Amazing customer service. The guy really knows what he's talking about literally ask him about anything and he'll know. This is genuinely a hidden gem, for music lovers, skaters, and surfers. Thank you for the sticker I appreciate you guys!! read more

Soundwaves - 10/10 customer service guy at the counter gave me a free tree trunks sticker - Music & DVDs Near Me - Houston, Texas

The hidden gem in this record store is the used jazz and classical section, where for less than the price of a cup of coffee anywhere in the Montrose except Kroger, you can walk away with a classic on CD. The place is huge but half of it is taken up by surf gear, swimwear, and skateboards, but the other half has every genre under the sun represented well. The jazz section is top-notch for classics and quite decent for the experimental weird stuff I like to listen when I'm not in a Zoom meeting. read more

I go there for the skate tools/shoes/hardware, but their clothes are tight too.. just way over priced. Hit up the back right corner for the sales rack then bug out unless you need skate gear. read more

This place has good parking great locations, in heart of Montrose. It has a strange feel of place going out of business COVID -19 protocol phone from door to be admitted the prices are average. read more

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I have instantly fell in love with this CD shop when I noticed they had most of the artists I've been searching for: The Killers (my most all time favorite band), Tool (a very good metal band that I adore), Tiesto (my favorite trance artist), OutKast (my top favorite hip-hop rap). However, unfortunately they didn't have any Diecast nor taTu. I was even more shocked and surprised that they had Burial which is a future garage, ambient musician from out of UK London. That was a huge shockwave for me, but happy to see more people learning about good music. The wide selection of CDs was head-on great! Though, hopefully in the future they'll add Vacant, Manu Shrine, Patrice Bart-Williams, Diecast, and taTu to their collection. The prices of the CDs do range like the bargain discs are $4.99 ($5) and the others were mostly either $10.99 ($11) or $8.99 ($9). Pretty pricey for the used bargain ones, but for the brand new CDs they are legit pricing. It's a lot cheaper than at AllRecords. I did spot some good Cameo, O'Jays, Macy Gray, Silversun Pickups, Sick Puppies, Deadmu5, Paul van Dyk CDs. Maybe next time I'll remember to browse for some MC Lite. read more

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After being on a hunt for 40 days and 20 nights. I decided to stop in here. In search for my sweet love of mine. The one the only.. It was decades later since 2 of my Ultra 2008 cd made of their minds up to crack into 3's on me. The pain & agony of watching them as the lay damaged, unfixable, and unplayable. My Ultra 2008 & Ultra Trance 2008. Two completely different cds & songs though with similar names. But both brought in 2008 at Walmart. The summer of 69' is when we used to watch the sunset fall and the shores of tides wash in. A peaceful ambient. I glared into the souls of both wreckless cd's. Thinking where and how will I ever be able to find these cds..? Time passes by, weeks turn into hard cold months. From cd shoppe to record store no sign. Lost without a trace, until one day a postage stamped Soundwaves came in the mail. Out of distress and wearyness. I jumped up and took a long drive. Upon arrival, Soundwaves sits in a blacked alley. The one and only street light flickers. As I approach the lonely building on the corner of here and there. I enter into the locked fixation of nebula stargaze. Every pattern and spiral, space besides me. Bright colors, blurred sounds, the distorted faces. Goblin Wang. A distance memory of what I didn't know to what I know now. The trance cds sit and wait. The cold case reopens and the case is closed. All the cds I was ever looking for were zapped into my euphoric state of mind. The anguished price blew me away like an atomic bomb my long lost pain turned into more pain when I knew I couldn't get the cds. Leaves turned brown & the hollow rot disappeared into unknown. read more

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perfect place for gear! Love that is has been here for so long and hope it remains much longer

Has by far the best surfing gear and Board selection in Houston. Their skate gear, surf/skate apparel, and music selection are also badass. They still have great cds but back in the day when cds were king, this was the place. The owner is very cool as well, he has a ton of knowledge. It's worth just a visit to browse. Support your local shop! read more

Soundwaves started out as a local chain of awesome record stores in the 80s. They sold hard to find rarities and imports. You could actually listen before you buy, (that was unheard of back then). Back in '98 the Montrose store started selling surfboards and gear and skateboards. Today it's one of two surviving surf shops in the Houston area. I love the place. They have a great staff and don't mind if you read a surf mag or feel up their huge inventory of boards. I always buy a bunch of stuff. I'm like a kid in a candy store. They sell a lot of good used boards at reasonable prices. They can order you a board if they don't have it. They can do anything. read more

