Great store, great owner! This is the best old school used vinyl shop I know of. A great place to…read morebrowse. I have found many gems there.

ABSOLUTE GEM This is…read morea hidden gem of a record store. It is very close to the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Solano Avenue. It is a carefully curated, discerning selection of wonderful music. The owner, David, is a terrific guy will gladly help you with all of your music needs. He is really knowledgeable. He even sells rock memorabilia, including original 3 day admission tickets to the Woodstock festival in 1969. Check this place out. You won't be disappointed. Easy parking, great neighborhood, and an incredible selection of music.

Have religiously visited Stranded Records location in Rockridge and prior location just off…read morePiedmont Avenue over the years. I also frequent the shop in the SF Mission District and have visited the NYC Lower East Side location. What makes Stranded unique is that it feels like a well curated shop of eclectic music. They carry new and used genres - Jazz, Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, Electronic, African, Reggae, Soundtracks, etc.. It's always a pleasure to stop bye because you never know what you will find. So be prepared to spend some time there if you are a true digger. The guys in the shop are also pretty friendly and welcoming. It also helps that the shop is located on a nice stretch of College Avenue in Oakland that has a lot to offer and close to Rockridge BART Station - shopping (groceries, hardware, bookstore, bakery, coffee/tea, home decor, etc.) restaurants and bars at different price points. They also have a small couch that can come in handy if your friend or partner just wants to hang out while you are browsing. Prices can vary and are comparable to other record shops. Anyone that enjoys vinyl would be well advised to check out this shop !

They stayed open late for me. Got 4 records will come back for a 5th and 6th..and 7th..and.. Staff…read morewas so nice. My dog Mia and I enjoyed our visit. Thanks!

My boyfriend and I love music, he has a record player back home in Sac., and drags me to every and…read moreany record store. I love it bc I can also buy some vinyl and enjoy it at his house. He took me here this weekend and it was so fun, the staff was respectful and kind and he ended up buying 3 records and a CD! The CD was a Bob Dylan live CD, and it cost him only $3! Please check them out! You won't regret going! The store is sooooo pretty too!

Quaint yet the selection doesn't feel limited, just enough - the perfect little record shop! I love…read morethat you're able to listen to vinyls on their record player and they even have headphones to use. Records are decently priced, labeled with sticky notes with its genre/vibe, and you can sell your records here too. I stumbled upon Hercules during an afternoon walk as it's tucked within the neighborhood. They are ran by very genuine and kind people!

Great selection and honest pricing! A real asset to the East Bay Vinyl community!! Picked up more…read morethan a few grails. They even had cassettes!!

Contact is the kind of small, curated record store that I love to see. I only just found out about…read moretheir shop recently, but am really excited to check them out again soon. They are located in an alley off 49th (aptly named Alley 49), that has a number of cool small shops. Their shop is towards the end on the right (if coming from 49th.) As you walk in, new arrival LPs are the first thing you see, with several boxes of 7"s to your left. They also have several bins lining the left and back walls. While there are some smaller sections for genre's like blues, jazz, reggae, etc., the focus here is definitely more in the rock and alternative realm. Pricing for what they had seemed reasonable. Given they have a strong selection, I would expect slightly elevated pricing, but nothing out of the ordinary here. While I wasn't able to find anything to take home during my visit, the person working the counter let me do my thing browsing the store, which is my preference (over being bugged about what you're looking for.) Obviously to each their own, but suited my needs just fine!

Small record store located behind other stores. You pretty much have to know it's their to find it…read more If you follow the garden path behind the flower stand you'll find it. They have a decent selection of all genres of music on different media including 45's and LPs. There are even sales! The lady working there seemed friendly and helpful. I would definitely go again when in the area.

Steve was wonderful-he took his days off to go through my step-father's vinyl record collection and…read morequoted me a very fair amount. He was kind and very respectful. I would send anyone his way who is looking for some gems.

We visited Amoeba Music yesterday, and the staff there were so welcoming to our doggie Meatball…read more They even gave him some treats. So nice! :) I bookmarked this spot to visit since it was my boyfriend's 1st visit in Berkeley, and I thought this was a cool store to check out. We did have to check in his backpack at the entrance of the store, which is no issue. They have lots of selection of music, and my bf found a vinyl that he has been looking for a long time - The Big Lebowski one. He was so happy! This is definitely a good spot to check out if you're into music and especially if you want to get vinyls and cds. They also have some cool lunch boxes and posters as well plus other interesting items. Parking in Berkeley can be tough though. We drive around for about 18 minutes before we finally found a spot to park.

The customer service here is very poor. The person at the door explained their policy to us in an…read moreirritated manner, as if we were supposed to know that we cannot wait at the counter while the DVDs are being evaluated for pricing. On top of that, I asked an employee where their DVDs are, as not every section is clearly marked, and he pointed below me and said they are right down there as if I was supposed to know that. I was not expecting this kind of horrible customer service. It was my first time here and will definitely be my last.

What a cool place!…read more You can find things from vinyls to comics, to toys. There is a whole lot to see. At one of the desks, I received a free postcard and business card--which was cool. I also noticed they have a Photobooth. I believe it's $7 for two strips.

I still remember when this location was Park Bowl, but that was (gasp) over thirty years ago when…read morebowling was still a popular social activity. I myself was on a bowling team named the Orient Express, and I wish I still had my red team shirt with the dragon on the back. But I digress as this has been an independent record store since 1997, an offshoot of the Berkeley store on Telegraph. Digital downloads be damned, this shop is focused on physical media...CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes, Blu-rays, and of course, vinyl. Even before picking up spares at Park Bowl, I recall that moment in my youth when I made the monumental decision to switch my record purchases from vinyl to CDs. Nowadays, vinyl is making a comeback among a younger generation looking for a higher quality, more realistic sound quality. I saw these Gen Z audiophiles flipping through the long LP bins in search of the elusive underground classic their stereophonic friends could appreciate and envy. Personally I could find nuggets of my own. Albums like The Very Best of Spike Jones (Photo 10) and The Complete 2,000 Year Old Man (Photo 5) resonated with me. I was happy to see individual LPs consolidated into boxed sets like the Linda Ronstadt retrospective. Beyond the music is the expansive DVD collection of movie titles both classic and obscure. There's also books and collectible merchandise like pop-culture lunch boxes and celebrity prayer candles. I'm not sure I need a candle that deifies Aubrey Plaza, but it's good to know where I can get one. RELATED - Exploring the Haight? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/Mq6DbbrGGJ

Village Music is legend in Mill Valley. Open weekends only (or by appointment) this Mill Valley…read morerecord store was so legendary back in early iterations that Elvis Costello played here along with Jerry Garcia, Sammy Hagar and Annie Sampson. The shop features vintage vinyl, vintage concert and movie posters and original autographs of everyone from Elvis Presley to jazz greats. This is a completely different popup location to the original store. The original shop closed in the early 2000s, but the original owner of Village Music, John Goddard, is back at it, manning this small pop-up down the alley from Kitchen Sunnyside in Mill Valley. Open weekends only or by appointment only when the owner is away, the shop is dusty, with very narrow, tall aisles packed full of a remarkable collection of vintage vinyl from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond.