Austin Record Stores

Any new additions to mention in terms of used vinyl? I'll be in town today.

 

Go to Waterloo no matter what. Best selection of vinyl in town.

 

When I was in Austin in November, I had just one evening to shop for CDs. I went to Waterloo and Cheapo. They are just a few blocks apart and were near my hotel. Cheapo is huge. Give yourself plenty of time for that place. I was in there a solid two hours.

Sam, I found the Japan-for-U.S. pressing of Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon at Cheapo.

 

Intresting last time I was in town They definitely had great new vinyl,but the used section was small and super average, for a town like Austin. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place?

 

Two bad things about Cheap-O: 1) All used discs are in shell-locked cases, so no way to tell what disc is inside without having them open it and 2) the discs don't face spine up, so it is hard to scan the titles visually.

Well, you're pretty much right. Used vinyl is pretty weak. You're better off with any Half Priced Books if you're hunting for used bargains. But Waterloo just is the epitome of a real record store. All kinds of new releases, imports, vinyl box sets, etc.

 

I used to love Half Priced Books, such awesome deals and selection. Sadly the last time I visited Austin (about 3-months back) HPB seriously sucked. The prices were jacked up to the point of outrageous, and the selections average. What the heck happened over the last 2 years!

Maybe it was just dumb luck for me at 2 different HPB stores. I hope so.

Waterloo, OTOH, once again did not disappoint.

dan c

 

I'm going to be in Austin in February, but I'm flying in, so I'll probably stick to CDs and forego the vinyl.

 

I was going to start a new thread but
Backspin Records is one of the best vinyl stores in the country in my opinion.

I just spent the last week in Austin, and hit up the usual spots. Backspin outclasses them by far.
-plenty of new arrivals
-well organized The bins are easy to fllip thrpugh quickly
-market based prices ( no tired overpriced bull ****)
-They use a VPI on more exspensive records, and use clear poly sleeves on everything

All used items have bar codes , they are on top of their game and they also do consigment, which allows for more intresting pieces to come in their store. You just get the feeling that they know their stuff and try and come up with the best possible experience for a record buyer.

Antones is overpriced, the bins are overpacked, and the LPs are stock as hell, with no cool new arrivals ever.

Friends in Sound is ok, but overpriced and geared towards funk/soul rare groove type which is cool but they don't branch out too much.

End of An Ear is just ok. Not bad, but I am never overwhelmed with the quality or quantity of new arrivals.

Waterloo is great for new vinyl , but used is pitiful especially for a city like Austin. It could be a half priced books in some backwater Dallas suburb, based on the weak sauce they are putting out.

C

 

I despised living in Central Texas. Except for Austin, and except for Waterloo. What a fantastic wonderland that place is.

 

I agree about Backspin, very cool place. I wish I lived closer to them as they always have killer stuff when I go there.

You are also right on Antones, it's just tired old stuff. I have never left there with more than a couple records/CDs. My wife has scored some decent 45s there.

Friends of Sound is indeed overpriced and lately I have really struggled to find anything...even leaving empty-handed a few times.

I disagree about End of an Ear, they are a great shop for picking up all the weirdness/avant and jazz on vinyl. Probably the best selection of that kind of stuff in Austin. Lately they have been getting some good used punk, indie, and jazz in because they also do consignments.

Waterloo has some great used vinyl, but it never stays long enough. I hit this place at least once or twice a week during my lunch hour and have made some major scores of stuff being put out. If you go on a Fri or Sat, forget it, it's all gone except for the crap or trashed stuff. Same with the used CDs. I have found so many SACDs there (a least one Rolling Stones every week or two). Their new vinyl selection is insane, but I can't afford that stuff usually.

Cheapo is another good one, they have a lot of vinyl but it too is very picked over. I just hit the new arrival shelfs because their stuff is so well priced it won't make it to the regular bins if it's something desirable.

 

Funny, I know many (a majority actually) Texans who feel the exact opposite. Austin, and our fine university UT are definitely not typical of the rest of the state.

 

Heading to Austin Texas for the AMIA conference in two weeks, and I have an entire morning and afternoon free, so what are the use record stores to check out in the city? I know about Waterloo, but any other shops that are great for used vinyl?

Thanks in advance!

 

I think this thread pretty well covers it

 

Check earlier stuff in the thread but as of today:

1. End of an Ear (killer new arrivals area in the used vinyl)
2. Waterloo (best selection of new vinyl...used new arrivals can be hit or miss, nothing good stays too long)

 

I need to amend this. This store is no longer the coolness it use to be. They were bought out by Friends of Sound a while back and now it appears that they are just selling off most of the stock with very little new stuff coming through the door. I went today and left empty handed. The indie rock vinyl section is very sad looking. I know this store is mostly for DJs who spin hip-hop, funk, soul, etc. but they use to have a really good indie rock vinyl selection at great prices. Their used CDs are also very poor now, I think they no longer take in used CDs as Friends of Sound never had CDs. I found so many awesome jazz CDs and early pressing CDs for $5 ea. in the past. Oh well I guess my only choices now are Cheapo and Waterloo where used CDs are still $8 or $9.

 

I dont buy cds or new vinyl, are they still stocking good used lps?
Thanks.

 

No, they are going out of business. 50% off whatever's left in stock right now. Might go a little lower before all is said and done. Then all stock will be consolidated at Friends of Sound. Even at 50% off, I didn't find much that excited me last time I was in. . .