Used to loved soundwaves to buy shorts, caps and other summer apparel. However, I had an awful experience this week. Basically, the cafe in front of the store sale supplies to help the people that go to the Chinese consulte across the street (copies, computer time, office supplies in general). I thought it was a great idea until I realized the charge stupid amounts of money. I saw the attendant charged $12 for an envelope to a old Chinese guy who didn't speak any English. These guys are basically taking advantage of that people. I understand they can charge whatever they want, but that is a ripoff! Will never buy anything from them again. They are practicing a poor elaborate usury scheme read more

Worst customer service, too bad there's not an option for no stars. Went in on a Saturday at 1:30ish, they keep the door locked which is understandable because covid but I thought great, this gives me the opportunity to tell the employee what I needed which was wheels and bearings and asked if they will put them on too. I get a response of they don't do outside parts... cool, I'm looking to buy and have you install. I proceeded to the counter where the wheels were and the person who unlocked the door went to sit down and play on their phone. So I look up and down the boards section some, come back to the wheels and spent more that 15-20mins by myself just staring in the glass cabinet. Now I don't believe this is self serve, otherwise why would the items be kept in an enclosure. The employee unlocked the door and let a few others come in the store which now made a total of 4 customers including myself. I am now fed up because I don't have all day so I leave and walk by the employee now sitting again but the door is locked and she advises from her pedestal that I had to walk by that the door is locked. Which I already knew because I'm clearly standing there and tried the door for myself. She comes and unlocked the door and said "Thanks!" And I said "For what, no one $%@&ing helped me?" And I get a response of "I'm sorry". Soundwaves will NEVER have my business and I went down the road to Select who was amazing. They immediately helped me as I walked in the door without me asking and they already had 4 other customers in the store and so I made a purchase and had the wheels and bearings replaced in less the time I spent at Soundwaves. read more

Where else can you buy surfboards, surf apparel, and CD in one store. Just moved here, and the staff were very helpful with local surf tips. Mahalo read more

Not worth going with the current policy. They have a policy of only letting 6 people into this huge store at one time, and locking the door at all times. I got here about 15 mins before they closed and they refused to let me in. If you want to close at 5:45, make that the time you close. If you don't want to be open during Covid, don't be. read more

I hadn't been in a Soundwaves location for many years. Was in the area and thought I would have a look. In the mid 90's Soundwaves was the go to store for music in Houston, with, if I remember correctly, 8 or 10 locations. I think the Montrose location is the last one. Half the store was music and the other half was dedicated to all things surfing. Huge CD selection. Decent new vinyl section and some used vinyl also. Nothing really jumped out at me, so I left empty handed. Glad they are still around thou. read more

I came here to buy a skateboard and the guy who helped me was so nice. He literally built me a board from scratch based on what I wanted. He even put it together for me. The board was a great price and I am very happy. I am definitely comin back for my next. read more

Just reviewing the surfshop. This place is stocked to the rafters with chinese made popouts. Buying this stuff doesnt really support our economy or the local(or american) craftsman... . 7S, surftech, boardworks, Anacapa,webber, GSI, etc... all chinese made imports made by people earning $1 a day. I was surprised to see this at "houston's #1 surf shop" yikes. read more

Great surf & skate gear - amazed how many real Rusty and Merrick boards on the rack. Plenty of pop outs and beginner boards as well. Cool music and video selection. Great place to pick up some sunglasses, skateboard, baggies, SUP, or surfboard. Plenty of caffeine too - Fortunate to have soundwaves in Houston! read more

This place has many things going without a clear focus. Not a first choice for vinyl. A large CD selection, surf wear coffee shop. This shop needs to decide what it's focus is instead of taking a see what sticks plan. read more

