3rd and last stop in this neighborhood, had already bought records and cds elsewhere, but decided to 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. read more

Rasputin Music - Celia Cruz, Damian Marley , artic monkeys - Music & DVDs Near Me - Berkeley, California

I have spent loads of time and money at Rasputin in Berkeley. Nice selection of records. However, I bought 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 read more

Luckily found parking across the street. Beware to read the signs to pay for parking. This place is a Mecca for media collectors. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. They have a huge selection of children's movies in the basement amongst other genres. Prices are decent and they have this section at the entrance full of clearance blu ray/dvds. They are closed most of the week it seems and close early. Worth checking out. read more

A few things to know: 1) I drive a car that has a cd player. 2) I don't pay for any music streaming services. 3) My 7 year old son is really into 80's hard rock. Last year, for my son's birthday, a neighbor got him a used Metallica CD to further his love of 80's hard rock. We have listened to that nearly every day for over a year, and just recently, said son said he's a little done with Enter Sandman. So, for Christmas this year, we're changing it up. ACDC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap will be our 2025 anthem. This warehouse of a store has so many used cd's/dvds/records, etc.. at least 5 used copies of any album ever made. I got one that is seemingly in good shape for $7. Target is selling new one's for $9/$10, but you know, shop local, punk rock, I want these types of spaces to stay open for future generations. Overall, I can return if it's scratched up too bad, and a great inexpensive gift to get my son into music he is seemingly into! read more

Excellent selection of used DVDs and CDs. One of the few stores left that sells these products. Physical media is not dead yet. Fun to browse. read more

Rude. I'm sure that there's a lot of theft in this beautiful, colorful city. But having some idiot (female at front desk on 2/15 at roughly 5:45 pm) call out that the team she look both left and right when people come in is disgustingly and purely stupid. Group of 5 family members of mixed ages, races and identities is not the problem. The energy made me hold onto my money. Get better security with proper manners. So frustrated with people's blatant ignorance and lack of people skills and the nerve to speak in dumb code as if... duh. Do better. Most people are there to shop, unless they are treated with stupidity. Then they will simply leave. Amoeba is a better choice. So insulting that people can't just be professional as opposed to operating in their limited experience. When does this nonsense end? Anyway the selection was mediocre and the prices were decent. Still, better spent elsewhere - where hiring practices promote welcoming attitude and energy and are interested in the psychology of revenue generation. read more

Glad to see there are still great spots like this to buy vinyl as well as CD's, tapes, and DVDs in person. Awesome selection of many different music types. I was very happy with their selection of underground/indie artists, as well as jazz and classic rock. I could walk around the basement for hours given their selection. As an out of towner, I can tell this place has been an institution in Berkeley for a long time. Glad I checked it out! I was happy with my finds! Support your local record stores! read more

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This place has an amazing selection of vinyl records a good pricing, it's my go to place when in San Francisco for my music needs

Fantastic selection of records and cds of every genre with a great music history. A great walkthrough of music history.

Back in the day, I was always up in this Rasputins, buying all the latest music along with old, hard to find music. I always used to enjoy that you could listen to the music before making a purchase, so I used to spend a lot of time in here doing just that. A lot of Bay Area Rappers would come here also to promote their new music, this was always going on. Music on cassettes, CD, or vinyl. Movies on VHS, DVD, or Blu Ray. Posters and T-shirts of all kinds, a lot of nostalgia in this place for me now, and I still enjoy coming here!! read more

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This is the best used record, CD, music store in the East Bay. They have an incredible collection of hard to find jazz, rock, and folk CDs. They are guaranteed to play without a skip. There is a second store in San Francisco and a third in Hollywood. I have been to all of them. They buy your stuff as well, but it's got to be in nice shape. Check it out! read more

