True survivors. Look at that groovy exterior. Best browsing ever, but people, you have to buy something eventually, or this blast from the past will fade into history. Grooves is next door to the long shuttered It's Tops cafe & that's about it. Everybody else gone. I've bought a couple albums just for the cover art. Cheap Pete's sells square album frames. Hint, hint. read more

Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl - Exterior - Music & DVDs Near Me - San Francisco, California

Finally stopped by after living in the neighborhood for 5 years. Big selection of classic rock and classical records. They got cassettes and CDs too. Got a couple records at good prices. Tammy at the counter was super nice. I will come back again when I don't have my dog with me so I can take my time and browse. read more

Pure Greatness. An ESSENTIAL stop for all music lovers when in the Bay Area. Dig out those hidden gems! On my last visit I got a 7" by The Rolling Stones, Throbbing Gristle record & a Scott Walker box set. Next visit I will get The Small Faces record they have on the wall & some singles by Manual Scan, The Misfits & The Loons. Make sure to have a meal at IT'S TOPS right next door, great food! GO! read more

Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl - Painting by BOB DYLAN, yes, THAT Bob Dylan. - Music & DVDs Near Me - San Francisco, California

Love this place! Could peruse forever. Cool vibes, great vinyl, and super helpful and friendly staff!!

The other day I went to Grooves and found some amazing soul and funk records after being helped by Tammy. She helped me find what I was looking for, how to listen to some of the records I had selected and shared a wealth of knowledge around the history of the store. Grooves you are lucky to have such an amazing woman working there! Hope to come back some day soon! read more

Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl - Music & DVDs Near Me - San Francisco, California

Overpriced and non-negotiable. Only had time to hit one record shop during a brief stopover in S.F. and was ready to spend some money on some rare finds, but upon seeing the high prices my hopes were quickly dashed. Still, at the asking prices I assumed there would be some wiggle room. How about 10%? I assumed wrong and left empty handed with a full wallet. read more

What a Great find! I recently moved here to San Francisco from Manhattan; and having a much bigger apt now, got myself a nice turntable setup toot sweet! ;) On the streetcar the other day I spotted this shop out the window. So, the next day I went in and bought a Bowie and a Maryann Faithful album. The owner was very sweet too! :) Doug I think his name is if I remember correctly. I'll be popping in again real soon! The selection is vast and the prices quite reasonable. Also his store has a very laidback, cool vibe. read more

This is a great record store in SF for anyone interested in vintage records, especially rock. Tammy who works on weekends was extremely kind and helpful. Due to a very interesting story the store has amazing stuff on the wall you can hardly find anywhere, and they aren't overcharging like some stores in SF. Coolest thing imo was a UK first press of My Generation. If you're a collector in town for a day you shouldn't pass this up. read more

Love this record store! The decor on the outside is fun. It's on the smaller side compared to Amoeba but there's still a huge selection of music. Pretty busy location considering it's off Market street but that also makes it convenient to get to. read more

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Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl always piqued my interest with the colorful vinyl on the storefront window at the intersection of Market and Octavia. So I finally went this summer and was blown away by the selection of vintage vinyl. I don't think I saw a record past the year 1987. The place is a big disorganized, but the owner always seems to know where to find that particular record you've been hunting for. I found quite a few gems here like some Beatles and Bowie records that did not cost an arm and a leg. I can't wait to dig further and find some more gems. read more

Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl - Storefront - Music & DVDs Near Me - San Francisco, California

Congrats to BROCK who has runaway with the honor of being the biggest DICK currently "working" in an SF record store. Outside of that Grooves rates 4 Stars. Just wish the old stock would turn over so the bins weren't so dusty feeling. Maybe a sale? read more

Not the best store in the city, but neither is it the worst. Like a few others in the city, records seem to be a bit pricier here than you'd even find on eBay, but at the same time, there are definitely deals to be had. There is a nice selection of a wide style of music, and there are boxes galore to dig through. I like this store much more than the ones a few blocks away on Lower Haight. But I think they suffer from the same problem of over pricing records that really should be dollar bin (or near dollar bin) price. But, it's pretty good and I will definitely stopping in on the regular. read more

