Madman’s looks to create a welcoming environment

When customers first enter Madman’s Music Emporium in Brentwood, they see tables holding boxes of records and are greeted by owner Mike Weinstein, usually joined by his dog, Layla.

“It’s like inviting someone to your house for dinner. You make it nice and comfortable,” Weinstein said of his store. “I like to treat the store like you’re coming to my living room.”

The walls of the store are lined with colorful posters and towering shelves with many CDs and cassettes, plus a small section with books and DVDs. The store also has various types of stereo equipment available. 

“I wanted something like the atmosphere of old record stores in the ’60s and ’70s,” Weinstein 

said. “Most people who come to music stores love the environment.”

The store holds many vinyl records, but Weinstein urges customers to consider exploring other forms of media, like CDs. 

“I try to get people into music, not just records,” Weinstein said. “A good record store should have everything.”

Weinstein, a Chicago native, initially planned to live in Pittsburgh for just six months. He decided to stay after opening three record stores in the area called Rediscovery in the ’80s.  After selling the stores, he sold records at flea markets in his free time while traveling for his job in consulting. 

Weinstein later opened his first location for Madman’s in Perryopolis, with the Brentwood location opening seven years ago. He originally planned to sell mostly CDs when he opened the first Madman’s store.

“We had no records when we opened. I was going to open a gallery because we have a lot of posters and CDs,” Weinstein said.  “As people brought stuff in, they brought records, so now I’d say our sales are 50 percent CDs and 50 percent albums.”