Second-hand vinyl stores in San Francisco ?

Hi,

I'm gonna make my first ever trip to the States in a week.
Me and my girlfriend will be spending most of our time in San Francisco.
Of course, I need to know where I can satisfy my hunger for used vinyl.
So, please sum up any record store worth visiting in SF that you know off.
Or any garage sales happening in the first three weeks of august.

Thanks you very much!

Menno

 

check out:

http://grooves.ypguides.net/

some shops in the haight:

http://sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/haight.shtml

and more:

http://www.io.com/~larrybob/dirtybird/points.html

and still more:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/25/PKGV4OMBI51.DTL

i hope this helps.

later, chris

 

Thanks Chris!

 

if you like jazz and soul stuff check out Groove Merchant on the LoHa (Lower Haight)...there's also a great thrift store on 17th and Valencia in the Mission that has a lot of $1 records..another great record store for vinyl is on the corner of Haight and Masonic, check it out on your way to Amoeba...

 

Community Thrift is what you're talking about. It's a great store, but if you're looking for mainstream Rock or even Jazz it's really not very good for that.

 

Menno, I think Christopher covered all the best places for vinyl. But if you need tips on what to see in The City (and what to avoid) let me know.

 

So, what can you find there then ? Classical or pop ?

 

Keep in mind that it's a thrift store, all the records were donated by people, so they are in all sorts of condition. There is a large bin with about 20 sections per side. About 4 are for mainstream Rock, then there are about 4 for Broadway and OST's, then there are about 10 for vocals. IIRC, the other side is classical and Jazz and there are some 78's and assorted stuff.

 

PM Sent.

 

That sound good!

 

avoid the loin of tenderness !

 

If you want to look a little beyond San Francisco proper, there's Village Music in Mill Valley, just north of SF, in Marin County. Haven't been there in a few years but last time I was there it was great. They had John Cippolina's Gibson SG hanging on the wall in there.

 

unfortunately not his classic one, that's in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame (?)
they have a busted up real cheesy looking one, and IMO it's not worth the half hour drive from SF (although the drive across the Golden Gate Bridge is nice, go to Sausalito and have lunch on the bay) Also, Village Music is dirty, dingy, dark, dusty and overpriced....

 

... and actually specializes in vintage R&B records, not a lot of rock.

... and is on the verge of closing down.

Plenty to keep ya busy in the city.

 

Word of warning, there's no such thing as a quick visit to the SF Amoeba -- if they put a second one next to it, they'd have enough space to fit a regulation FIFA football pitch. I visit every few months and usually budget five or six hours, which gets me through MAYBE half of the store if I rush through some parts and skip the clearance bins completely.

 

If your going to be heading down the peninsula, I know a really, really really, obsuce place which has hundreds of thousands of albums for only a dollar each, and you can find rare gems and still buy them for a dollar-----in San Bruno---

Record Buyer
San Mateo Avenue, San Bruno
650-871-9985

To give you an idea, I bought 300 frank sinatra albums, all VG-some NM for $300

 

I see. That won't be of any interest for me.

WoW!

Thanks for another great suggestion!

 

I found some AMAZING records there, but it does take some searching through the bins. They usually have thousands of LPs. That whole strip on Valencia St. between 16th and 24 Streets is pretty cool. (I highly recommend lunch at La Taqueria on Mission St. at around 25th.)

Village Music usually has little worth buying, but is well worth visiting if just to look at the memorabilia on the walls. They have stuff like an autographed Charlie Parker 78, an endorsed royalty check from Sun Records to Roy Orbison, etc. etc. The best things I ever bought there was an unplayed dead mint 78 by Willie Love on Trumpet, and a set of acetates by Teddy & the Pandas (a Boston-area garage/pop group) that contain unreleased songs. I paid about $4 each for those records. Sometimes if you dig deep enough you can find some gems; half the fun is in the hunt.

The greatest record store in the United States, possibily the world, is at the Golden Gate Park end of Haight Street: AMOEBA RECORDS. Their original store across the bay in Berkeley (Telegraph Ave.) is pretty damn good too, as is Rasputin's down the street.

I miss living in San Francisco.

 

I found a VG+ pink label Cat Stevens LP there, but in general I don't see much worth buying as far as Rock LP's.

 

almost every record I have is from Community Thrift, all sorts of disco and jazz and rock, the trick is to luck out on what comes in after a donation...I found some mint jazz records that I sold for like $50 at that old place on upper Polk...it's not as good as it used to be like 10-15 years ago before they raised their prices...I strongly suggest that place (can't remember the name) on Haight and Masonic between that school and the socialist bookstore

 

You mean Recycled Records, yah? (I don't recall any school, tho I prolly walk by it every week).

Insofar as prof. stoned mentioned vinyl specifically, I'll suggest Recycled and Grooves (on Market St) will be the best bet for a decent selection, particularly for rock.

I unapologetically love Amoeba, but their vinyl selection shrinks with every passing year... they've also acquired a database and become very aware of pricing for rare items, so don't expect to stroll in and find a long-lost treasure for cheap... but do check out the wall-o-records toward the back, where lotsa desirable vinyls hang, albeit with real-world pricing.

Amoeba and Recycled are in the Upper Haight, lotsa good eats on that street... across the street from Recycled is Magnolia, great microbrews and very decent pub food.

Enjoy your visit.

 

While that is true that you won't find nearly as many rare items for cheap in the racks, doesn't mean that some occasionally don't slip through the cracks. Not long ago I found a rare Bee Gees promo 12" in their section for a quarter of what I've seen it sell for on eBay. Sometimes I've found things priced as cheaply as $1.95 that should probably sell for more, but I'm not gonna say exactly what. Amoeba is like my home away from home.

 

isn't that place appointment only? i've never seen them actually "open." i'd feel pressured to buy something if he opened the place just for me (although, at a buck each, i guess that wouldn't be too big a deal). do they have all kinds of music, or mostly vintage stuff?

 

For the most part, it's appointment only, but he does keep "open" on weekends around the noon-3pm hours---it's a wonderful place though!
It's a lot of new stuff----he still buys stuff to restock--------50's, 60's, 70's, 80's----even some modern DJ stuff--mostly from the 60's, and 70's but a lot from the 50's

 

I got a nice haul---a lot of SS stuff too--


It's kind of overwhelming at first but if your like me (going there for so long) it's another day--
besides, their cleaning it up as we speak,to make it more "consumer friendly"