Mr. Cheapos – 134 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola Long Island NY 11501 – Open – updated April 3, 2024 – now with a 4.2 star rating in Yelp reviews based on a 1-5 scale (see below).
Long my meat-and-potatoes record store, Mr. Cheapos Mineola store is, and for over 20 years has been, my place for a local satisfy my record store jones dig. Not long on collector’s items (though a dig may reveal a tasty morsel or two), it offers reasonably priced used and new records in a wide variety of genres. Rock, blues, soul, jazz, oldies (pre 1960), and punk, as well as many others, can be found. They even have Christmas music in the season.
New releases are in the front of the store, and include many alternative and indie records. Used vinyl is found in the back, along with a substantial collection of 45s. It also has long offered more than just vinyl, including cassettes, blu-ray discs, vhs tapes, dvds, cds and games, among others. The printed page, as well as the odd turntable or stereo equipment, can also be found lurking somewhere in the store. I’ve even managed to score an old psychedelic Platter Pak 45 record box or two. Mr. Cheapos also offers a punch card discount. Alas, there is no try before you buy.
The chain was founded in 1981, when Stu Goldberg opened his first store in Flushing. He used $4000 saved from delivering candy to supermarkets, and records gathered from flea markets, garage sales, and his own collection, to get the store off the ground. He opened his Mineola store in 1984. The Commack location followed in 1988. If memory serves, there was another short lived location on Hempstead Turnpike in a strip mall as well, but that outpost, like the original in Flushing, is long closed.
Newsday marked the chain’s 30th anniverary with a May 2011 piece. The chain is now in its 43rd year, and still going strong at both its Mineola and Commack locations. Stu’s son Josh, who has long worked in the stores, became a co-owner in 2021. His wife has worked there too.
Wanna go? You can find Mr. Cheapo’s Mineola store on our Record Stores Map.
Or you can read our post about their other location in Commack, and pay it a visit too.
While we’re talking cassettes, here is my favorite cassette commercial, and one of my favorite commercials of all time. This ’80s ad is for Maxell cassette tapes, which were sold as the high end blank cassette on which to make your own mix tapes. Love the catch of the glass at the ads’ end.
What the Press is Saying
Here’s an article from Newsday Mr. Cheapo Record Store Franchise Turns 30 with an interview of store owner Stu Goldberg.
The Patch weighed in with their June 11, 2013 piece Reviving Vinyl at Mr. Cheapo.
Josh Goldberg was the subject of theisland360.com’s March 15, 2022 article Mr. Cheapo Jr. Continues Appreciation of Vinyl He recounts his history with the stores, starting part-time as a kid, and continuing on to this day.
And here’s an interview with Stu Goldberg about the stores and their history Music You Can Touch And Feel At Mr. Cheapo’s CD And Records that appeared on My Long Island TV in June 2016.
Cool Vinyl I’ve Found
I’ve bought too many records here to count, let alone recount. The rarer pieces stand out in my mind. A first press of the Thirteenth Floor Elevator’s Easter Everywhere, and another of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – Part One. Muddy Waters – Folk Singer on Chess. And Little Walter – Hate to See You Go, also on Chess. Too many Grateful Dead records. Including my favorite cd of all time, Dick’s Picks Vol. 8. This is a 3 cd set of the May 2, 1970 Harpur College Binghamton NY show, long rated by Dead Heads as one of the band’s best outings. The first set is acoustic, and the rest electric. And any number of great live boots.
But mostly, I go when I need some new (to me) music. Always find something interesting. And happy to buy, because, well you know, their cheap.
Yelp Reviews
Don’t just take our word for it. See how the Yelp community rates Mr. Cheapos – Mineola.
Mr. Cheapos Mineola NY