I was staying at my friend's place in Hayes when I stumbled upon this mecca of vinyl -- I was drawn in by the rainbow array of vinyl painted on the windows. I told my friend I was going to explore the Mission, but I never made it -- ended up spending an hour and a half in here instead. I don't even own a record player, but I love the subtle throwback feeling you get just thumbing through old records -- back when record artwork was a thing, and holding a piece of physical music in your hand evoked some sort of reverence for the feelings that record evoked. Wandering around the store aimlessly for a few minutes, I finally popped up to the store owner/manager (not sure which), Emmett, and told him I liked the Black Keys and The Alabama Shakes, and wanted to find something that perhaps inspired them. He zipped around the store, found Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, gave me a better-than-Wikipedia-history of their spotlight in the blues, and directed me to the record player in the back. I instantly fell in love with the moment -- listening to some epic blues and swooning along to some harmonica and singing from the soul. Records here seem to be priced a bit higher than normal -- I got a used Miles Davis for $20 and a Howlin' Wolf record for $9 -- but not bank-breaking unless you're trying to buy a rare, limited-release Beatles record or something. If you want to find a place with a great selection of music, and staff that really knows and loves music and the history and stories behind it, you've found it. read more

Grooves is a vinyl only record shop located next to the on-ramp for the 101, which I must say, can make finding parking a bit difficult. Grooves is a store for people with time on their hands to do some digging and with a bit of extra coin to blow. Their bins and boxes are scattered throughout the store and to find that gem you have been searching for might take a bit of digging, but when all is said and done, it's probably in the store. They have an outstanding selection and carry things that you will not find anywhere else (rare and scarce). The jazz selection in this store are quite good, but I cannot say the same for the classical. I found the prices to be decent, but there are no bargains to be found here, much like the Groove Yard in Berkeley, the owners know what they have and they have priced accordingly. read more

Their vinyl collection is nice but I only got to see a fraction of it and don't feel like returning: I first visited at 12pm on a weekday (half an hour after they were supposed to open) and they were closed, despite having the lights on. I waited for a few minutes and then took off (nobody responded to repeated knocking on the door either). I came back to the store a few minutes before closing time and they seemed annoyed by me coming that late in the first place and were rushed to close up shop. OK then, I guess I'll take my business elsewhere. read more

YUMMY LOCAL RECORD JOY JOY... ...or.. less enthusiastic... a really kindly old gent selling a surreal collection of awesome records at just WEE too pricey a cost. Which is fine. I love this place, and is next to my friend's restaurant Delfino... so I love to pop in there when I am visiting him and begging for an Empanada. Great selection, great old dude, and awesome atmosphere. Location is a bit rough, but it is hard to be an independent record store anywhere nowadays... so ... 5 STARS! read more

Grooves has a lot of used records. The new arrivals boxes are always worth checking out, and may be worth a trip unto themselves. The rock section carries the popular stuff that people are always looking for (Dylan, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, etc.), while also having a lot to dig through for the less popular stuff. The jazz section is also full of records from groups big and small, with reasonable prices. Grooves' classical section, while small, has some high quality records to select from, and the prices are beyond reasonable. For instance, I was recently able to pick up Messiaen's full Catalogue d'oiseaux, the vinyl in near mint condition, for $6. This is just one example of the fortune I've found here. The staff are not...overtly friendly, but seem willing to help when you have a question or can't find anything. There are multiple turntables for you to check out your selections prior to purchasing. Grooves is what I want in my used record shop. read more

Ray is the man! I've been shopping here as long as he's been in business. Great selection of vinyl. (I probably cleaned out his selection of 1960s Brasilian/lounge music). Sorry folks. Great selection of jazz and older world music on vinyl. He also carries 8tracks and reel to reel tape. read more

