The Needle Doctor, Minnesota’s premier retailer (and online retailer) of everything related to turntable hardware, is moving.

After I first bought my turntable in April, I had gone on a buying spree of used records.  Most of them needed cleaning and I also needed something to get the dust that would build up on my cartridge.  Doing some quick Google searches, I kept coming up with links to the Needle Doctor.  I was pretty excited to realize they were in Minneapolis.

One afternoon I printed out directions (yes, I live way out in the ‘burbs) and took Zoe, my six year old daughter, along for the ride.  We get there and I realize I didn’t need directions – they’re located in Dinkytown in the heart of the University of Minnesota campus.

Whether you need something cheap and basic like cleaning supplies to a new turntable to $1200 cartridges, the Needle Doctor has it.  When we visited, there were 3 or 4 people working up front and another 2 or 3 in the back of this tiny store front.   The customer service rep answered my questions (and confirmed I had picked out the right cleaning solution!) and took care of me.  After the sale was completed, I realized I had forgotten to pick up a 45 adapter for my turntable.  After I asked, he reached into a drawer and tossed me a used one free.  Now that’s service!

The Needle Doctor has everything online – I highly recommend them if you need to pick anything up for your turntable.  I’ll make sure to be visiting their new location – especially as it cuts down on the drive by 50%!

Make sure to read this article as it has more detail than the City Pages article linked above and gives you a feel for what Dinkytown used to be.