Austin Record Stores

When you get to SA make sure to hit up a few CD Exchanges. Just be prepared to get your hands sticky with that obnoxious security tape they put on the CDs.

 

LOL, I just visited a few and can say that sticky tape is a pain!

 

Wow, I'm kind of amazed at how many Targets you found, but most of those titles are ones I would never think to look for (i.e. Sanborn, Ronstadt, Washington, etc.). If you are looking for that kind of stuff it's usually best to just hit the new arrivals as most of the stores are picked of those things before they make it to the regular bins but there are always exceptions. For almost 3 years now I have hit Waterloo and now to a lesser degree Cheapo weekly, sometimes twice a week. I've found numerous SACDs, DVD-As, and unique early/import pressings.

I've never gone to Buybacks but I might have to start. As for Half Price, the only ones usually worth hitting are the N and S Lamar stores. I don't buy as many CDs anymore, and ALL half price books vinyl is ridiculously high priced. Most of it's stuff I wouldn't pay a dollar for and they want $3-5 (i.e. Boston, Journey, Dire Straits, Bozz Scaggs) and the few good things they get in like punk, indie, jazz, and electronic they look up online and price them at ebay prices, regardless of condition.

Hope you had time to hit the other stores, End of An Ear is my favorite but their CD selection is very small but you can find some gems at great prices. Antones is also limited on CDs. I think both those stores view CDs as an afterthought now.

On a related note, I took a bunch of CDs that were my wifes to Waterloo the other day (I purged mine on here and discogs last year). It was lots of good stuff, mostly 90s to present indie rock like Spoon, Pavement, Superchunk, Sonic Youth, Cat Power, etc. Waterloo gave me $1.75 per disc on average which I was very happy to get. I took about 60 or 70 that they didn't take to Cheapo and the guy offered me $10 which I took because at that point I didn't care. If I had taken them Half Price I would have gotten about the same if that. So if you plan on selling CDs in town do it at Waterloo. The Cheapo guy said everyone's selling and no one's buying which is the truth for most discs. I don't see how that store survives, they can't be moving that much stock and the rent for that large building has to be close to $10k per month (although it floods several times a decade and as you noticed the AC sucks).

 

I even found some more at Cheapo, but the condition was too awful for me to purchase.

I was able to get to End of An Ear right before I flew back home. I loved the vibe in that store, and next to Waterloo, it was the coolest store atmosphere wise that I visited on my whole trip to Texas. Unfortunately, their used CD selection is minimal. I did buy two of the Russ Meyer soundtracks that I found in their new CD section for very reasonable prices.

I never made it to Antones. After reading the reviews on here, I assumed it would be of a minimal interest to me.

 

San Marcos:

I stopped in San Marcos after leaving Austin for San Antonio. There is a Half Price on 900 Bugg Lane, which is fairly easy to reach from the highway. I found a gray-faced Vogue CD there of Louis Armstrong's Back O'Town Blues, which was Made in France by PDO.

Right across the street from Half Price, there is a Hastings located in a strip mall. This store was quite large and had everything from books to used CDs to toys. I found two Targets there: Foreigner - 4 and Linda Ronstadt - What's New.

There is a goodwill very close by to the Hastings on the same side of the road, but I didn't find anything there.

 

If Antones is all you missed in Austin, then you did ok on the CD buying front. Goodwill's almost never have anything anymore. I use to score so much killer gear and vinyl there but the good vinyl never hits the floor anymore and any good gear, including most turntables, are put into their auction pool where they usually end up going for retail or higher. The sad thing is you can test before hand and you can't return any auction item. It's great for goodwill, bad for deal hunters. The only gear you find on the shelves are cassette decks, CD/DVD players, and VCRs along with those all-in-one systems like Yorx and Emmerson and the speakers that go with those. From what I heard this is pretty much most Goodwill's now and a buddy of mine just went to New Orleans and their vinyl prices were all ridiculous, like $12 for a Village People record.

End of An Ear is great, I was in there today scoring some killer vinyl. It's a fun group they have working there and they put on some great shows and art exhibits too. Prices are always reasonable. They actually use to have more CDs but vinyl is what's in big demand now so they've cut back. They still try and carry some eclectic new titles on CD as you found out. I think most of their used CDs they just don't give anything for, which is understandable.

Cheapo really should hire someone to go through and pick out the unique pressings of things and sell them online where there is a bigger audience. The nice thing for collectors is Cheapo doesn't have a clue as to what CDs are collectable, they don't look them up. Sure if it says Japan or Germany on it, they may price it a couple bucks higher but I've found almost every single target I own there for under $8 and found quite a few SACDs under $10 including a lot that are going for decent money on here like Bowie, and Miles Davis. Waterloo use to be like this but now they look up what things are going for on Amazon, I use to clean house on Blue Note CDs for $5 or less, original McMaster's too but now they are selling them for $10-$20 depending on title...or rather NOT selling them as no one really pays those amazon prices.

Anyway, glad you had fun and got some good eats while you were here too.

 

Yeah, of the three cities I stayed in on my trip (also went to San Antonio and Houston), I enjoyed Austin the most. I would go back there just to eat at the Salt Lick again, truth be told. Next time I stay in Austin, I will try to stay closer to the downtown area, so I can enjoy some of the nightlife. I saved money by staying near the airport, but there is nothing interesting out that way.

