The store is great as far as selection and they are sitting on a gold mine of inventory. I never been into a store that has Record Store Day vinyls sorted by year and I loved that. I particularly like stores that have year-round holiday vinyl and Hot Poop does. Like others before me it is the prices that kept me from purchasing anything. I don't know if they would barter or negotiate but if you're like me and follow prices on Discogs you will understand. I am a business person and if this were my store I would lower my margins and focus more turnover of inventory to make it a destination for vinyl lovers. read more

This place should be called HOT MESS for the crazy prices for their records. A totally let down for pickers IMO.

I am in the same boat as the rest of the reviewers. I stopped through Walla Walla on my way back home and while I think the record store is wonderful and a pleasing flashback to the olden days, the prices are 'hot poop' indeed. Even *smooth jazz* CDs were $19.95 and higher. I saw some for $34.95. I'm not discussing the rock and pop CDs / records. The only plus is the numerous listening stations throughout the store...it's a time warp in this day and age! I'm curious how they keep the business in operation. 1 and done. read more

Stopped in here while visiting. EVERYTHING is overpriced. I found a used Frank Zappa CD I had been looking for $56.00!!!??? I thought it may have just been a fluke so I looked at some others, nope, everything there was about 400% above market value. Neat T-shirts, stickers, and novelties, but I wouldn't shop for music there. read more

Nice people; if he doesn't have it, he'll order it for you; huge collection of records, etc.................................. ............................................................................ read more

I have a relative who lives in Walla Walla and she first took me to this shop during Foo Fighters and Mumford and Sons' Gentlemen of the Road stop here a few years back. At the time, I'd thought they'd just repriced the records in their shop for the weekend to gouge the Seattle music tourists. Many years later, I've had a revelation: No, this is just how they approach the business for some reason. It's clear that the shop views itself as a DIY, all things to all people record and music shop. They're about the only option for music equipment I've seen, and they're the only record shop in Walla Walla that isn't an antique store. That said, they don't seem to be in any big rush to sell their records. I'm out in Boston, and I'd never accuse Newbury Comics, In Your Ear or my beloved Tres Gatos as being "cheap" places to buy records. Even the spots I hit when I visit my family in Portland (Everyday Music, Jackpot, Music Millennium) aren't exactly bargain basements. But an "inexpensive" record at Hot Poop starts at $30, with run-of-the-mill releases often selling at $50 to $70. Again, the stores I've mentioned will all sell rare records at those prices: But they're typically high on the wall and represent a minority of the stock. At Hot Poop, the wall items are all in the triple digits and the main stock fluctuates between $30 and $100. Boy, you're really hoping the surrounding area hasn't discovered Discogs, huh. Louisa is right: This isn't even a case of expecting Amazon's "undercut everyone by $5) pricing. This is just a laughable overvaluation of stock that either A) Isn't all that rare and B) Isn't stored as if it is. The bins are either overflowing and warping the stock or filled with collapsing piles that are just crushing the records at the bottom. Never mind the overstock bins below, where all of this is being stored flat. I have no qualms with the staff, who tries to be as helpful as possible, but you get the sense that Hot Poop didn't hire them as salespeople. They function more as docents: Guiding to to items you'll observe and marvel at, but find far too dear to take home. The shopping experience here is equivalent to going into a poster shop and finding it stocked with disheveled piles of Warhol prints priced at Sotheby's market rates. Take a look at the building from Main Street: It's completely independent from the rest of the strip, owned by the business itself and doesn't have to worry too much about little things like keeping the lights on. Its employees are largely lifers and aren't going to let little things like market realities in the rest of the world prevent them from selling overpriced LPs to Whitman wine dads trying to buy back their youth 180 grams at a time or college students too young or well-funded to know better (that copy of Taylor Swift's Reputation won't be a bargain anywhere, but a $50 record shouldn't cost you $300). I've now been here twice, and each time I've regretted the experience. I don't know who's coming out here from Seattle to ignore Easy Street, Silver Platters, Jive Time, Sonic Boom or Georgetown and just get ripped off, but Hot Poop has developed a reputation as an easy store to browse, but a better place to skip. I can't imagine locals spending a whole lot of time or money here in the digital era, so this warning is mostly for visitors: There are better, fairer record sellers out there. Don't get taken by this one just because you hit one tasting room too many. read more

Vinyl collectors, don't come here looking for a bargain or rare find. The records are overpriced to the point where the whole time I was browsing the cluttered racks I kept laughing at the price stickers. The same new records can be found for half the price just about at any other major store that sells records. I'm not talking "buy it on Amazon and save a few dollars," I'm talking "buy it literally anywhere else and you can have 3 records for the price of one here." The front part of the store is stuffed with disorganized used and new albums. There are some cds and dvds too, but nothing about their placement makes any sense. There are stacks of random t-shirts and other junk all over the place. Browsing isn't easy. The back of the store has beautiful guitars and other instruments for sale. Always fun to look at, but I'm not sure practical it would be for true musicians to shop here. I judge a record store by its selection, organization, and prices, and Hot Poop fails on all accounts. I hate to rag on a indie music shop, but this isn't one of the good ones. read more