Grooves is a used vinyl record store on the Octavia/Market St./101 intersection. Let's check it out. This store is owned by Ray, a super cool guy who is very knowledgeable about many different genres (even comedy). But, the real specialty here is 60s-80's Rock & Roll vinyl LPs. Ray is great to talk to and has many incredible stories about being here in SF during the golden era. Ray and the other guys who work here know their stuff, yet they're never pretentious or rude to anyone who walks in with a silly request or leaves without buying anything. The hard to find records in good condition can be priced a little high, but that's just how it is these days in what I call, "the used vinyl apocalypse." You have to pay to play. Also, some of the gems I suspect are "priced to keep," not to sell. That said, don't let it deter you, over-all, the prices are right for what is sold. I don't like offensively priced vinyl stores, this is not one of those. I don't kick down the big bucks easily and I leave here with a few little black pancakes each time I go here. All in all, this is a great place for anyone and much better than Amoeba! read more

This place is a gem for vinyl. Typically with smaller neighborhood record stores, they carry a lot of obscure albums but not a lot of the classics that you want. This place has a great balance of great albums and b-sides. I recently bought a few "hard to find" albums on the internet and then walked in here and found the majority of what I was looking for in the store... I was kicking myself, I could have save a lot of shipping, avoided the 1-2 week wait and supported a local spot. Also, the employees are chill. I don't get that annoying hipster vibe you might find elsewhere. Just a small group of people who like their music and are otherwise doing their own thing in the store. If you really have questions about an album, take a minute to listen to the record on one of the players in the corner. I spent a good 30 minutes over there deciding which ones I wanted and I loved it. Last point: the albums are reasonably priced. Some harder to find ones are going to be pricey, and some gems are super-cheap ($4-$10). Good place to explore. read more

This place reminds me of Rob Gordon of High Fidelty's bedroom. It's loaded to the max with any sort of vinyl you can imagine. Be prepared to get your fingers dirty from looking through all of the albums. Any hardcore vinyl collector should stop by here at least once in his/her life. It's a little tucked away from the rest of the city, but if there's something you MUST add to your collection, Grooves may have it. If you're a music junkie who just likes to browse, you can literally spend hours in here. Not for your average music collector. read more

like a kid in a vinyl candy store, i was was brought here by a fellow junkie over the weekend. I am (trying to be) on a budget, but I could have dropped some serious cash on all the goodies I spied, drooled over, and ultimately had to, with a tear in my eye put back in the record racks. I picked up a few reasonablly priced gems. woo hoo! and like the governator....I will be back. read more

I could spend hours in this record store. They have a listening station and tons or records. Many records are available for listening an some are still sealed. I was able to find a number of full length records for around $5 each and also found some good stuff in the $1 bins. read more

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Great store for collectible vinyl and vintage morsels waiting for some TLC. I went in here looking for nice acapellas/vox and boy did I hit the jackpot!! ...Loads of classic 1950s/60s recordings, stuff like self-help instructionals, humour, poetry... I even found an LP of Boris Pasternak poetry in Russian on side A and english on side B! And another LP of wicked classic horror tales complete with sound effects and scary narration!! read more

I love the idea of Grooves but from someone who is a huge music nerd and worked in an independent record store for 5 years and did used merch buys and pricing, including vinyl, a lot of stuff at Grooves is way over priced. A decent record goes for 20/25, and you can likely find else for 7/8 bucks. And I find a ton of common 80s/new wave bands that should be dollar records and they honestly have the nerve to ask 7 bucks for them. It makes me wonder if they are desperate or if they take their shoppers as fools. Don't get me wrong, you can find some great stuff here and get lost for hours filing through everything. Love to support small business, especially the dying local store. read more

First of all, to any person that says the location is a little sketchy, toughen up. Anywhere in San Francisco is filled with homeless people, weed, and certain crime aspects. 2 young attractive young women walked these streets past nightfall and stayed in a place with no door locks, and we were just fine. Just use your head and don't put yourself in any situation you can't get out of. As far as grooves, I liked this place. The keeper of Grooves was a person I liked talking to - so much so that my friend just took out her book and started reading in the corner as we talked (I am sorry I don't remember your name, but I remember what we talked about). I did not buy anything, but this felt very relaxing and comforting - genuine, in a word. Amoeba has more records and had what I was looking for, but I would choose Grooves over Amoeba to just go in and enjoy. read more

