Record stores in San Fran?

I gotta take Cal Train and go to the Rocord Man. Never heard of that store. Thanks

Fun hunting in new spots.

 

I’m curious to hear what you think! That place leaves a really bad taste in my mouth...its selling points seem to be “we’ve been around for a long time!” and “we have tons of records!” He doesn’t seem terribly interested in actually moving those records out of there, though...the vast majority of them should probably be priced at $5 or less, but only a very, very small number up front are actually stickered. The others, as far as I can tell, get priced when you walk up to the counter and serve as a test of how big a sucker you are.

 

It is, though, very close to the CalTrain — five minute walk?

 

Thanks all

I'll look out for that dynamic.

 

All the stores mentioned are good, and yes, if you're visiting San Francisco, Amoeba is worth going to. But I haven't found much in recent years that has interested me on the used front. For that, Stranded in Piedmont(Oakland) has been my favorite store for a few years now. They constantly have stuff that I never see anywhere else, and they have a very eclectic collection of new stuff. Being the retail arm of the excellent Superior Viaduct label also means they have all that stuff. Plus, they give very good trade in value, and the guys who work there are great.

That it's 15 minutes from where I live is a plus also.

 

Awesome another store i never heard of to visit. Thanks.

Aomeba i live at. Always a crapshoot. But the search is fun. When i cant find my list stuff what i end up stumbling upon is the enjoyment for me.

 

When I worked in SF in the late 90's to 2007 I lived at Amoeba also(both SF and Berkeley). It was a much different store back in the mid/late 90's, early 2000's. Back when vinyl wasn't as popular you could find incredible things in their bins, never mind their walls. As conditions changed in the economy, and more people started buying vinyl, their jazz collection started to dwindle, which affected me the most. You could still find some good stuff but it wasn't like the old days. Once I stopped being in SF on a daily basis, my visits their became less.

Stranded is a beautifully curated store. Their Mission store is also very good(as is their NYC outlet) but focuses more on mostly eclectic new releases. That said they have a pretty good used collection, too. The Oakland store has the real good stuff, the one of a kind stuff. Not cheap, but worth it. They'll let you hear it before you buy, and if there is any problem they'll take it back pretty much without question. It's a store owned and run by record freaks which is clear when you visit.

 

Stranded Records

 

Also lots of good stuff on their Discogs site strandedrecords

 

Hmm... you look somewhat different from what I'd imagined based on your avatar. But Mrs. Mazzy looks like a cutie pie!

Shame on you for telling folks to google "Marianne Faithfull" + "mars bar" though, as that story definitely falls into the "fake news" category!

 

Just be forewarned, none of the records at Record Man have prices on them. You pick out what you want and bring 'em up to the counter, and then they decide what to charge you. You can negotiate a little bit, but they don't really move far off their quoted prices. It could be described as "point of purchase blackmail".

The only "secret area" at Record Man that I know about is the upstairs portion. Is there another area there that I don't know about?

 

I would never visit a store that does that. Do they look up Discogs while you're waiting?

 

Well, it's been a while since I've been there, but besides the upstairs (Definitely check that out!) there was also a shipping container I got to go into that had a ton of interesting stuff (including 78's and Edison discs).

 

I remember it seemed to be a lot easier when the owner wasn't there and you got to deal with his wife or a young guy (his son?) who worked the counter. But, like I said, it's been a while so I'm sure everything has changed.

But anyway, it's like shops I've been to in other countries where you have to be somewhat proficient at bargaining. It helps if you're not just buying one record!

 

Groove Merchant and Stranded are my stops when I'm in SF. I spent a lot of time at Amoeba when I lived in the city 10+ years ago, but I find that both of the shops I mentioned have a better curated and more interesting selection.

 

That’s my sense. The last time I was in there some guy paid 20 bucks for a beat copy of some later Talking Heads record (“Little Creatures” or “True Stories,” I think) because he couldn’t say no standing there at the register. And “look up Discogs” here doesn’t mean finding the specific pressing. It means looking at the master entry, checking the highest sales price, and asking for that, regardless of condition. Check their Yelp reviews. Based on what I’ve observed there on my few visits, the negative ones are extremely accurate.

 

$20 for a beat Talking Heads LP......that's says it all. All the stores get the stuff in paying nowhere near worth, put on Discogs-eBay then put the crumbs in the racks. I've seen it everywhere or ridiculous prices til the Discogs drop. Just read Yelp reviews, saves time driving.