The other reviewers aren't kidding. I was here a week ago, and this is THE MOST OVERPRICED RECORD STORE IN THE WORLD. Even the usual suspects found in used vinyl dollar bins are $30 and up! The records here are stored very carelessly; it's really sad. Perhaps Hot Poop stays in business by relying on tipsy vineyard hipster tourists with way too much money to burn. read more

Best record store in WA. Check out the custom guitars, awesome t-shirt designs, 8 track tapes, retro audio equipment and more. It's the craziest, messiest, best music store ever. And the staff is super nice and knowledgeable too. read more

I was visiting Walla Walla from Detroit. I'm an avid vinyl collector and DJ of 20 years. The name of the store is perfect for this place. Whoever the dude was working completely lacked self-awareness. I walked out. Guy could have made good money off of me. I'm an easy sell. Check out this spot if you want a crash course on how not to operate a retail store. read more

Worst store I have ever seen in my 45years of vinyl shopping. Name says it all, hot poop is all they have at insane prices!! Store is a literal safety hazard, stuff piled everywhere, beware too...they store LPs FLAT, can we say hot warped poop?? Avoid this place at any cost as you will surely be disappointed in the selection, the employees and especially the stupid prices. OWNERS: Sell the place to someone who truly knows how to run a successful vinyl shop and who actually cares about what they sell!! You have no business being in business!!! read more

Why? Why would you ask five times the market price for used vinyl? If I could sell my collection at half of what this place charges, I could replace it times two at any sane record store. Only worth a quick stop to laugh at the insanity. Seriously - a bunch of classic rock in good-very good condition for $75 and up. It's like if my wife made me sell my collection so I priced it to make sure it would never, ever sell. A total mystery. read more

For the record, I can't claim to have done it--but my brother took a poop at Hot Poop (I so wanted to though). This joint was awite. The first thing I noticed were the pricey albums. I mean, you go to an independent record store like this to score some cool deals, but yeah, didn't see anything here. Now the staff were pretty cool and chill, but this IS a record store. Since I didn't walk out with anything....no likey. read more

I'm a vinyl junkie, so this review is written strictly from that point of view. The most striking part of this store isn't that it looks like an explosion ripped through it (though it does), and it isn't the beligerently overwhelming incense that clings to you like a psycho ex-girlfriend after you leave (though it does). It's the pricing. Oh dear lord the pricing. An _average_ price on a used record here is $20. Several went considerably higher. A used copy of Pink Floyd's "Meddle" was marked at $70. Another copy -- with ballpoint writing on the cover -- was $50. Keep in mind that I got my copy for less than $20 used elsewhere. There was no indication why either copy was worth double, triple or more. Was one a first pressing? Was one in absolutely pristine condition? No way to tell. Why was there no way to tell? Because the used LPs were sealed. So, let's recap. They have albums for 2.5x to 3.5x what I can order them online for, and I can't even open them up to check their condition? Some of the used records are things I've found at Goodwill for $1, marked up to $20 or more. That's used records. I had better luck with new records which were merely overpriced vs. WILDLY overpriced. I found a couple pieces I was happy with and so I didn't leave empty handed...but why in the name of all that is holy would someone buy used vinyl here? read more

I love this place! I love that you totally can't easily find anything that you go looking for. I mean, I always eventually find it, but it's always hiding in some crazy random place and you have to pretty much ask for help. But I never ask for help until I'm ready to leave. It's too much fun ransacking the place. I love barely-managed chaos. They have tons of listening stations and I always end up listening to pretty much everything....at least a little bit. I don't know how many times I've ended up leaving there with something completely different than what I came looking for. Once you ask for help, there's always somebody on staff that'll say, "Hey, if you liked that, you might also like this!" And they are SO RIGHT. I'd give them a 5 star rating, but the one thing I don't like about Hot Poop is that the prices are a bit steep. Most cds are $15 to $18. But really, if you think about it, it works out to the same as you'd pay on Amazon plus shipping. Plus you get the whole music store experience of listening to stuff, touching the products, discovering new things you didn't even know existed. And they have things that you will just never find in Hastings or Best Buy (which is pretty much the only place to buy music in the Tri-Cities, so YES, I drive all the way to Walla Walla just to go to Hot Poop). read more

Great selection of records that are vastly overpriced. This is a store that I want to love but ultimately cannot. Their markup on vinyl is absolutely ludicrous. Even "on sale" items can be found on Amazon or TTL for $15 to $20 cheaper on average. The store is also a mess, very cluttered and unorganized. Also the owner has raised prices on vinyl as I'm checking out! Very unprofessional business practice and it always takes forever to check out because he's so slow. The bottom line is you should go to Hot Poop because they might have that one rare record you're after - just be prepared to pay double what it's worth. read more

