About Us
613 Pennsylvania Ave SE - 2nd Floor
Washington, DC
Sat - Sun: 12 - 6
Mon - Tues: Closed
Wed - Fri: 11 - 5
A City In Music
As the #DontMuteDC uprising has most recently made plain, civic and cultural pride and consciousness in the nation’s capital is very much bound up with the city's musical life and history.
The movement was etched in the city’s civic life when—to go along with other markers like Marvin Gaye Park, Chuck Brown Way, Little Benny Way, and the Duke Ellington School—a local law was passed recognizing Go-Go as the city’s “official music”.
Meanwhile, like so many parts of DC, the Capitol Hill I grew up in has become a neighborhood that has "everything", but feels like it’s lost so much. One thing I can give it back is a record store. It seemed like there used to be one on every block, but the last of those closed about 25 years ago.
On November 2, 2024, three and a half years after opening online, Spin Time Records opened the doors to its Capitol Hill brick-and-mortar shop. Whether in person or online, it is our intention to best represent DC by following the examples set by world's great independent record stores.
A Real Record Store with Personal Service
For starters, everything listed for sale on this site is here on the premises, ready to be picked, inspected, and delivered or shipped out. We don't do pre-sales, blend inventory with other websites, relay your order to a fulfillment center that may or may not have what you've paid for, or anything else that bad online record stores do.
The products listed here have accurate photos, easy-to-use music & video previews, and detailed descriptions—so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting. And if you still have questions or need help, just contact us.
Not a second-hand shop
There are a million excellent used record stores already, including some right here in DC. Beyond that, especially with local music, it’s important that creators get some benefit (however modest) from sales of new, legitimate editions of their music. So that is Spin Time Records’ lane. There are a handful of used and rare records on the site, but in most cases that was simply the only way to get those titles.
Specialized and curated
The great record shops in the world—with a few exceptions—are specialty shops. While my lifelong interest is reggae music—and you will find a lot of that here—this store’s specialty is Washington, DC. All genres and eras are represented, and within that I try to bring in selections and editions that hold up over time. It's a broad but closely curated selection.
A civic resource
I want this to be a resource for locals, visitors, and people around the world to dive into the city’s musical life. You can look, listen, and read about this dimension of local history. You might give a local artist you’ve never heard of a spin, or discover a connection to DC in an artist you already knew.
And you are guaranteed to find some good music.
Jon Lottman
Owner
Spin Time Records and Capitolites