Lahve the sign, lahve it, laaaahve it! I spent 2 hours in here yesterday, and came away happy with some new 45's. The place is a bit cramped...with GOODNESS. A decent jazz and reggae/dub section. A good novelty/soundtrack/spoken word section, and a great rock one to boot. The listening stations are a bit tore up, but they do function. With Tower and Streetlight, and just recently Open Mind closing just up the street (on Market) to the crapola economy, I hope Grooves keeps on keeping on ... read more

If you are looking for some oldies, you should probably stop by here. They also have decent rock, blues, soul and jazz selection. My only problem with this place is that the selection is not curated at all and you will need to spend a lot of time to dig the crates and find something interesting. There are just too many worthless records and they should clean these up a bit unless that's how they make money (i.e. selling $1 records for $7). They also have 2 listening stations which adds one star itself. read more

My favorite record store of all time! No frills just stacks and stacks of vinyl! I have found some real treasures here. Has the smell you want out of a record store. Smells like you are in someone's attic. No frills, just rack after rack of vinyl. If you love vinyl and you are in San Francisco this is place to go too! read more

Lost a customer who likes to spend big coin on records due to the store not honoring their posted hours. Too bad. Looks like a great store.

The last two times Ive been there, the store has been closed during their posted business hours, and my visits have been random, when I just happen to be walking by, so my suspicion is that this is a chronic problem on their part. I really don't like places that can't accommodate potential customers. No sign up, no explanation, just the "CLOSED" sign in the window and a locked door. I have no desire to stand around 1/2 hour after they're supposed to be open and hope someone shows up. Maybe you're supposed to call ahead and make sure someone is there. read more

The people at this place are so hard to work with. My friend tried for months to get them to sell him a record player, but they couldn't get it together. First they said they needed to order a new part, but then every time he came in to ask about it they either had no idea what he was talking about or they still hadn't gotten around to it. There's an okay selection in here, but if you need anything beyond purchasing a couple records, forget it. read more

For more then a year I have longed to get inside this store but the schedule never permitted it when driving past it. However that desire changed recently when enjoying a beautiful day in the city on the back of my guys motorcycle. (yes he got points for taking me here!) So we pull up and I was so excited and scrambling to get my cash and credit cards out because I just knew there would be at least one thing I would not be able to refuse. The store is definitely packed with old vinyl. However as some have mentioned you need to have time and I am guessing a lot of it to go thru all the boxes that are stacked and scattered everywhere. I did see some unusual items, some seriously strange ones too. I am however a Beatles fan and looking to complete my colored vinyl juke box 45 collection. The window display of this store has nothing BUT colored vinyl 45's and LP's all over it-THAT is what drove me into this place. Did I see any colored vinyl? Uh none that I recall. So after some time of browsing I asked the guy who appeared to be an employee (he was sitting behind some counter like structure at the front of the store) if they had any Beatles colored vinyl or an area that perhaps all their Beatles vinyl might be kept, his reply was "Well ____ (insert name he muttered) must have that stuff hidden so guess we don't, well other then those 45's on the wall over there". I had already checked the ones on the wall and they were not only common Beatles picture sleeve 45's but also way over priced. So I give Grooves 1 star for the customer service, selection and just because it was such a huge disappointment! read more

long-time browser, first-time shopper: today i bought a turntable from mr. grooves store owner because yesterday i bought records and had nothing to play them on. there's only so long i can live within walking distance of a dozen records stores without bringing home the wax! he set me up with a solid turntable, and promised that if i wasn't happy with it i could bring it back without a hassle. standing behind your merchandise gets five stars in my book. he did mention that he doesn't tend to sell too many amps for the reason, seeing as they're not his specialty. read more