I truly love Rasputin so when locations started shutting down I became a bit sad. Luckily the Berkeley location opened back up, not sure when but this sarcastic man who worked there made sure to tell me they opened back up in 2020...... I'm sure they closed during the whole of Covid and I wanna say they reopened end of 2021-2022. Let's talk about the sarcastic man... Rasputin is a place of peace, nostalgia, fun times, epic movie selections, amazing deals on records and clothing. It's truly an amazing place to spend your time and money. There is an unruly, grungy, hairy (kind of like Sasquatch) passive aggressive white man that literally should not be working there. Why hire a smart azz to speak and guide customers? Not sure but he made me feel extremely uncomfortable on two different occasions. First was when I asked when Rasputin reopened.. he instantly blurted "since 2020" as he scuffed and huffed and puffed. I responded I've been driving past this store for years and it hasn't been open and even yelp has said "temporarily closed". He then goes in and say "not sure why you would think we're closed". At that point I knew it was time for me to walk away. I then over heard him telling another employee that may have been a new girl "you're doing more work than it needs and I see you're rearranging things... yea don't do that cause your waisting our time.." who the heck speaks to another employee like that. I know he's not the owner so of course I'm not taking it out on Rasputin but this guy needs to find a job either at the post office or dmv cause he's miserable. read more

The sheer volume of all of these record C d's DVD's cassettes was unbelievable. They also have a downstairs area that's full of goodies. My wife arranged for me to meet with a very knowledgeable man from the store. I brought about 150 Vinyl albums to see if he was interested in buying them. This guy is good. He can access an album on the fly and be very accurate. I was pleased to see I didn't get a new guy to the business. He went through every one of them carefully and they were treated with respect. Though we couldn't come to terms on his offer I felt he knew what it would take to sell them. They have so much there, they probably had multiples of everything I was selling. I didn't sell them to him but I totally respect his educated offer, and thanked him sincerely. It's a great place to sell, but even better if you buy. read more

Love their hip hop vinyl section. I didn't find anything I wanted in the cd section. A smaller selection of music here than it was At Amoeba down the street. I did come out with 2 albums that I am happy to have. Prices are going to be the prices for vinyl. It is what it is. Conditions of records were great! I am happy with my visit. Will return! read more

I have decided to rate Rasputin's on a Pros - Cons basis. First off! I was in the area with my bike, and typically I'd visit Amoeba on any given day but today there was a artist signing and the line was all the way out the door and up the street a block. So! I walked down about a quarter mile to Rasputins which had no line at all. First Pro is the bike parking outside. Another Pro is the good music they had playing in the store. I like shopping to good music so I figured I'd go straight to my favorite area - the Hip Hop section. Pro: they have all the best artists from around the Bay Area. Huge selection even if you're not looking for Bay Area artists. Pro: Easy to find an artist with a particular release or a particular artist's available catalog because the artists are in alphabetical order on the shelf. Pro: The price! Rasputin Music is definitely affordable, you can commonly save some money here. Very fair pricing. Since the prices were so fair, I picked up 2 albums for about the price of 1! What a deal! I picked up Jonestown (Messy Marv, Blanco, and The Jacka) and The Tortoise And The Hare (Husalah and Blanco) for $3.95 each. Pro: everything was there that I had been looking for. Pro: Friendly and helpful staff Overall for yesterday's visit, I can't give any Cons. Definitely fun to come here! read more

Rasputin Music - Soundtracks - Music & DVDs Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I found many Classic Rock and R&B CD's and Vinyl I was happy to add to my collection.

Great spot to buy used/new physical media. I focused on DVDs and VHS but they have music too, of course. Pretty good prices and selection (although this location has a way better DVD selection than VHS... VHS is actually pretty small here). Don't forget to go downstairs. The staff is helpful and kind. And this particular location has a good vibe thanks to its location in Berkley right next to the campus. read more

Rasputin Music - The sign outside - Music & DVDs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Once upon a time i was into music, i actually bought vinyl albums, then some CD's. Rasputin is a distant memory. nonetheless i still have lingered here in the past looking for used CD's. as i aged, i wasn't into any specific rhythm or rhyme long enough to want to own it. main reason i've not been here in years, sometimes i wondered why 2 CD's were priced different. i found out later the cheaper one usually had a track that skipped or didn't play. i am sad some rasputin locations are closing. there's comfort i can still buy CD's, games, etc. thru their website... read more

Came here recently for the first time. After, my local Rasputins closed down and is now a Grocery Outlet. Employees are chill & friendly. The service is good. However, they had more used stuff than new. They were out of stock of some stuff I liked. However, hope they have more cool stuff in stock when I come back again! read more

