Just moved into town so getting familiar with the local record shop scene. Glad Lovebus in Carlsbad…read morewas my first stop. Not totally obvious there's a store there as it's all residential but you can't miss it as the street dead ends only a few yards away. Small curated selection of reasonably-priced 70s-late 80's classic rock, some jazz and a tiny but well appointed 80's new wave section. Had to pick up General Public, Suzanne Vega, The Three O'Clock and Rob Zombie! Mike the owner was super friendly and had a real presence in the community with lots of locals stopping by to chat. Definitely a landmark spot in the area. If you're new to vinyl and filling in the essentials, be sure to check out the Lovebus on your next crate dig journey.

It's a house. Don't be fooled. It's also a great record store! Even got some discount records too.read more

Was walking down Main Street and came up on this hidden gem…read more You really don't see a lot of record stores around anymore. So, of course, I went in. The gentleman at the counter greeted us. From what I could see, they had a huge selection of vinyls. Unfortunately, it was a very hot day in Vista, and they didn't have AC! So, I only looked around briefly. I will definitely be back!

One of the best stop-shops for any vinyl collectors, especially for those who like heavy music…read more Despite the statement, this store has some of the most variety I've seen in San Diego record shops - containing a variety of genres such as jazz, r&b, soul, rap, rock, pop, punk, metal... you name it! I will definitely say though, their punk and metal selection is the highlight. I've been able to find artists as popular as Motörhead and as indie as Judas Iscariot. Prices are great, and more importantly - not everything is sealed new. Obviously most record stores have bargain bins, but Standards is also not limited to stuff you'd find collecting dust in your grandparent's attic (newer record stores in San Diego, take notes.) Service is great, the store always has a tight but warm ambiance - and I'm always running back to buy more records every couple weeks if that says anything.

All I can say is we spent too much money and time there! Staff was friendly, music on the playlist…read morewas awesome and the selection was part of the problem- we found a lot. The value was there especially with their loyalty program.

Last Saturday, I visited Lou's Records with the hope of selling an album to Dillon, son of the new…read moreowner. I had recently purchased a sealed copy of the Rolling Stones- Some Girls in Los Angeles. I paid good money for the original 2nd press. Foolishly I left my vinyl with Dillon a little too long, while perusing the store for possible purchases. After about 10 minutes, I ask the woman at the counter, why he was gone so long? She walked into the back of the store to retrieve Dillon. Upon returning, he exclaimed that 'there were thousands of variations to the record, and a guy was on his way to verify the value. Long story short, the expert never arrived, I bought a couple of records, some cleaner and was on my way. I had brought the vinyl into Lou's in a paper record bag. Dillon slipped my record back in the bag, and handed it to me as I made other purchases. I didn't inspect my record until the next day. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the seal was looking a little loose. I texted the man, who I bought the record from in July, on my birthday. He said, the seal was not in that condition when he sold it to me. Moral of the story, I called to speak with Lou, he was not in and I received a call back from the shop. I was busy doing laundry last Sunday, and missed the call. I called the store back, and guess who answered, Dillon? He acted like he knew nothing about the deceitful actions of his unscrupulous behavior! He completely denied any tampering with my Rolling Stones-Some Girls vinyl. Beware, this is scandalous and preposterous for a record store like Lou's or any other to pull this kind of bulloney. If you want to sell, trade or do any other business here.... BEWARE!!!

Record City is a very underrated spot with a great selection of vinyls. They are located in a plaza…read morewith a good amount of parking spots. Prices are very fair here and they have a lot of sale items as well. I was pleasantly surprised to see all of the great jazz gems they had!

They have a wonderful selection and the service is amazing, everyone is so kind! They're very…read moreorganized and have a wonderful playlist going on. Their prices were very reasonable too!

A huge selection of vinyl here! Any and all genres and more. They have two listening stations set…read moreup so you can sample records, which is such a nice touch. Everything is neatly organized, and you could honestly spend hours going through it all. They also buy records for cash or store credit -- I've done it before, and the process is super easy as long as you don't mind the amount you get back. Great spot for digging and discovering something new.