Do you want great Vinyl for great prices? Then don't go to hot poop! This is where you can pay up to $50 for vinyl. The name of the store isn't lying when they call in Hot Poop. read more

I don't get it! This was a weird store. A jumbling of music gear, cd's & records. It smelled like "Spiritual Sky" incense. All of the vinyl was priced $20 or higher. Even the most common classic rock titles. The guy working there was friendly enough but I still don't get the concept of the store. Oh, and that name! read more

Hot Poop is right... twice the price of amazon, and so messy it makes my OCD go crazy...

Hot Poop is an icon of Walla Walla. Most of the reviews are west siders and out of town people. Jim knows just about where everything is and has held on the this shop since the 70's People are judging it by standards that do not apply in a town the size and geography of Walla Walla. Just STFU please until you have something in the proper context to say about it. I would hate like hell to see it go. read more

If it was possible to give a negative 5 star rating I would. The pricing is criminal for used vinyl and the display is completely unorganized. The store is a complete dive with some kind of awful odor (maybe that's the reason for the store name). Unfriendly employee didn't help my shopping experience. For those passing through the I90 and I82 area you really need to check out the record stand at the Thorp Fruit and Antiques stand at exit 101 on I90. Very reasonable prices and you can actually check out the vinyl quality. Had very high hopes for this store while visiting this awesome town but you may want to save your money for some good quality wine and dining instead. read more

I had heard that a visit to Hot Poop was a must. So I had a business trip that took me near Walla Walla, so I was looking forward to checking this place out. Upon walking in, the place is a mess. Stuff stacked here and there, just a nightmare in less you like digging for hours. So I get over to the new vinyl and everything is seriously over priced. For example, they had a copy of Neil Young's latest for $100 which is the highest price I've seen. I did find a record that I wanted but I couldn't believe they wanted $30 for it. I offered to pay half price for $15, but the owner informed me that he'd have to check as he had priced this record six years ago and needed to check what it currently goes for. So, he looks online and sees that he can't find any available, so he then tells me he can't sell it for less than $30 and he should actually raise the price. I said, listen, I'm standing here willing to pay you $15, at least you've sold it versus sitting on it for another six years. He said no, that maybe he'll see if he had a used copy buried in the mess. When I got home, I looked up this title and found it sealed online at amazon for $3.98 plus shipping for another $3.00 = $7.00, half price compared to my offer. So, would I ever go back to Hot Poop? Nope! read more

It's fun. Guys are super cool inside. It's a must go if you have some free time to browse. Be warned, it's messy. Go get some free ruffles chips from the bowl, and have fun. read more

Yes it's a local record store...but it's more than that. It's a place to be relaxed and let your mind wander. Enjoy the people and the atmosphere. Be yourself and let others be themselves. read more

Admire the vision! Archival Librarian Skill would showcase that vision exquisitely. Love to see some Graduate Architectural Design Students make anLEED Xtreme Hot Poop Makeover their Culminating Portfolio Project! A Skylight Loft Cafe / Performace Space; a couple soundproof practice rms & killer Green re-organization of Lower Level with mini-lounge set ups @ listening areas & jr jumbo screen above streetside shop window to play recorded concerts while shoppers browse or socialize in the Loft when therez no live happenings. With necessary modular/security provisions it could be a highly sought venue to rent for after hours private parties! Desperately Dyin To Make Hot Poop My Favourite Haunt but claustrophobiaz a bit hostile n uninviting. @mackenzie b post last line ~ Tribute to one of Classic Rock's most Intellectual, Inventive, Politically Informed Founding Fathers. Felled too soon by reproductive cancer. read more

Where else could you walk into a retailer and ask Jim..."Hey dude, you got any Rare Earth?" It takes 10 minutes to find because it's a mess, but crap you find 2 other old bands you really forgot about and now you have to have all three! Meanwhile, Jim tells you how the lead singer left to form this band and the drummer married the sister from the bass player in yet another band. I then tell Jim I was listening to the Mamas & Pappas on the way down and tell him the name of a tune and ol' Jim says..."that cover was cool....Michelle Phillips in a mini skirt laying across the other three in a bath tub." If you want deals, go to WalMart! If you want an experience and are willing to pay for that experience, go to Hot Poop! Enough of the cookie cutter crap, I like unique experiences. read more

Hot Poop is the oldest independent record store in the state. It's funky and weird and the staff (well, the owner and the other guy that works there) are all cool. it's crammed full of awesome stuff. You do have to dig around, but they have 8-tracks and random imported movies and funky memorabilia. The incense is a bit thick, so that's something to consider if you're sensitive to that kind of thing. But this place is one of the constants of Walla Walla. read more