Best CD stores in the D.C. area?

NOW music and fashion in Alexandria. They have a small but efficient (ie few duds) selection. My somewhat snooty directions are on the Washington DC thread that is active now...
I have heard that there is a place in Maryland called CD Depot that has a great selection of jazz, including avant, but I have never been. surely someone else here can help?
Also, Yoshitoshi has a decent selection of electronic dance. They are mainly vinyl, though.
The local Olsonns chain is a good choice for more easily available CDs, and some of the locations have some good indie stuff, as well as many jazz classics from the 60's and earlier.

DCCD in Adams Morgan is probably the best store in town for indie CDs. The CD section of Second Story Books is worth a quick scan if you're in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. And in Georgetown you also have Smash! and CD Warehouse.

Now! is excellent and staffed by friendly people, but the clothes they sell are beyond ugly. DCCD is expensive and staffed by less-friendly people. Roadhouse Oldies (in Silver Spring), like I said on the DC thread, rocks. Orpheus (in Clarendon), run by this guy named Rick who looks like Rick Rubin but is not Rick Rubin, is great. Keep in mind all my information is like 2-3 years old and may no longer be accurate.

NOW is still friendly... they watch my stuff when I need to go out for a cigarette.

CD Depot is massive & full of cheap stuff, though it's a bit out of the way near the Route 1 exit to the beltway in College Park. You'd have to drive there.
I have to say, DC is not a great music buying town. Went to Now! the other day & their selection is really quite picked over; they get some interesting things but don't restock much. DC CD is nice because you can listen to everything.. but once again, it's really only good for indie rock. There's a Kemp Mill music shop in Dupont Circle with a selection of used CDs with potential, it's worth checking out.

There are most likely some good shops for buying reggae, african music, and hip hop that I simply don't know about, too. Anyone?

I forgot about CD Cellar in Falls Church. They're also more about rock and indie rock, but if that's what you're looking for they're worth the drive.

I used to go to CDepot a lot in high school, as I lived in College Park, and it seemed pretty cool at the time. But the last few times I've been there (I graduated from high school 5 years ago), they had pretty much exactly the same cds in stock, which for a used cd store, is not a good sign. They do have a lot of cds though. The best thing about CDepot is that it's next to the holy and fucking incredible Atomic Music, the largest, coolest, and best used musical instrument store in the world. Room after room of cool old used guitars, basses, amps, drums, etc. Holy shit.

If one travels to Alexandria, one must journey to Lunadisc (formerly record mart) further down on King St. towards the river. Mostly used Vinyl, but they seem to be getting more used CDs. The guy who runs the place is nice and helpful.

Supposedly DC pales in comparison to Baltimore.. which I definitely recommend as a music stop. In Baltimore-

For the more eclectic- check out Normal's (410.243.6888)
For classical, opera, and Jazz- An Die Muzik (410.385.2638)
For Punk- Reptilian Records (410-327-6853)
Rap, Dance, Hip-Hop-Music Liberated Inc (410.837.1000)
For used vinyl- Musical Exchange (410.528.9815)
For used CDs- Soundgarden (410-563-9011)
Record & Tape Traders (many locations)
Cd Depot (one in College Park and one location in Towson)

Simba Records in Langley Park, MD sells lots of African records(although someone I know once alleged that they bootleg legit releases and sell inferior quality bootlegs)...I've been happy with my purchases from there. They have lots of African concert videos as well as a small Caribbean section

The nearby West Indian Record Mart sells reggae and caribbean music. Great selection but pretty pricey. They do sell dancehall mix tapes that aren't too expensive.

For go-go try the PA Palace in PG Plaza shopping center in Hyattsville and I think Mad T's Music Box on U St in downtown DC

Oh and there are a bunch of latin stores--in Wheaton Md and in Arlington, Falls Church, and Manassas and Woodbridge in Virginia.

My fave is the Warehouse Market on George Mason Drive opposite the Skyline Tower off of Rt 7 in the Baileys X-Roads area of Falls Church, VA near Alexandria and Arlington. It's a Latin food market but with a wide-ranging collection of Latin music cds posted all across a 12 feet high wall...

sad that vinyl ink died(literally), when i lived in DC i would be there browsing every weekend(i had no money) and looking depressingly at the wall of shame. i was always convinced they held back the limited release stuff because it would magically appear for 10 times the price six months later.

yoshitoshi has been closed for a few months... i now get the impression there is nowhere to buy techno vinyl at all in the whole city! (dj hut= deep house, hip hop. capital city records = hiphop/deep house/d'n'b)

And now the Kemp Mills are all closing. The Cd and Game Exchanges are about all that's left! And CD Warehouse in Georgetown, the guys there are wunnferfully catty about the Georgetown fashion-trash who scoop up Dido and Norah Jones and overpriced Bar de Lune lounge comps.

Otherwise, get on a bus to NYC, forget about DC!

Even better, find someone with a car and roadtrip down to Richmond. The Carytown Plan 9 Records is worth the trip.

Yeah -- as someone who cut his teeth on used CD shopping in and around the Cleveland area, where there're just a TON of good shops, DC fucking blows (though I confess I haven't made it out to CDepot, which sounds like the best place around).

DCCD is ok -- yeah, prices are kinda high, people are a little snooty (though that's hardly out of character for a record store). So-so used section. Best for new indie/electronica stuff.

CD/Game Exchanges aren't bad, but don't expect to find anything, well, terribly unexpected. Best for classic rocky-type stuff.

Baltimore has several good places--one in particular whose name is escaping me--all in that one area by the water...whose name is also escaping me.

Kemp Mills closing is probably for the best.

Re: CD/Game Exchanges aren't bad, but don't expect to find anything, well, terribly unexpected. Best for classic rocky-type stuff.

Sometimes you'll come across the unexpected. Why only yesterday I found a promo copy of Kish Kash at the Tenleytown CD/Game Exchange and since they seem to have acquired all of Yoshitoshi's unsold items I have been cleaning up on techno/deep house.

At the Adams Morgan CD Game Exchange I picked up a number of Nu Groove 12"s for 10c a pop. Having mentioned those successes, I must admit that the shops tend towards classic rock and former college boy flavor of the month stuff.

Anybody been to the Record and Tape Exchange out in Fairfax, past Annandale lately? That store used to have sister stores in College Park and Annapolis which have closed. Well, I know the College park one closed, not sure about Annapolis. Fairfax has a bunch of new wave/college rock vinyl that appears to have been sitting there since the 80s. There is a little more changeover in the cds they get, although I haven't been there in awhile.