 

Yep. Thats what I found this afternoon. End Of an Ear seems a little more together. BBQ stand on 1st was the only winner today.

 

Thanks! All.

 

Coming for SxSW, JA?

 

Used CDs as well?

 

For cds your best bets are Waterloo and Cheapo. Also, check out the various Half-Price Books locations. End of an Ear has a small used cd section, but they do get interesting things from time to time and their cds are cheap (they are making their $ on vinyl).

 

I was in cheapo the other day and noticed a lot of their used CD in the new arrivals are now $5.95, so they have finally learned that CDs aren't $8 or $9. Well, some of the hipper CDs there are still that much but at least this is a start.

Waterloo probably has the best selection/price combination and End of An Ear definitely has some gems at ridiculously cheap prices just not a lot of them.

 

LordThanos1969's Austin CD Hunting Trip

I needed a vacation from work and was tired of the same old stores in Phoenix, so I decided to travel to Austin, a place I enjoyed visiting in the past, and see what is out there. My review describes my hunt for early pressing and audiophile CDs. I did not have the time to look for vinyl.

Monday:

After flying in from Phoenix, getting a rental car, and checking into a hotel, the first store I visited was the Half Price on 5555 N. Lamar Blvd. This store is huge, larger than all three Half Prices in Phoenix put together. From what the clerk said, this store is the second largest Half Price in the USA, next to the massive flag ship store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The store had a large CD selection, and most of the CDs were available in the case. I did have to take a Houses of The Holy CD up to the counter to see it. I found three Targets (Grover Washington, Jr. - Inside Moves, David Sanborn -Vouyer, Linda Ronstadt - What's New) and a Made in Japan Dire Straits - Brother in Arms. There is a Goodwill adjacent to this Half Price, and I took a visit there, but didn't find anything, as I only gave a cursory look through all the junky looking clearance CDs there. If I had more time, perhaps I could have found something, but I was hungry for barbecue brisket.

After getting a fill of brisket at Rudy's, I was pleased to find a store called Buybacks on 11150 Research Blvd. They did not have a huge collection for sale, but the store was clean, well-lighted, and CDs were organized alphabetically, not separated by genre. I saw some Made in West Germany CDs there, but I only found one I really wanted: Visage self-titled (silver stock, not red-faced). The clerk wanted to put the CD on their buffing machine, but I was able to say no before it was too late. Apparently, their standard practice is to buff any CD at the time of purchase, so beware!

By this time, it was getting late, so I drove over to Cheapo Discs on 914 N. Lamar Blvd. When I first went into the store, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, as there were rows and rows of CDs. Unfortunately, I ended up being quite disappointed. I did pull a large pile of CDs from the many rows. Cheapo places all their CDs in plastic clam shells, so you have to go to the front and have the clerk open them for you. This is where things went very badly. I was horrified to find most of the CDs were in abysmal condition. These CDs were heavily scratched on the playing surface and often quite ugly on the label side. I bought the four best of the lot, though two were on the iffy side for condition: Targets of Linda Ronstadt - Lush Life, Julian Lennon - Valotte, Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense, and The Doobie Brothers - Best of the Doobies. There were two other things I did not like about Cheapo. First, they did not have air conditioning there, just fans, and as a result, the store was very hot. Second, the female clerk there talked almost non-stop to the male clerk about her dysfunctional relationship with her ex-boyfriend that she just cannot stop hanging out with. Trust me, I did not want to hear this drivel, but really couldn't avoid it. On the positive side, they do put each days acquired CDs out for purchase.

Tuesday:

After sleeping in late, I went to two Half Prices that were close to each other, one on 13492 U.S. Highway 183 N. and the other in Cedar Park on 1335 East Whitestone Blvd. Unfortunately, I did not find anything to purchase in either store. The store on Hwy 183 had a Queen MFSL and a jazz SACD both at exorbitant prices. The Cedar Park had an overabundance of record club editions of CDs.

After that disappointment, I went over to the Buybacks on 2510 W. Parmer Lane. This store was similar to the other Buybacks in terms of inventory. I was able to find a Made in West Germany CD of Level 42 - Word Machine.

From Buybacks, I walked over to the Half Price on 2500 West Parmer Lane. They had a good selection of CDs, and I was fortunate to find a DCC of Jackson Browne - The Pretender, a Target of Hank Williams - Five-O, a Made in Austria Atomic of Tears From Fears - Songs from the Big Chair, a West German RCA of Elvis - The Collection, Vol. 3, and a gray-faced West German Vogue of Flutes Et Harpes Indinennes. The English woman working at the counter was quite cute too, I must say .

After eating at the Salt Lick for more wonderful barbeque brisket, I went to yet another Half Price on 2929 S. Lamar Blvd. They had a decent selection of CD. I purchased the early DADC pressing of Europe - The Final Countdown that Keith picked up recently and some weird Made in West Germany CD called Digital Anniversary - 40 Years D.S.C. that was in the dollar clearance section.

By this time, it was late again, so I decided to head up to Waterloo Records on 600 N. Lamar Blvd. This store is very large. Unfortunately, the CD bins contain more new CDs than used ones. I did like how they put out each days acquired CDs for sale like Cheapo does. I was able to find Targets of Dire Straits S/T and Alchemy (first time I found this one in the bins).

Tomorrow, I'm off to San Antonio, but I will be back to Austin on Saturday to fly home and will try to hit End of an Ear or Antones before my flight.