or Settle. This totally is trying to be a good store and I give them full props for that but it needs a lot more work for a chill laid back vibe and less jacked up prices.

Being an avid record collector, radio-​active is my go-​to record store if I’m need of any new vinyl! The staff is so friendly and will go to extreme lengths to help me find a certain record. Everyone is so chill and helpful. They always have a great inventory with a plethora of genres. If you live in the South Florida area, I recommend this jem to any music lover!

Great store and great customer service!!! Sent a face book message about an album and the minute they had it in stock they let me know. Went and picked it up and loving it.

This place is great, the people working know what they’re talking about and are great at making recommendations. I love browsing the New used arrivals section. I can always find something great here. The only thing I dislike is sometime they burn incense and it messes up my allergies big time so I can’t look around for long.

Every single time I’ve been to this store I always find rare and promo records, cd, cassettes and vinyls. EXTREMELY affordable and very organized. The staff has always been friendly!

In my initial review I mentioned I had only been to Radio-​Active once while I was in town and didn’t find a whole lot. I was back in town visiting friends and family so I had a bit more time to dig through more of the shop…
THE GOOD…
–easy to park
–prices were fair
–pretty well organized
–listening station (just need to ask for headshell)
–practically all genres of music
–carries lots of new vinyl and reissues (if that’s your thing)
–has customer restroom
THE BAD…
–way too much bottom-​shelf records taking up space on the top shelf
–12″ singles mixed in with LPs
Overall, I walked out this visit with more records than my initial trip. Two of the 4 I found I’ve never come across before in any other shops. Biggest downside is the boatload of filler and overstock that should be in separate budget bins or underneath the top self records. Radio-​Active is a cool shop though worth checking out.

This is no doubt the best record store anywhere. They have anything and everything you could possibly imagine and more things coming in everyday. They also have a great used record area too as well as them selling new CDs and used as well.
The staff here too is so helpful and they really know their stuff. If you are anywhere in the Fort Lauderdale/​Miami area and love music, and really who doesn’t, stop by. You’ll be happy you did!

This place is always buzzin’ like neon. You want records, they got ‘em. You want cassettes, they got ‘em. You want cd’s, they got ‘em. Stop in and say «hi» to Mikey. He’ll help you find what you’re looking for.

So many rare finds! Thoroughly impressed with the selection and organization here!
Picked up a couple of rare, very fair priced singles. Industrial and Classic Alt sections are impressive, however, more metal would be better.
We’ll definitely be back when in the Ft. Lauderdale area.

Originally had been excited about some of the vinyl finds at this shop. I came to find out that a fairly hard to find U2 album (Achtung Baby) I bought here was a pirated copy. On top of that, I paid way too much for it. I remember specifically asking the shop keeper/​owner about the record. He said that it was a very rare version and that’s why I hadn’t ever heard of the pressing before. Fool me once… won’t be coming back.

Pretty decent prices. Used and new available. Sometimes you can find a hidden treasure in their new arrivals. Will definitely be back. :)

My boyfriend and I have been dying to go here for months. I personally found it to be a music goldmine! I got four albums for $ 12! My boyfriend was disappointed as he walked away with nothing but he’s also extremely picky when it comes to his music. Their selection was great and changes day by day, you can also request that they hold or order things for you which I thought was really nice. The store is really well maintained unlike other record stores I’ve been to around Miami and ft. lauderdale and the staff was willing to help and answer any questions. I’ll definitely be back here.

As a new vinyl enthusiast this record store is a dream. Everything is organized and not too squished, which is what I’ve found other stores to be in Miami. The drive up to Fort Lauderdale is totally worth it. The staff is friendly and the prices are great.
Keep it up Radioactive!

I love the old book smell that this store has!
Really impressed with their collection, very organized collection and Pete was super friendly and knows his music from his music!
The vinyls are organized by genre, extensive rock, jazz and soul collections.
International variety could be better. Collections are mostly from the 60’s to the 80’s. I couldn’t find some specific vinyls I was looking for Pete offered to call me after checking his warehouse. I loved the used collections upfront, I could spend hours in this store.
I wish they had an actual LP record player to try out the used records before purchase.
Variety of collections, friendly staff, very well organized, tidy store and they keep adding more every week! I would go back for sure!

Radio active is a great place to grab a classic or new vinyl. My daughter and I popped in here yesterday to expand our collection of tunes.
We actually hadn’t been to this joint to comb through records before, but had heard good things.
I have been to a few great record stores and Radio was close. It’s kept better than some for sure. The new albums are alphabetized and the semi random new and choice albums are displayed beautifully on the walls.
If you haven’t caught the retro wave of vinyl, we suggest you should. To listen to a classical, jazz, rockabilly, or electric 80’s record on a record place is to feel music coming right from the recording studio.
It can be a listening experience that will carry you through the whole weekend. And radio active can be a great start to it.