The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix is a Wow! Wow! Wow! No matter how prepared you could be this place is mind expanding. It is Overwhelming and beyond belief! If you are ever in the Phoenix / Scottsdale area this is a must see. Allow yourself most of the day and you will be glad you did! – Now for the story – As always I check yelp and see what museums are in a given area (OK at meal time I look for restaurants too). I love to find museums of all sizes and types, and especially like little odd museums, but that is for another time and rating. So I find this Musical Instrument Museum and figure that I can go look at a few fiddles, flutes, accordions and guitars.

Musical Instrument Museum – 10 Stars

Well this museum is so first class I would give it ten stars, really TEN stars. The quality of the presentations and the breadth of the offerings is completely beyond comprehension. After a few hours I was sure my brain would explode! Anet’s jaw was on the floor from the the first display on. Really! But enough about us.

The museum is impressive from the outside, and the patio for the entrance is very inviting. With you entrance ticket, you will receive a headset and  power pack. Pick a region of earth and start. You can walk up to a monitor and it will start playing the music of the country, people, area, or type depending on which hall you are transiting.

The Displays are spacious and have representative instrument for a given, culture or country, and videos with music to bring it all to you. The videos and music are only a couple of minutes long and give wonderful examples of contemporary and / or historical music. Stroll and listen and look and be impressed.
There is so much you could never take in it all in a day! So plan to come again.
I would recommend come early, have lunch in their restaurant, and return to listen and look more.
Oh, and on the restaurant, it is too cool! Fresh, local, tasty, incredible 5 star eating experience in a cafeteria like setting. The food was wonderful too!
So that should be enough bait to get you on a plane to Phoenix and up to the museum. A first class must see museum.

Voted a Top Ten Museum in the United States.