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Amoeba Music

4.0 (378 reviews)
ModerateMusic & DVDs
Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Updated 3 months ago

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Skipp E.

I went here on the hunt to buy vintage wrap and hip-hop cassette tapes. I'm currently finishing a restoration of a 90s Honda Civic and since installing a classic Alpine tape player, I decided to collect a bunch of tapes that I would've listened to in the mid to early 90s. I was happy to find the Souls of Mischief first Album, and while the price was almost $50 it was definitely well worth it as this is a very hard to find album. I also picked up a couple of other gems that were an excellent condition and the price wasn't bad at all. The staff was super friendly and it was nice to be able to buy this album here back in the 90s when I first came out and once again now, when I was looking for this place actually had it in stock. I've always been a fan of amoeba music even back to my days as a DJ. They've always had items that were hard to find and the staff has always been super cool.

Great selection
Mike M.

I've been to the Amoeba store in SF before, but this was my first visit to the one in Berkeley. As expected, they had everything I could ask for in terms of vinyl. Awesome inventory of many different music types, rarities, box sets, etc. I was very happy with their selection of underground/indie artists, jazz and classic rock. I could shop here for hours given their selection. I was happy with my finds! Support your local record stores!

Stuff.
Eric N.

Goodness & Gracious!! These guys obviously ROCK. Quite unexpectedly today I see ST. VINCENT's "ALL BORN SCREAMING" on their decently prepared outdoor display / frontal window display. I step inside with a half galon milk and I gently bother the young man situated by the entrance if he happens to collect people's belongings; and he says "You can keep that, you're fine!" Another nice surprise, this time with "Human Interaction". The previous one was a "Poster - Seer Interaction which occurred on the pavement, outside. Anyways, I shortly locate the album which literally brought me inside from the outside; at a beyond-easy-to find location, shelved quite neatly, particularly for a house-advertised / recommended album, unlike a number of other record stores in the Bay Area would or I witnessed they actually did!! Which altogether gave me 3 decent reasons to further navigate the store. MAN!! Haight? Or this one? Which one would you go to? Which one would you prefer? Drop down a comment below. LOL. Today's world, dude dot com. Hey, I am feeling spoiled not only through their retail mastery in the ways that they deliver their great selection of records and fun merch like candles, pins and nonewhatsoever, OR the gentle, empathetic SERVICE, but perhaps more importantly their visible keen intention towards owning the very REASON why perhaps we should have faith in HEAVEN while we're on the Earth was phenomenal. I am so touched. They made me feel proud. As if I were He-Man on his annual leave yet Castle Grayskull is being defended by such ROYAL troops that the Sorceress needs not to have the tiniest bit of concern. GOD BLESS EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO MADE TODAY's seemingly financial, yet deeply sincere transaction, possible, literally all the way down to the person who made the shoelaces of every single person who had worked towards the creation as well as the distribution of the the vinyls I bought. Fantastic! Surreal record store. Extremely surreal for today's woooooooorld dduuuuuuude dooot cooom. Cordially, Eric NOTRICK

Liz B.

Long live music, in whatever form it morphs into next! Amoeba Music has you covered making sure you can get your tunes through whatever ways necessary. CDs, records, cassettes... whatever you can think of, it'll be here! Great throwbacks and current day hits line the aisles. I could've spent hours upon hours here. I also could've emptied out my entire wallet too but self preservation, and clearer minds, prevailed haha. This place seems to get bigger the further in you go. They even have musical instruments available, primarily keys from what I remember. Maybe nows the perfect time to pick up a keyboard and brush off my skills... Had an armful of stuff but eventually calmed down and ended up buying a few CDs instead. Obsessed with this place. I will be back!

Chris R.

This past weekend was really great especially my birthday is coming up (May 8) so I heard Kehlani was in town and my girlfriend was very excited and wanted to go! We waited in line for nearly 3 hours and met wonderful people in front of us. Then there were people saying we needed a ticket to meet and greet Kehlani but when we started getting closer to the the store somebody told us we could just buy the album and meet and greet Kehlani which was an awesome experience.

Carol C.

