Houston Record Stores

Wow! Didnt have access to the net for 2 months. Missed this place!

I'm now newly moved to the Houston area. I had some time to check out a few records stores and thought I'd post about them.

Black Dog Records. The guy at this store was a cool dude who knew his stuff. Store was well organized and the selection seemed to be fairly comprehensive. Mostly classic rock but also some large sections of blues, jazz, soundtracks etc. I bought a new copy of Ram and Nilsson's Sandman.

Cactus Records. This was more of a CD/DVD/Merchandise store than record store. Though I probably saw the best selection of CDs to chose from in a store since I dont know how long. CD prices seemed to be high. The records are off to a side room. They had a large stock of new releases on vinyl. And an decent amount of old stuff but most of it looked like crap. Probably wont come back here to look for classic rock vinyl too much.

Sound Exchange. This little store reminded me of Lost Weekend Records in Columbus. Just a little place but there was plenty of good classic rock and a decent amount of new releases to look at. Guy behind the counter was courteous. I bought a Nina Simone album and Billie Holiday album here.

All three of these places were about 3 minutes away from each other which was nice. Anyone have any comments or anything to add?

 

I have only been to Cactus Music once - I went there specifically to look at vinyl and I thought that the vinyl room was pretty limited. I did find some Country titles that don't pop up much in California where I live.

The store has some enthusiastic followers and I can't say that they are wrong - there is a bathroom back by the vinyl which has to count for something.

There is a great BBQ place really close to the store - Goode Company - and that is the other reason that I was shopping for vinyl at that store

 

You must check out the Vinal Edge in NW Houston. A great source of all sorts of cool and interesting music for over 20 years:

http://www.vinaledge.com/

 

I'd second that recommendation. Vinal Edge really is the best record store in Houston, the most likely place to find "interesting" collectible records.

Beyond that, there is a "record show" about once a month at a storage locker in Stafford that is advertised in the Houston Craig's List - it's usually the first Saturday of the month at 11 am. Worth checking out if you're in the area and have a car.

Cactus has the best selection of new records in Houston (plus free beer at in-store performances!), and Black Dog is pretty good, but on the pricey side if you ask me.

 

I also forgot to mention a couple of other alternatives:

If you're in the Cactus/Black Dog area, don't forget the 2 Half Price Books locations: one in the Kirby Village area on University, the other on the corner of Westheimer and Montrose - persistence pays off at both locations...

Beyond that, there are a couple of record dealers at the Trader's Village flea market in the NW part of the city - check it out if you get bored and need some other options.

There is also a record show in Houston about once every three months - barely advertised, your best bet is to inquire at Sound Exchange or Cactus to see when the next one is.

 

There used to be a couple of other places but I think they went out of business long ago. Texas Records and The Record Exchange. I spent a lot of money at The Record Exchange back in the early 80s.

 

Record Exchange became Sound Exchange back when they were on Westheimer.

Texas Tapes & Records closed sometime in the late eighties.

Cactus, in my opinion is still the best. Employees are knowledgeable and friendly. They don't have that "i'm cooler than you" attitude.

 

I was trying to remember the name of that road (Westheimer). I left Galveston in the fall of '85 but I had heard about those closings, from this very board I believe. My recollections are that the Record Exchange (Sound Exchange) seemed to have the best selection and prices for the music I was buying at the time. I do remember going to Cactus Records but not as much as the other two. Texas Tapes and Records had an airbrush artist that would make custom tshirts for you on the spot. I had him make the front cover of In The Court of the Crimson King on a shirt for my brother for his birthday.
Now I wish I had had him make two of them.

 

I've never had their BBQ but their Pecan Pie is the best. There are actually a LOT of great food places near there. Star Pizza is across the street from Cactus and around the corner from Black Dog. I recommend the Joe's pizza (sauteed spinach and garlic) with wheat crust and feta and a pitcher of St. Arnolds Amber or Shiner Bock. The wheat crust is really the best I've had anywhere. There is also 59 Diner next door which is great if you want some serious diner food like a huge chicken fried steak and they have excellent milkshakes.

Yes Yes Yes!!! Go to Vinal Edge (disclaimer I worked there 5 years), especially if you are into more eclectic tastes like punk, electronic, indie, avant-garde/industrial. Sure they have the tired old rock titles too, but they also have some mind-blowing stuff.

 

Any of you Houstonians been to Heights Vinyl yet? I'm headed to H-town soon to visit family and might swing by this place if I can. What is their selection like? Any other Houston or Austin stores you'd compare them to? Are they stuck in one or two genres like some stores in Austin that I won't mention? I'm mainly looking for alternative/indie, electronic (new and old), jazz, and eclectic rock, in that order. I also prefer LPs but have been known to buy a 45 or two from time to time.

 

This isn't good, I just found out that they don't have anything priced:

http://www.29-95.com/music/story/record-heights-vinyl

Nothing like finding a bunch of great stuff only to find out the prices are all eBay+. Kind of like Bill's records in Dallas, hands down the worst record store I've ever been to. I'll still give them a shot but why is it so hard for people to learn their craft and commit to a price for something? I've been buying and selling records for 20 years and never had a problem coming up with a price on something.