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The prices! I did so many double takes! How can they afford to stay in business charging what records cost in like 2010?! I love Rasputin's unusual way of hanging up its collectible records on wooden boards you take down from their hooks. I don't think I saw anything more expensive than $35. They sell a lot of new and used vinyl across rock, soul, country, jazz, hip hop, and electronic. I scored a sealed copy of Thom Yorke's "Tomorrow's Modern Boxes." I'd take Rasputin over its neighbor Amoeba any day (yes, I've been to all three locations). Lots of cool, reasonably priced treasures to be found here. read more

Its a big store with cool stuff but the owner and manager are completely disrespectful and inappropriate :(

Sadly today was my last visit to Rasputin, due to the low quality of the Blu-ray's/dvds. I love searching for films, but today was a big disappointment in the quality of films provided. 1st many of the discs were severely scratched, lots of thumbprints as well. Rasputin doesn't let you inspect a lot of the Blu-ray's because they are in locked plastic boxes. A lot of the films shouldn't be sold, they should be thrown out. Whoever is buying the films certainly isn't inspecting them. 2nd the Blu-ray's/dvds were overpriced. Many used films being sold at the same price or more than you can find them for in brand new retail price online. Sad to have such a poor experience here after so many years. Amoeba SF seems to be the go to for quality used dvd/blu rays. read more

Oh this place is just an institution. I used to go here when I was at Berkeley in the 80s and now psyched to bring my teenage kids here - the service is super pleasant, there is great selection, and the ambience is just vintage. Sure I'll be back. read more

Walk in go downstairs for the Vinyl. Get scolded by a guy who tells us to check our bags when there was no sign indicating to do so. Go back up stairs get our bags shoved into a cubby. (We had just come from a competitors store down the street.) go back downstairs. Highly disorganized. Can't tell who works there and who is a customers. The sections are not clearly labeled. Pretty much just the Rock section was. As you can see in the picture. I maybe spent all of 10 minutes in the store. Usually I can loose myself in the racks but since it was so disorganized and there were carts to move sections of records around wasn't very easy to navigate it. read more

Rasputin Music - Music & DVDs Near Me - Berkeley, California

Rasputin music is a great resource for music & movie lovers. The service is good . They have a good selection of DVD's ( may be going away ? ) . They have a good selection of vinyl but I didn't find any of the main releases of my favorite artists of the 70's & 80's . Donna summer , the cranberries , smashing pumpkins, Nirvana , Green Day .. perhaps the new store in Pleasant Hill on Buskirk (next to Best Buy , close to Wine shop ) is still stocking up?? The vinyl prices are outrageous and for releases that I don't recognize and have never heard of in 50 years . $50 for a European LP? Wtf? Seriously there were at least a dozen LP's prices at $45 plus $4.00 tax . I didn't even go through 30 albums and saw this. Went to eBay and the prices were half of that . Not necessarily great value . Do not try to sell your popular DVD's here. I brought in some highly rated movies and they told me I can give you $0.25 for 2 because the dvd medium is moving to streaming now. I still love to dig through the selections when I'm in the mood for an old Avengers , or Pixar movie . You can still find 3D which is so rare !! Overall it's great if you know what you're looking for and it's not just released . read more

Always fun to look around in this store, I feel like if it once existed they have it on tape, CD or Vinyl. Please support this store.

My girl can't stand this place because she claims that it is dusty and smells old, I personally love it, it's nostalgic and reminds us that printed and physical media doesn't have to be a lost medium. It's very easy to get lost in this store for hours on end, every area is guaranteed to offer you something that you were either looking for in the past or just want to add to your already growing collection. Even though they carry tons of items, the staff members do an excellent job in assisting customers with all their questions and needs. read more

Seems to be closed like all the others. Bascom Ave,El Camino MT View,Haight Street all seem to be tits up these days. read more

They have the biggest record selection in Berkeley. There selection of vinyl (downstairs) is pretty large. They have a good selection of new and used vinyl. They also have a huge selection of $.50 and $1 vinyl. If you have the time, you can find some true gems. If you collect vinyl, make a trip to Berkeley and go to Rasputin and Amoeba (they are a block apart). If you are also into books, you need to go to Moe's books. read more