Date: 12/21/2019 Time: 2:50 PM 56° Cloudy It's not too often that I am in B-town or Berserkeley to shop, dine or browse. However, this time I am in Berkeley with two of my sisters, having lunch and browsing at the holiday fair on Telegraph Avenue. What's left? Shopping! First stop was Starbucks on Oxford, then Cupcakin' Bake Shop. Heading southbound on Telegraph, our next destination was Amoeba Records. Wow! I haven't stepped into this shop in so many years. The last time was probably somewhere around the mid-80's, early 90's. My younger sister had some special coupons ($50 in value) that she had to use. She told me to get whatever I wanted - CD's, DVD's, LP's, etc. Yep, I got the hookup from her. I didn't buy any of the aforementioned items because I didn't want to add more to my collection. I am at that age (over 65) where I don't want to accumulate a lot of material goods. So, I just settled for a pack of Star Wars playing cards and an Amoeba holiday pin, which was cool. Looking for CD's, DVD's, LP's? This is the go-to place for all those goods. They also carry mugs, posters, lapel pins, turntables, tee shirts. I love the memories of hanging at this record store...the people, the music and the posters. Customer service can be some or none. Either they are able to help or they are busy doing something else. It doesn't bother me that I don't get instant attention and/or help. I just wait my turn. Attitude I leave at the front door because mine is contagious and not worth catching. Return visit? Yes. I want to see if they carry zigzags for rolling a joint and listening to some Jimi Hendrix (Purple Haze). Just kidding on the "paper". Not kidding on the return visit.

The sign outside.

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5 months ago

Great hip hop/rap section. Bunch of hidden gems in there. Look for recommendations from Evan.

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2 years ago

Poor customer service. Several times I'll ask the cashier to look up some music for me and they will seem annoyed.

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5 years ago

Love this place I used to come here all the time. I recommend going through their $1 vinyls i've found some great records that way

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Amoeba Music Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Amoeba Music

Do they carry 45s?

Yes, we have a large selection of new and used 45'S

I just want to be absolutely sure. You buy both CD's and Vinyl LP's? I have more than a few. I have 6 or 7 27 gal tubs or apprx. 2000 (those I was able to cataloged). and 14 tubs of the LP's uncataloged). Spans from mid60's to early 90's.Interested

Yes, we buy both CDs and LPs. If you have more detailed questions for our used buyers, please call 510-549-1125. Our buy counter is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 -… Read more

Do you sell vhs or only dvds?

Yes, we have a small VHS section.

Is there a certain time or day that I can bring vintage LP's down for evaluation for purchase ? I have about 200 LP's. Thank you.

Anytime is good We're always buying Dave P

Are you currently purchasing previously owned smooth jazz cd's .... Grover Washington Jr., George Benson, Pat Metheny, David Sandborn, Joyce Cooling, Larry Caryell, Paul Hardcastle, etc. ..... ? What's the going rate for these kind of artists?

Hi Steve, We do buy many of these artists but you would need to stop by a store with your releases… Read more

View All 9 Questions

Review Highlights - Amoeba Music

This store will always be the original Amoeba with a unique energy and spirit not to be surpassed by the newer stores.

Mentioned in 4 reviews

Read more highlights

Rasputin Music - Sign

Rasputin Music

(270 reviews)

$$

Telegraph Ave

3rd and last stop in this neighborhood, had already bought records and cds elsewhere, but decided…read moreto look just for fun. This place also has a great selection, I got an example of the last production by Celia Cruz for 6 and jam rock by Samoa Marley for 6. My Mrs. Wanted an artic monkeys cd that's was 16. Now to see a new cd from a 2013 production is interesting so i didn't think it was a price gouging issue. I liked the service , they offer many things at this place 5/5.

I have spent loads of time and money at Rasputin in Berkeley. Nice selection of records. However, I…read morebought a "brand new" record and took it home and the record began skipping towards the end of side A. I immediately took the record back to the store thinking it would be an easy replace or refund, think again. The customer service gentleman was rude, confrontational, and accusatory from the start, looking over the record telling me it looks brand new. "Yes I bought it less than 7 days ago, here's the receipt, it is brand new and is skipping. I told him exactly what song it was skipping on and he told they have no way to listen to records and all he could do was a partial refund... An enormous record store with no record player, ha ha ha. Then the condescending gentleman decided to accuse me of possibly having a cheap record player and that was the cause of the skipping... I gladly showed him the receipt of my recent purchased turntable, I guess it passed the Rasputin turntable tier that is acceptable... So basically if you don't have a certain tier turntable Rasputin will blame you and your record, not a manufacturer defect. Lastly, the gentlemen called me "dude" multiple times, while his coworker was smirking and laughing duing the exchange at the register. Overall a very disappointing experience from a place that I spend hours in, but never again. There are tons more record stores in the Bay Area to support rather than Rasputin... Keep spinning

Groove Yard - Groove Records!