After a late night spent consuming odd concoctions of alcohol and dancing with your friends to hip hop from various decades, Grooves is the perfect cure for the ensuing hangover. You can walk out with anything from Balinese gamelan to Don Cherry's El Corazon to Glassworks by Philip Glass. I had been casually looking for vinyl versions of all three of those and they were all there to greet me, today, at Grooves, my new favorite record store ever (apart from the psychedelic mythical one in Tijuana I haven't been to yet). Before I lived in San Francisco, when I passed by as a visitor I always assumed it to be a good place to find many levels of house and techno music. Not true.There is however a solid selection of much past (and future) music that is not house or techno - from rock to folk to soul to soundtracks to spoken word to my personal favorite, the "????" section, not to mention the boxes and boxes of "new arrivals," mostly in the jazz department, which the owner hasn't felt like filing yet. There is a nice listening station that looks out over Market Street, which is a great way to experience new music, and the owner is a generally friendly if perhaps somewhat crotchety dude. It is pretty apparent that he really loves music, including country (but maybe not rap). He is totally the kind of dude that will appreciate your selections, whether they are totally eclectic and random or super specific (like say you wanted to get a bunch of Neil Young or all of the Environments records, BAM), because he only stocks stuff he seems to be ok with (again, no hip hop or techno). I personally found the prices way reasonable (everything I bought was under $10 and included several unopened freedom jazz LPs). I really don't understand how you could on any plane think Amoeba is cheaper because everyone knows that place is way overpriced on everything. Like $6 for a 7inch for a band that nobody outside of San Diego has heard of which the band itself sells for half that. Plus, what you are getting is probably really educational so how priceless is that. If you really want to complete the whole experience, I recommend that right afterwards you take yourself over to It's Tops (keeping it in the old timey zone) and get yourself a vanilla or cherry coke while you read about your selections. Then, you should immediately ride your bike up a big gnarly hill with tons of traffic. The combination of being completely jacked up on sugar and excited about music will give you a pretty solid understanding of what a heart attack might feel like. read more

Wow. Behold the teeniest record store with the most compact and eclectic collection of records that I have ever lay eyes on. Tons of Beatles and Dylan albums, several guilty-pleasure 80s records (see: The Bangles, A Different Light), and a whole lot of rarities. There aren't a whole lot of contemporary artists, but it doesn't really matter because there is so much of everything else. I could probably spend a day in the store and still not see everything this little record-store-that-could offers. Beautiful. read more

This is my favorite neighborhood record store. It's dank and musty like the bowels of an old ship, complete with barnacles on the walls (not really, but that would be cool) and it's captain is a salty old bearded character, whiskers white as the MC5 limited edition white vinyl album I bought here. Woo! That was a fun analogy. Anyway, I'm usually the only one on the poopdeck. Maybe another lost soul will breifly peruse the booty, but usually it's just me and my captain. They have fun collectible stuff, and happy cheapies, too. The gold coins, sapphires, rubies, and shrunken heads aren't as clearly labled as they could be, and there are several unopened treasure chests littering the deck. You won't find newer treasures like punk and rap, but jazz, classic rock, oldies, and fun miscellaneous-ness is abound. I got two great Star Trek read-a-long story records here, and a "Music of Mad" album, complete with a forward (do they call them forwards when it's on a record?) by Al Feldstien himself. Awesome. And my captain gave me a grin and a hearty tumbs up when I purchased said records. read more

Once you enter Grooves, it seems like you're in a hardcore record dork's one-bedroom-apartment living room: in addition to the fairly-well-organized bins of vinyl, there are cardboard bulk frozen chicken boxes galore filled with more records -- every nook, cranny, and crevice (watch yo ass!) is full. There's a big selection of soundtracks to old television shows and movies, and an even bigger selection of WTF?!, and the prices aren't bad. There's also one of those mechanical arm game machines -- you know, the kind that you normally try to score candy bars and cheap-ass stuffed unicorns from? Well, this one's filled with Ozzy Osborne action figures and plastic pan flutes. read more

My favorite vinyl record store in San Francisco. In addition to the stuff everybody else has (various flavors of 'rock', jazz, soul, hip hop, electronic, etc.) they still maintain a remarkable collection of medieval, classical, and early 20th-century avant garde music. read more

Excellent vibe in "Grooves". Everything is vintage and seems to be a good deal. You'll find yourself feeling very cosy listening to whatever's on whilst browsing this stores incredible selection. My ears became keen to the sounds of Vivian Stanshall. The clerk would not allow me to purchase it because it was part of his personal collection. Nonetheless I was psyched! Great store! I walked away with 3 great records for only $20. Ry Cooder, Moody Blues, and Ricky Nelson. read more