I was pleased to find that selling clothes here at Anastasia is a more organized and competent experience than in Pleasant Hill. The emaciated goth girl who helped me at the new PH store had an eye rolling disorder, can't count to save her life, could not give any specifics regarding basic questions and gave me back someone else's items. The kids need to be watched. read more

MAJOR shout out to one of the few remaining music stores in the Bay. Considering that we are now in the age of streaming, it is AMAZING that Rasputin's is still open. Literally, thousands of movies, records, and of course CDs. This location is super cheap compared to the other locations (maybe because it is on Telegraph near the UC?). If you're into collecting vinyls, downstairs is where your treasure lies. I have picked up a good amount of Madonna Vinyls from here. I truly owe my entire cd collection to Rasputin's. Please remain open and doing an excellent job! read more

I absolutely love this place! It is a vinyl or blu ray lovers dream. They have so much of both and the prices are great. I definitely recommend you check this place out and give them your business. I never walk out of here empty handed read more

super nice employees and absolutely outstanding customer service!! glenna in particular is an absolute gem :) would absolutely recommend this store for music and they usually have a bunch of cool finds if you dig around a bit read more

I wish they had this store in AZ. Unfortunately it is a chain store that only exist only in CA. They offer the most extensive music CDs I have ever seen. Both used and old. Prices range from $0.99 to $30 depending on the condition of the cd and popularity. Walked in just to browse and ended up buying several CDs and a poster. The store itself is very well organized by genre and by alphabet. I could've spent hours in here. Next time I'm in town, I'd love to stop by again. read more

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Three levels, top floor is classical/ opera. Middle is DVD's and some CD's Bottom is some wide variety of sale items. Generally a good store to browse, staff is okay. read more

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Rasputin Music in Berkeley is a historical spot. They have all kinds of music for all kinds of people. They will buy your old vinyl and cds too. Don't forget to ask them who Rasputin is! He is also a historical figure. read more

I love record stores. I suggest going to Amoeba right down the street, Econo Jam , or Dave's. I had a terrible experience with the owner of Rasputin, years back. I was buying an album and when I got to the check out counter, he look at it, noted the price and said we were charging me too little and that he couldn't sell it to me. His staff had priced it, he just disagreed with their valuation. I pleaded with him and he became more arrogant and rude. Apparently he's also unsavory in business practices and the city of Berkeley is suing him. Such was my experience with him over a decade ago, that I looked up who the heck this guy was. All the other record stores I mentioned are owned by really nice and helpful people. Question is would you go back to restaurant if you knew they spit in people's soup? read more

I've always been a big fan of the Rasputin Music establishments. Sure, the service isn't all that great, and the place stinks, but if you're able to provide yourself with your own hazmat suit and mask, then that won't be a problem. This place will often have hidden gems that you won't be able to find online at the prices Rasputin will have them for. Sure, you're buying used products, but believe me, 90% of the time they are practically new. I picked up the classic 1989 Punisher film yesterday for only four bucks which is quite a bargain to relive some of my fondest memories of my youth. Plenty of music to buy and this location is quite larger compared to some of the other Rasputin locations. Overall, if you you're looking for a film/music then check this place out. Just don't expect top notch service. read more

Am I a bad father for introducing my 15 year-old son to Cheech and Chong? Too late! I already have him hooked on their Sister Mary Elephant gig. You know... Class!? SHUT UP!!!!! Thank you. I stopped in at Rasputin last Sunday to pick up a copy of the Wedding Album and got to listen to a mezzanine performance of Wallpaper as a bonus. And when you add the colourful local audience, being here really is half the fun. The Comedy Section is upstairs in the middle of the Classical (?) area, and Rasputin staff really helped in helping me find what I wanted. These guys also have a unique line up and check out system, but this time it worked and I soon happily on my way. I also left thinking that I should return more often and maybe stay awhile. read more

This is my favorite location in the Bay Area. This one is huge! And since I started DJing, this has been my go to for used vinyl as well as Amoeba. What's the first thing I look for when I go to any store? Duran Duran of course. This one always seems to have something that I don't already have in my collection. I usually throw down my money not caring about price when it comes to the all mighty DD. This is definitely the place to go to when looking for music since their collection is vast. P.S. Please get more Kid Cudi on vinyl. Thank you, mucho! read more