Shop at These 12 Houston Record Stores for New and Vintage Vinyl

Blues. Country. Hip hop. Rap. Cumbia. Punk rock. Houston’s music scene is about as diverse as its population, a point our finest local record stores reflect. The city’s top vinyl shops offer a curated megamix of new and vintage music, rocking limited run box sets, albums with special bonus tracks, and all kinds of genres in formats from cassettes and CDs to etched vinyl. Spend some time sifting through the goods to build your collection and find your next musical obsession. Here’s where to find the best Houston record stores for new and vintage vinyl.

Montrose The Empire Records of Houston, this local stalwart is the city’s oldest independent record shop, rocking out with an extensive all-format collection of vinyl, tapes, and CDs, including cherry-picked suggestions of new and old music, hard-to-find throwbacks, and music posters, books, and gifts. It’s even got a store-within-a-store, The Record Ranch, a vinyl-only section and art gallery that pays homage to Daily’s Record Ranch, its o.g. store in the Heights.

East End Head to one of Houston’s oldest Latin neighborhoods, Magnolia Park, to thumb through the disco selection at this local stalwart. Guillermo “Memo” Villarreal opened the shop back in 1968, and his passion for Latin music continues to shine via the colossal library covering everything from Bachata and Salsa to Norteño and Tejano Pop. Stop by to find your next party soundtrack and see the music memorabilia covering the walls, including a guitar signed by Carlos Santana.

Third Ward Houston Sauce Co. owners Chasitie and Courtney Lindsay teamed up with music curator and DJ, Flash G. Parks, to bring this vegan cafe and vinyl record shop hybrid. That means you can pair Matcha Lattes with Motown as you sift through the small but mighty shelf of rare music. Pop in for a vibey weekend brunch or the Friday Night Live music series on the patio.

Downtown
Mixing vinyl and cocktails is one sexy mashup. Set in the former Bovine & Barley space off Main Street in downtown, this fresh-faced speakeasy sets the vibe with a vintage record shop at its front and secret entrance (hint: go behind the “Employees Only” and “On Air” signs) to its tucked away listening lounge and bar. The rare bird hosts pop-ups from other hometown record shops, local DJs, and theme nights from Motown Mondays to Saturday Retro Sessions.

Webster
Bringing beats to the Bay Area since 2010, this homegrown haunt prides itself in being “an old school” record shop. The business has been passed down to music lovers, each new owner dedicated to hitting the “sweet spot” of superior service (they’re happy to talk music, help you discover something special, and hunt down rare vinyl for ya) and top-grade selection. Sift through the thoughtfully curated library of vintage vinyl and re-issues, score audio equipment like amps, turntables, and speakers, or make some extra cash by selling ‘em your high-quality collection.

Spring
Head up north to Old Town Spring to scour through the goodies of this indie record store, which is constantly reloading its collection of bins with hard to score finds, from box sets to limited-edition vinyl. Music enthusiasts can also enlist the shop’s assistance in custom home theater design, turntable repair, cartridge setup, and curating hi-fi audio equipment.

East End
Vinyl heads will want to hit up this cool kid’s record shop, which hosts in-house hours in addition to pop-up sessions at cool kid record bars like 93’ Til and Off the Record. You’ll find a stash of tapes, 12-inch singles, colored vinyl, and vintage LPs running the gamut from ‘90s Hip Hop to New Wave and Classis Rock. It’s also a really chill place to hang, and local artists, producers, DJs, and MCs are known to pop by.

Midtown
Named afterSig Byrd’s Houston, a collection of nonfiction work from newspaper columnist Sig Byrd, this punky record store harbors both new and used vinyl of all genres—Rock, Jazz, Blues, Rap, R&B, Funk, Holiday, and on and on—alongside an eclectic mix of art, books, and other Houston-inspired ephemera.

Montrose
Skater types will get amped by the used CD and vinyl collection at this combination surf, skate, and record shop. Bring in your old goodies (not scratched, and make ‘em good ones because the crew here is selective) and shop for some new-to-you records—or a sweet surfboard—with your earnings.

North Houston
Born in 1976, this family-owned independent record shop now has two locations in town, with an extensive collection of music alongside fun goodies like concert tees, build-your-own skateboards, incense, and more. Pop in to build your vinyl collection and discover the next revolution of your musical taste.

East End
This Second Ward institution has been buying and selling records since 1979, featuring a monster collection of Metal CDs and vinyl. Sound Exchange offers clutch services, too, such as turntable repair. Outside of Metal, the best selling genres outside of Metal include Jazz, Goth, Hard Rock, Experimental, Punk Rock, Blues, R&B and Soul.

The Heights
This 19th Street standby is as grungy as they come, with an edgy, uber knowledgeable staff to help you search through its deep library of new and used records, CDs, and stereo equipment. Shop the insightful Staff Picks, snag some vintage cassette and record players, and get yourself some Vinal Edge branded totes and tees while you’re at it.