 

This quote from the article turns me off big time - enough that I would not waste my time even going into the store. I have been to Bill's in Dallas a couple of times and never bought anything there due to his rip off way of pricing. This store sounds like another rip off.

 

I'm going to make the trip tomorrow, but after talking to a few of my record buying friends here in Houston I'm probably not going to like the place. I've yet to hear a good word about the place. I plan to fully review it on here after my trip as well as on Yelp. I always keep and open mind about things but I just can't get over the pricing yet.

 

I will look forward to your review, as I am planning a trip to Houston and hopefully Austin and Dallas this summer.

 

I will also add my two cents worth to this thread - I'm currently in Houston on a business trip and will be visting the store on Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Just back from Heights Vinyl - looked through the rock and jazz lp's. Nicely laid out store, good location, very friendly staff - feels like a great place to hang out (they have some chairs) and chat for awhile.

The vinyl? Well, any store is hit and miss on a given day. But, what was there was pretty mundane, and of the 6-7 albums I pulled out to look at, only 1 was in good enough shape to buy (a UK Jesse Winchester 2-fer, which I bought for $5). The rest ranged from VG to G--. Most were in the 2-5 dollar range (they don't put prices on the LP's, just a range, and you can negotiate with them). I pulled out a fairly beat copy of Iron Butterfly's "Heavy" which was in the $10-13 range, and it was VG- or so.

They also had a Jethro Tull "Living in the Past" US copy on the wall that was in the $35 range. Weird. You can find that album in just about any used record store in Houston for $7.99 or less.

A great place to visit, and I'll probably go back, but I don't anticipate finding any great bargains here...

J

 

thanks for the review
i have found many store owners trying to jump on the vinyl wagon
have inflated their prices and their condition ratings
the value of common junk has risen, yet there are the kids
who are willing to buy it as part of their vinyl (re)discovery

 

Ok, so I went to Heights Vinyl and the guys working there (owners?) were indeed very nice but like jonathan said it was very run-of-the-mill stuff and the prices were too high. They had a bunch of 80s 45s like Van Halen and Suzanne Vega in their $5+ range. These are a dollar at best unless they are UK pressings or something. They seem to come up with prices off the highest ebay completed auctions. I saw a few opened Blue Note reissue LPs (the scorpio pressings) for $20+ these can be had anywhere for $10. Sadly I won't be going back until the prices come down, if they ever do. I imagine their store does really well with the uninformed and new vinyl buyers but I think most people on this forum will want to avoid their store.

I bought one record after haggling over three and even the one I bought I really could have gotten elsewhere cheaper but I was trying to be nice. I then drove to Cactus and found a massive stack of used 90s indie rock, nothing over $10. I even found a few things at Sound Exchange. If anyone is going to Houston and are time constrained just hit Vinal Edge and then Cactus. The others aren't really worth the time, maybe Sound Ex since you are in the area if you go to Cactus. Black Dog and Heights vinyl are just too out of touch, but at least Black Dog puts a price on their stuff rather than a range.

If you really want to get some great vinyl at a great price, leave Houston and come up to Austin where there are a few good stores to choose from. Just don't buy anything I might want

 

I lived in the Katy area 03-07 and visited most of those mentioned but consistently had the best luck at finding the kind of stuff I look for (60's psych, folk rock, etc..) at Sound Exchange. Small place but I usually found something that I walked out with. Really liked the guy that owns it.

 

Welcome back Cokelike.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Now back in Columbus, Oh. Though I loved the heat down in TX. Ohio weather is pretty much all over the place, while the time I had in TX was just perfect, for me. In Columbus, Ohio, cant recommend enough Spoonful Records on Long St. Not a huge store but great prices on what they have which is mainly classic rock but also some dedicated sections for blues, jazz, etc. Plenty of new indie rock vinyl and the staff there, always the same guy, couldnt be more professional. He even asked to take my number and call me should some stuff come in that I was looking for. I even left and came back in the same day and in the meantime they had searched and found some stuff I was looking for instead of just forgetting about me when I walked out the door. And they didnt know I'd be back again that day. Service.

 

Big news for the Houston folks, Vinal Edge Records is moving into the loop. As of July 1st they will now be in the Heights neighborhood. More info can be found here:

http://www.vinaledge.com/new.html

Now they will be closer to all the other stores for you folks visiting Houston.

 

Where would one go if they had one pick to get used Lp's fro rock from 1968-1974 on UK vinyl. I am talking Free, Yes, Zep, Traffic, Cream, Spooky Tooth, David Bowie, Kinks, Atomic Rooster...things liek that? I will be real curious to see what Houston has to offer.

I have time to go to just one store.

 

Unfortunately, if you want UK vinyl and you can only visit one store, that store will have to be in the UK.

All kidding aside, I'd say your best bet if you can only hit one store is to go to either Black Dog records (recently moved and now at 4900 Bissonnet) or Vinal Edge (also recently moved, and on W 19'th Street in the Heights).

Best of luck to you!

 

thanks. so far this month I have been in New Jersey (Edison and Princeton), St Louis, Denver, Knoxville, Asheville, and I will wind through Atlanta, Mobile, Houston, San Antonio and then back to Tucson. Lotta vinyl so far!