 

Oh yeah, the airport area is terrible. There will be an F1 racetrack there soon but that's about it. Houston has it's moments and certainly some amazing restaurants, Austin beats it for TexMex and BBQ but Houston has a lot of great international stuff like Vietnamese food that's just amazing.

Salt Lick is good but the best BBQ restaurants are all an hour's drive or so outside of Austin: Lockhart has Kreuz, Smitty's and Black's, Taylor has Louie Meuller (though his kid opened a trailer here in town that is hit or miss), and out in Llano there is Cooper's. For the Austin area, I really prefer Rudy's even though it's a chain. Franklin on the east side is supposedly the best but you have to get there early and wait in line and when it's gone they close.

 

Don't forget Luling.

 

City Market? I haven't had that but I've heard good things. The only problem is from Austin you have to drive through Lockhart to get to Luling so you might as well stop there.

 

Lockhart, Luling (despite the odor!), & Gonzales = bbq heaven, all better than Salt Lick!

And it's Elgin for sausage - Southside Market or Meyer's!

We have Rudy's here in Corpus too, I agree it's not bad for a chain. There used to be Joe Cotten's out in Robstown, but that burned down a couple of years ago.

 

Where in Gonzales? I'm drilling a well down there starting next week and if I have to visit the well site I'd like to have some good BBQ for lunch/dinner.

 

Try the Gonzales Food Market, which is on the old town square. 311 St. Lawrence St. Apparently they're only open until 6 pm though, so go early, or for lunch.

http://fcg-bbq.blogspot.com/2009/04/gonzales-food-market.html

 

I really liked Rudy's too and ate at one in Austin and one in New Braunfels. They just opened up a Rudy's in my neck of the woods in Chandler, Arizona, and I plan to check it out today.

 

Some Rudy's (not the Austin ones) sell pulled pork and a green chile/pulled pork stew that is amazing stuff. Every time I go to Dallas I stop at the Rudy's in Waco on the way back and pick up a quart for the house.

Damn, we need to start some threads about good eats as well as good vinyl/CD shops.

 

Yes,
Luling City Market.
Links and sauce best in hill country IMO.

 

Just bumping this thread to mention I read that Cheapo Records has gone out of business according to their page on Yelp. I didn't have the best experience there when I visited Austin, but I always hate to see a brick and mortar shut the doors.

 

Yes, their lease ran out at the end of the year. Kaput

 

I saw the "for lease" sign out front yesterday. Not a bad location for a business, if you don't mind getting flooded 3-4 times a decade. Of course with the current drought we're in, there's no chance of that anytime soon. I would never call Cheapo my favorite, but I had some major scores there from time to time. Once I walked in and they had just put out a bunch of killer used indie rock vinyl from the 90s like Behead, Sea and Cake, Tortoise, and a mint UK copy of Stereolab's "Mars Audiac Quintet". All of it priced $8 or less. Their problem was they let too much killer stuff like that go way too cheap. I've found so many rare CD pressings there, that I've sold for a handsome profit. The other part of that problem is their run-of-the-mill stuff was too expensive. Most common used CDs were $7-10 whereas Half Price and Waterloo are selling them for $3-6. Anyway, they should have embraced the vinyl renaissance like others have done and they might still be around.

 

I wouldn't mind a thread about Austin, generally, since I am half-relocated here. Great food, I've bought 60-70 used records so far in a month, house hunting- (not easy if you want to live close in town), upcoming shows, etc. Dunno if there are regional or 'local' threads that become stickies, but for me, as a newcomer (I refrain from saying 'y'all' because I don't feel qualified yet), I'd love to share info about the town and environs.

 

So to sum up, is Waterloo the only game in town remaining, or is there anywhere else that's worth going to at all? Just landed here

 

Waterloo in my experience is best if you are around for a while, and can get to the used bins when they are refreshed each day, before they are picked over. In my experience, there is no 'set' time when they do this- it depends on the staff. Also, while the hard rock gets picked over pretty fast, old jazz records are easy to find there, used and cheap.
FWIW, if you are shopping for 'new' vinyl, I suppose Waterloo might be good- I don't know what the market is in India. Since new vinyl here is ubiquitous on the Internet, and shipping is free via Amazon and some other sellers, I rarely buy new vinyl in record stores.
There is another store I like in 78704, right around the corner from a well-known Italian restaurant on South Congress or Lamar. I will look it up and get you the name. It's more of 'garage' style than Waterloo, but same comments apply re what is typically available used- jazz seems to be less popular, rock is 'hot'.
Update: Friends of Sound. http://friendsofsound.com

To change gears,while you are there, see if you can walk over to where the old Antone's nightclub was- there is a small food stand called 'Po Boy Surf and Turf that makes the best blackened catfish tacos I have ever eaten (and assuming that it comports with your diet for physical, cultural or religious reasons, I highly recommend that you go to Jeffery's restaurant in Clarksville, a few minutes from downtown. There you will need a reservation in advance, they can also pick you up in the house car if it is available. I'd highly recommend the Beeman Farms rib-eye steak, but since you are from India, I assume that may not be 'kosher')
Enjoy Austin. It is a great town!

 

End of an Ear is tremendous.

 

Thanks. Will add it to the list

 

Wow.
End of an Ear was astounding. I got a Coltrane Heavyweight Champion vinyl set for 150 bucks. Tons of obscure black metal and ECM on vinyl.
Waterloo was ok- very large store, but nothing that was especially rare or even cheap. Hmph.