Groove Yard

(55 reviews)

$$

Rockridge, North Oakland

I've come here now two times after passing by for years but being too busy to stop in. It is…read morecrammed inside. Watch your step, and start browsing. When I came in a few weeks ago I was the only one inside and was looking for Queen - Hot Space. Who I assume to be the shop owner knew he didn't have it, but showed me the Queen section and I walked out with The Game. There was also a flyer at the checkout area advertising a record sale going on at USF, so props for advertising other record finding events. Everything isn't here. It's a local vinyl shop that has so much to look through, and if you're into that then this is the record shop for you. It gives me the thrill of thrifting back in 2007-2016, but for records. I walked out with international vinyls showcasing music from Brazil and Nicaragua last weekend, but finding the Thriller album was icing on the cake. I wasn't really looking for it, but there is a Jackson 5 section showcasing many of the Jackson 5 albums and their individual projects. Service - I had great service the first time I went because no one else was there. The second time I went, the service was still good but being that it was busy, he pointed me to the exact locations I could find what I was looking for if it was there. I feel like he really knows his shop, and that in itself is valuable. There are many, many vinyls. They're organized as well.

Groove Yard is a gem. Rick is one of those rare shop owners who makes you feel immediately welcome,…read moreand he truly knows his collection. There's always an amazing variety of vinyl to dig through, and the prices are great. Highly recommend this local record store.

KPOP Nation - More photocards! (These are the pre-order cards)

KPOP Nation

(11 reviews)

We came into KPOP Nation right before the TWICE concert looking for a lightstick. It was a last…read moreminute stop, and they did not have the exact version we were originally looking for, so we were ready to walk out without buying anything. Then we were helped by one of the employees, and everything changed. She was incredibly kind, understanding, and patient. She genuinely wanted to help us and made the experience feel welcoming rather than rushed or transactional. Because of her attitude and customer service, we decided we wanted to support the store anyway. To top it all off, she told us ahead of time that the lightstick needed batteries and then gave them to us. That honesty and generosity completely caught us off guard in the best way possible. Thanks to her, we were prepared and stress free going into the concert. Experiences like this are why local shops matter. We will definitely come back whenever we are in the area. Thank you so much.

I went to this shop to get a tween a nice xmas present. Walking in and knowing nothing about this…read moregenre I was taken back by the help the staff offered once i told them how KPOP illiterate i was. They were knowledgeable, kind, and really took the time to answer all my questions. I actually walked out of the store understanding a lot more than when i came in. I was happy that I was able to make a good choice for a present with the help of the staff. Aside from that, they seem to have a nice selection of things. KPOP seems to be very gimmicky in the way they release their music, which is something i enjoyed and wish other genres would follow suit. Would definitely come back again.

Down Home Music Store - Down Home records Day of Dead Ofreanda for 2025.

Down Home Music Store

(63 reviews)

$$

I came here a while back. Personally I found this place to be a little gem…read more Rasputin in Berkeley has a bigger selection in genres; at the same time DHM carries items that are very rare to find in the area (both new and used). I actually found rare copies of two different jazz albums on CD that I love (still sealed even though I didn't need to buy them) so that says a lot to me. Also, I noticed that they're products are overall pretty reasonably priced. I don't care for Vinyl, but I noticed they have a big section for that that in there too. They even sell live music performances DVD's that might interest you even if you're into Rock mostly (which is not the highlight of this store). I walked out with a brand-new copy of Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue for a friend, and I am grateful for the owners allowing me to browse in peace. Would definitely come back again.

These folks are the real deal when it comes to being true professionals with their vast music…read moreknowledge and amazing customer service. Please take a moment and SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES that care about you and your patronage! Stores like this are an absolute treasure so make sure you help out by shopping with them in a physical "brick & mortar" store instead of online. Smell the vinyl records and experience a magical journey by digging through their collection! If you have any old albums, take them in and monetize it for some fresh new stuff. Remember, one man's junk is another man's treasure. These folks have my loyalty and future business, now get down there and score some amazing vinyl records!!!!!

Amoeba Music - musicvideo - Updated May 2026

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