Fantastic local vintage shop with something for everyone! Great curation of clothes, media and…read moresecondhand treasures. They are currently moving down the street to expand (yay!) so be sure to confirm the new address when visiting :)

I love this shop! I brought in about 20 CD's to sell and they bought them all for a good price -…read morewhen does this ever happen?? The staff is very friendly and helpful. While here, I picked up Jennifer Egan's A Visit From the Goon Squad in excellent condition for $5 bucks. They also have a great selection of DVD's. Another thing of note is that the store is very well organized and tidy, making it easy to find what you're looking for.

If you or a loved one are struggling with hair loss for any reason and need a wig, this is the…read moreplace to go. They have a wonderful selection of high quality wigs. The owner is very gracious and patient. She gives you the time you need to browse wigs and then will help you fit the wigs gently, giving plenty of space to get a feel for them. You have to use a store supplied new wig cap before trying on, which is a good thing! Highly recommend!

I'll write a review since I've been coming here for about a year or more and I'll just say 1) she's…read moregreat, a sweet lady! 2) Her rule about not trying on wigs is indeed a bad call, in my opinion, and I think she should repeal it. Since the days I've blew a bag at her store were when I was able to try on wigs. And I have seen her scare off some customers by not letting them try on wigs, but I see why she'd hesitate to let 7 teenagers in a pack wander in at once to try a lot of wigs they may not buy.... a gamble though, what if they all spent their allowance to buy one and became customers? (I think her "pay 2 to 5 bucks for wig caps for hygiene reasons" works well, and I've never had an issue with that. Sometimes she'll bend the new rules a bit about 'no wig trying on', I remember I once almost swore from coming back when a rich date I had was told he couldn't try on a 100$ wig, {she didn't know his income, and figured he was just a straight dude playing around and not a fancy actor trying to expand his look seriously,} but he was charming, so next thing you know he was trying them on and balling out. I'm just saying.) But I like her store. I remember the first time I ever came into her store, she was shocked to see how I somehow fit my medium sized box braids under a bob wig like it was nothing. Always fun at her store, I like to come here and get a new wig whenever I want an uplift. She always reminds me that they're not everyday wigs, and little does she know the wig quality holds up amazingly. The colorful wigs are like 29 bucks lowest (plus 3 bucks tax) and the more pricey colorful ones are like 50 bucks. And i turn HEADS, like full on stopped in the street 7 times in a night to get complimented because of how realistic and iconic the wigs here are, high quality and really nice colors! And people think it's my real hair, I like wearing these more than my natural hair colored Outre wigs. I wear them so often, its a blast. So if you want starburst pink Sabrina Carpenter tresses, periwinkle blue swishy bobs, a Smores platinum blonde bob reminiscent of Xtina Aguilera meets Britney Spears, long red Ariel-like flowy siren hair, or anything, come here. Sue is so sweet. I hope if you've had a tricky experience here, you can give her a second chance. Since funny enough, the place used to be a VHS and DVD store named "Alameda Wigs" with maybe 10 wigs in a small corner of the two room sized store FILLED to the brim with blu-rays, and I remember I came in like a year or so ago like "Hello! Is it okay if I try on a wig?", and she was so baffled and shook that someone wanted a wig. Like, amazingly hilariously baffled, as if I was a biblical angel delivering a prophecy that her wig shop should, yknow, sell wigs. I think people just never stopped by before, since it was a DVD shop in 2024 labelled a wig shop, and so it just was a new concept to her to expand into that territory, yknow? And next time I came in a month later, bet your ass all the tapes were gone and it was ALL WIGS and she had a huge smile on her face. And a lot of new customers! Amen! She seems new to selling wigs specifically and just seems to want to have a high quality hygienic reputation, but I promise it's worth it even to gamble on a wig that seems like it'd be a good fit for you. Even my big HUGE head can fit the wigs, and maybe she'll let you try on a wig if you come in consistently and are polite. (And maybe ask to double cap and reassure you're serious.)

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.

Showed up in our 2nd stop around the Berkeley downtown/campus area to browse for music. Got some…read morenew trendy vinyl (36) not the best price but trends do drive prices so ehhh it is what it is. Vintage things can be quite cheap depending on format and popularity. Picked up Damian Marley's stony hill (7) for a cd that's a good price, will be more rare through the years. Also picked up Nelson Ned for the same price but in vinyl. Now ask people about famous Brazilian singers in Spanish he's top of that list, good price for refined ears. 5/5 great store

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

4+ I've been to another Rasputin's location before. This location is unique in that it's connected…read morewith a second hand clothing store as well (Anastasia's). I went with some family to look for records so my experience is more for the records side. The overall space is huge. I feel like it was at some point a big box retail store that was converted. The folks here are friendly and helpful and the selection and prices are great and are pretty much in line with market if not slightly lower. I ended up buying a couple of new records as they got some stock on Record Store Day here as well in addition to their usual huge inventory of used (and new) records. I even got to replace an old Rolling Stones live record that I loved (and at some point lost in my own collection). There's a big parking lot and it's fairly easy to find parking. It was a little hectic when we went, only because it was on Black Friday.

This Rasputin's location is great. The place is HUGE. The complaint I have is DO NOT SELL YOUR…read moreCLOTHES HERE. You will get ripped off. I just sold 4-5 bags of clothes and they took about 90% of it for $30! Comes out to about 25 cents to $1.00 for each item. I understand that they need to make a profit but ripping people off is bad business. Clearly you wanted the clothes. She also said, they would take the items they didn't buy to donate it. Uhhh no. I ended up taking her measly $30 because I was tired of having it in my car. I should've just donated everything and I wouldn't feel taken advantage of. What did I donate...Nike air (black) used 2 times, jackets, zara clothes, clothes with tags (never used) & lots of pac sun clothes.

The size of Amoeba overwhelmed me, but positively. This place was easily way bigger than my local…read morerecord shop, let alone any record shop I've been to in the past. Amoeba offers a VAST collection of vinyls, DVDs, CDs, stickers, and magnets. My partner and I collect vinyls, and we didn't leave disappointed.

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

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 love it at k-pop nation they have a big selection and the stuff is good quality too, price they…read moresell for is good as well. The service that k-pop nation is good no trash on the floor. I do recommend this store if you live here or you're traveling. I'm actually going again soon hope to see the k-pop fans there too okay bye hope this is helpful to you.

Very friendly lady helped us find the Chinese "lysee" red envelopes with our last name.read more

Said had kpop music and Korean videos my daughter loves that stuff we had to walk supper far and…read morethe shop was as big as my closet but had no music at all

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.

Favorite book store to get me all stimulated over cozy coloring books and markers! Crayons too!!!!…read moreValue is honestly a bit much but it's worth supporting local. Staff is super nice too. I purchase cards here over the store across the street. Books Inc is much friendly and never watches me like a hawk

Books Inc is now under the umbrella of the Barnes & Noble brand. Despite this, this location still…read moreretains its independent/community feel. The staff are helpful and kind here. And I love coming in to peruse their curated and staff choice books, which changes a d rotates frequently. There's a decent selection of books on sale at the back left corner of their store if you want to shop for deals. The kiddie corner has a seated area for families/children to spend a little time looking through the books before you purchase. There's also regular author readings/signings and poetry recital events during certain early afternoon or evenings at the bookstore, which is posted on a section of their wall, facing out from their left window display. If you had a rewards membership with Books Inc, you can transfer your points and member ID info over to the Barnes & Noble rewards program.