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I'm a nostalgia girl, I still buy cd's as if it were still the late 90s and I enjoy digging through stacks of vinyl to see what gems I can find. I don't think I will ever be able to change that and this store makes you feel like time hasn't passed. I think they have a bit of everything for everyone no matter what your taste may be. They have good ol' cds and records (new and used) at a decent price. And they also have men's and women's clothing and shoes, pretty cool. You can take your time and search through the stacks of vinyl and see what you find. The store is big so you never feel cramped. The reason why I only gave this place 3 stars is for the employees. Once you go in, you're not greeted and if you need help during your visit, you're s.o.l My last visit here, the young girl at the register was snooty and tried to keep reading her book and was looking at me like I was trying to steal records. How???? In the tiny little purse I had with me??? Get over yourself honey. Anyway, they also have a little cafe thing that serves some bomb smoothies. Parking is a dream because they have their own lot, that's a plus. I like this store and I would like to visit more, they just need nice employees. read more

Back in the day, many eons ago, when I thought I was a revolutionary, this is one of the places I practically lived in. When I had crappy cars that would strand me at school, Soundwaves was just a few blocks away--a sanctuary for wheel-less youth. How times change. Slowly, it seemed silly to buy cds, so my wanderings through record stores have been limited through the years. Recently, however, my affinity for vinyl (records you perverts!) has resurfaced and so I wander like a thirsty fiend trying to get my next fix at any record store that stocks actual records. Soundwaves never had a huge vinyl section but it was decent. Today, the section could easily be missed by a casual observer. The store is a shell of its former self. It's like some weird surf shop now, complete with latte colonics. Years of disillusion and abuse, however, have taught me to compromise. So yeah, this place A-OK. Selah . . . . read more

I'm only reviewing the music store portion of Soundwaves, because the other merchandise isn't really relevant to me. Firstly, this place gets a huge thumbs-up from me for providing a dedicated metal section, but most of the releases that you'll find here are of the mainstream/metal classics variety such as those signed to Nuclear Blast, Earache, Relapse, etc. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, because you'll find some cool stuff, but just don't come looking here for the next limited edition brutal underground demo, because you'll be sorely disappointed. Also, the only thing you'll really find here in terms of format for metal are new CDs. Metal records are generally not sold here, and seeing as to how few overall records this store has to begin with, vinyl is certainly not this store's strongpoint in any genre. Used metal CDs are also not really their thing. read more

I love being able to listen to music before I buy it. The fact that Soundwaves has 30 stations with 5 albums on each one is just amazing. I get so sick of trendy record stores refusing to put popular music on display, even if it is popular indie music. Because they do this, it helps them and me. I might only go in to buy one album and then decide well hey, let me listen to these other albums on display and then end up getting hooked. I left Cactus and came to Soundwaves where it's better lit, better organized and cheaper. I don't care about vinyl, I don't care about the surf shop part - I just like to get my music some where that's easy, unpretentious and affordable. Soundwaves is the deal. read more

Was the worst service ever. Really rude old man working. Not to mention the dismissive workers who refused to help. Overall the community could do without those type of businesses & people. Goo to cactus record for beautiful service & people!! read more

Honestly I just really miss the old Soundwaves. I hadn't stopped in for some time and was surprised to find the evolution of the store, which is not a bad thing but just not my thing. Coffee shop, Watches, Sunglasses, Surf Apparel, Boards, Shoes, Accessories and then music/dvd. Still a great shop just different. read more

Soundwaves is a pretty good music store. They have a pretty good selection, pretty good staff, and some pretty good-looking surfboards and surfer/skater-inspired clothes/accessories (though I have never even touched a surfboard in my life, so I could be full of it). You can preview almost anything in the store, and there are preview stations all along the walls with a wide range of CDs ready to go. I used to shop here because of their good selection of electronica/IDM records, but I haven't checked on it recently. The staff has always been friendly and pretty good at recommending things in the (You like _____? Try ________) kind of way, which is nice if you're looking to expand your horizons or buy a gift. Their selection includes nearly all genres of music, but I'd say the store is geared toward the under 30 crowd. read more

Their is a weird feeling when you enter this store. Staff isn't really that interested in helping you find anything, I'm a skater and my group was looking at boards, trucks, and wheels. No help! Stuff is in the case, so we couldn't like help our selfs, we need a staff member. They were not happy about walking all the way over there to open it... It was about 20 feet of walking with a belly. Honestly, nice selection of everything. I think I'll shop at mom and pops skate shops from now on read more