Folk Arts Rare Records is a nice record shop and a fun crate digging experience. This spot is in a…read moreplaza with a small parking lot with nearby street parking all around the area. Inside, they have a pretty spacious setup with a selection of used and new records. All of their records are nicely organized by genres and artists and are priced fairly. All of the staff here are friendly and helpful. Wifey and I definitely spent close to a couple hours digging through everything they have here.

Best dang record shop in the OC. Great selection of new and old lps, cds and cassettes, wonderful,…read moreknowledgeable staff, fair prices, always new stuff coming in. And a real part of the community! Support local record stores! If you are passing by on the 5 worth a stop as it is literally just off the exit ramp. And if you live in the OC make this your regular. Also I saw a couple of one star reviews on here that were absolute nonsense. FYI I bought that Ween record on RSD and guess what I showed up at 3AM to get on line like the other die hards that wanted something bad enough to wake up early, Tom does the fairest, best and most orderly RSD I've ever experienced. An absolute pleasure. :)

There are quite a few indie records stores in OC, but Moldy Toes is easily my favorite! I've been…read moregoing there for years, and since day one it has always been a pleasant experience. Everyone that works there is super friendly and helpful. And just like any great record store, the staff always has amazing recommendations for new music to check out. The store is just the right size to not be overwhelming, everything is well organized, and there is enough room in the bins to make it easy to flip through the records. 10 out 0f 10 for shoppability. In addition to a great new and used vinyl selection, they also carry cd's, cassettes, turntables, speakers, stickers, action figures, t-shirts and more. If you're into music, then you'll definitely find something you need at Moldy Toes. And on the off chance that you don't find something you want, there are lots of other cool little shops to check out in the neighborhood.

Every time I go to this store, I'm going to walk in, say "P.U., smells like wet fart in here!" and…read morewalk out every single time until the wet fart smell is fixed. btw, the entire store is actually 20% to 50% off now. They want to entice you to the wet fart smell before they go out of business.

They always have unique snacks and figures but like others have stated it always smells bad in this…read morestore like Mildew or septic. I've noticed ceiling leaks in other stores near FYE idk what's going on with this mall but I do think the mall needs to look into the leaks and smells.

First time purchasing a few Records from Vinyl Junkies…read more. Had them shipped to Iowa, Great price & they shipped them in a mighty mailer for extra protection and they arrived in great condition within a reasonable timeframe.. However incurred a minor issue at no fault to the store, inner sleeves were missing, this was a known issue from the record producer on this particular release, worked with Jules at Vinyl Junkies and she worked diligently with their supplier to make things right, took a bit but she got it done and shipped them right away free of charge and in perfect condition.. If you're looking for great service on your next vinyl purchase look no further, these guys and gals are great and they stand by what they sell.. Thanks Vinyl Junkies! & Thank you Jules for completing my album's.. ~ Jason

This is a small and funky vinyl shop with a fair amount of used CDs. In fact, they have more used…read moreCDs here than just about anywhere else I have ever seen, other than at Amoeba in Los Angeles. They also have old cassette tapes, too, if you are a weirdo and a masochist. There are three rooms to explore and a little courtyard in between them all. I have to believe this space was a coffee house or something like that in a different life. The vinyl record collection is the emphasis, as it should be, and it is well-organized. There is some organization to some of the CDs but many of them are just stacked here and there. That is ok. If you are a musical dinosaur like some of us, some of the fun is in the hunt itself. The only drag is parking. Street parking is your only option and it is rough. The good news is there are some cool other shops in this area to explore, like books, beer, food, etc. Well worth a visit for music fans.

Cool little spot in old town. has all the hits and good selection of named artist. Clean and well…read moreorganized. I like it, cool spot to check out some vinyl.

This place has a great selection of records covering wide range of genres for such a small place…read more It doesn't sell much merchandise other than some stickers and posters, but makes up for it with its selection of vinyl records and 45s. It has numerous categories, but I just focused on my favorite ones - punk, 80s, alternative, and rock. I didn't buy anything today because I didn't want to walk around the area with bunch of records, but I already have an idea of few records I want to buy next time I'm here (assuming someone doesn't buy them).