I have been coming to the place for years due to nothing but necessity. They have the best board collection in H town, but it is also the worst attitude towards paying customers (they seem to think they are doing you a favor by taking your money), ignorance by the sales staff on the surf gear, seen them trying to sell gear to people that clearly isn't right for their skill level. I bought a $800 board for my hubby's birthday because board manufacturer would only sell through local vendor. Terrible experience. I ordered 8 weeks ahead of the date to make sure I'd have in time, was told it would take two weeks to arrive. I got it the day before his birthday, and only because I dealt with board manufacture myself. Owner at Soundwavrs made no effort except to take my money at the end (all full price of it plus his profit). Manufacturer sells direct now--they didn't like dealing with SWs either. So.....showed up today needing some wax, hoping it would be different (although 20 years of coming here would suggest not going to happen). And it didn't. Same bad attitude. Same terrible service. At least they are consistent! read more

Came here to get some new trucks for my longboard and the dude complained the whole time while putting them on for me

This is a review just for the music part. When I first walk in, they have a front area were you have to place any backpacks, other bags you happen to have on you. Kind of cold, but whatever. The music selection is piss poor. Some CDs and a few box sets. The service sucks. They do not engage you at all, and with a cold sterile welcome. I can almost get past that, but one of the worst music selections I have ever seen in a music store. Edit: And don't listen to the guy that says Cactus has closed shop. They are alive and kicking. Doing very well actually. Go there for a good music store. Better yet go to All Records. read more

Its good and its bad...really about 2.5 stars. They have a good selection of surfboards that are over priced and a good selection of Reefs. As far as for the reast of the shop the selection is minimum and not really up to date. The shoe selection just plain sucks as does the music side. They need a new buyer that is up to date on the surfing culture. The staff is hit or miss...most of the time they ignore you and are in World of their own occasionally you will run into one that seems to actually give a damn. From what I have heard it all goes back on ownership. read more

Really like this place. They have the larges selection of Sanok Shoes and Sandals I have found in Houston. Have bought several pair of shoes and sandals here. I am a 70"s Rocker and the music I want is there and much more!! It's always fun checking out the the surf boards. My son loves longboarding. I have bought 2 of those for him and he lives on them, seriously! I would highly recommend this store to all to at least stop by, no matter what your age is. The Sanok Shoes are the most comfortable shoes I own. Bruce C. read more

This place reminds me of Tower Records from the days it was cool to go to the record store. But it was even better when I saw the surfboards and Women's dresses and Toms for sale. The have tons of listening stations to try before ya buy, which makes this place awesome. And the parking lot makes the shopping stress free. Check 'em out! read more

Born in 85' i remember well the 90's when there were several of these around the city. Now these conglomerate's have soaked the market into a few electronic stores, but most of the independant fighter-record-stores are still tickin' including this Soundwaves. Remember cassette tapes? Remember dubbing? Remembering is all most of us can do now that mp3's have become so prevalent. Or CD's were the lick, and still hold sway, but will soon be obselete. SW's has a plethora of CD's and they keep up with the times. Remember Vinyl's? My old man used to rock James Brown & Louis Armstrong cuts on the 45's on Saturday afternoons like they ware the weekend anthems. Soundwaves supports that time in history, when the fuzzy imperfections snook-in the speakers as it played side A, although in a small way b/c the vinyl section isn't much of the store's space. Cool & the Gang & the Isley Brothers didn't have to have the now coveted HD remastered touch b/c they were the masters of their sound. Soundwaves can relate. There's a section for the extreme sportsman--the skater, surfer, & the roller blader-- which features accessories like boards, trucks and wheels, as well as shirts, safety wear and stickers if you're an expressionist. Posters in the back pay tribute to the likes of Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. This shop is large in ways more than its floor space. read more

What is with this phenomenon of including lifestyle apparel at music stores? That's the thing I always hated about Virgin Megastore in NYC, and I bid them good riddance (except for the $10 DVDs). There is no room for Little Miss Sunshine t-shirts in my music listening/movie viewing life. So I don't see why a music store with such a large selection of CDs of every genre needs to have a surf-and-skate shop attached to it. Also keep in mind that Houston is about an hour from the water, and the Gulf of Mexico does not offer good waves. Plus, that part of the store was empty when I ventured out to the revered Soundwaves. Revered, but I fully expected vinyl. Only with a respectable vinyl collection could Soundwaves live up to the hype. I had my advisor do a quick look-see for the used records I yearned for, and all he saw was new bands like Pearl Jam doing the vinyl thing with their new music not because they're purists, but because everyone thinks vinyl will redeem them saleswise. Yeah I'm bitter about that. I was hoping for a record store a la High Fidelity and instead got a store a la Empire Records. Despite this huge sore spot, I was able to score a few obscure CDs from the above-average jazz section. Most notably, Thelonious Monk Live in Paris, which I just had to have, because to hear Monk play "April in Paris" in Paris is a wonderful thing. read more

I always want to like this store more than I do. The concept is fantastic: skate, music, movies, coffee... basically everything hip right? Too bad the store feels like its seen better days. The music selection is pretty good, but it feels like they don't restock most of what they sell. The DVD"s are obviously something they don't want to sell anymore, which is fine if a little disappointing. The skate part of the store is pretty solid though, if more focused on surfing and longboarding than classic skateboarding. Their clothes are pretty cool too, and reasonably priced. The coffee part of the store is a mystery to me, its right there at the front, but no one is distinctly manning it, so I've never asked for anything, mostly because there is a certain air about the employees that they don't want to be bothered too much. Overall an ok, store, one I like to support because I like its existence, but one that probably needs to redo a few things in order to stay around. read more

I love this place. Absolutely love it here. I can find some popular or obscure music. I recently started skateboarding and a guy working there helped me pick one out and even taught me a few helpful things including how to not look like a newbie at a park ... I love going here... I'm not living in Houston anymore but when I go back I stop here... It's one of those places for me. One time their cappuccino machine went out and they even gave me a free coffee. read more

Found a dope shirt for a concert. Wish it was more skate and music merch than surf but I respect the gnar all the same. Mahalo

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a fantastic local music store called Soundwaves. It was my favorite place to buy cd's because they always had the latest releases. They always had a good selection of imports that were a bit tricky to find anywhere else. They had large sub-sections of goth/industrial, indie and dance/electronica. They had a staff that was totally on top of the music scene, who was touring, who you might like (given what you were buying) and so forth. I guess the owner thought it would be better to ditch the focus on music and go into the clothing, surfing and skating retail business. These days, I'll go to Soundwaves with a list of 4 or 5 albums I want to get. I'm lucky if I can find 2 or 3 of them. Is it really unrealistic to expect them to have a new album that was released on Tuesday if I am there on Thursday? Is it too much to want them to know what album or musician I'm talking about? Given that they once dominated the indie music scene, I don't think it's much to ask. Alas, they don't seem to be too interested in music anymore. For music junkies like myself, this is depressing. Record Rack closed ages ago. Cactus is gone, but I always favored Soundwaves over them anyway. Without the competition, Soundwaves hasn't stepped up to the plate to fill the void. They've just become lazier and sloppier and let their selection dwindle. There are only two people still there that seem to know anything. The pretty lady with the really long hair is great and the cute guy with the short dark hair knows his stuff. Other than that . . . I just really want to support local businesses. I really want to support Soundwaves. They just make it so hard! Their pricing is fine. I look online and know I can sometimes save a dollar or two if I bought through Best Buy or Amazon, but I'd rather hop down Montrose and give my business to this shop. On the other hand, if Soundwaves is going to have to special order a cd for me which is going to take as long (if not longer) than ordering it myself AND they are going to charge a higher price than ordering it myself . . . no thanks. I envy people who live in NYC because they have an AMAZING little indie music shop called The Other Music and when I was there last, they had every single cd that I'd been wanting to pick up in town at Soundwaves (but, of course, they hadn't stocked them). I'm ranting now, but GEEZ! Can we get a good music store here?!?!? And what happened to Soundwaves' Super Tuesday? Oh well. read more

Cool store. They have music for the sound and surfing gear for the waves. Not a store I see myself frequenting but for the music lovers and the surf heads this is a cool spot. There are vinyls, Toms shoes, backpacks, and clothes all throughout the store and a cool little coffee shop. read more

Back in the early 2000's this was the best surf shop in HTX. I came in after a trip back to Houston and was politely asked to leave around 6:15 because "no employees showed up due to the bad storm and we've been here all day." What the eff? I wanted to buy 2 pairs of board shirts for upcoming trip to HI. It wasn't even raining when I was there and if the weather was that bad, why not close during bg the storm, not after it passed....lame read more