A classic old school record shop. Dusty stereo equipment piled high in all the corners, mounds of…read moreunsorted LPs everywhere else, and tightly packed bins of well-chosen records comprising the majority of this unassuming storefront. Has it been vacuumed in the last 10 years? Who cares? Does he have the best collection of vintage rock, heavy metal, and country in Des Moines? Absolutely. The owner is quiet and leaves you be. The music he plays is low-key and innocuous, alienating no one. His prices are just right: $30-50 bucks for most original pressings in good shape, and very rare ones are $100ish. If he charged less there'd be nothing to look at here. It's like a great guitar shop - you go there partially just to look at all the cool stuff. The new vinyl record stores are fake -everything they carry is was made from a digital master; just a vinyl version of a CD. All the other old record shops have a lousy collection and completely arbitrary prices. This place is totally legit.

Red Rooster is an awesome little record store that knows what to stock, but also knows what to…read moreprice the records.. No fooling this guy on that copy of Jame Brown at the Apollo... He know's what it's worth. But with that comes a knowledge of whats great to stock and he always have killer new records coming in.. He will also cut you a deal if you are going to purchase 4-5 records at a time. Red Rooster does not really stock new releases or local stuff, so if your looking for the new Arcade Fire LP this is not your stop, but if your looking for that rare Zappa record to fill up your collection this might be your best stop in town.

Went here one time. Great place to look and buy. Only been here once but never really talked to the…read moreowner. They have some very retro records though. The place was really clean. I value this place a lot and my grandma liked it to, just didnt have what I was looking for.

Great Service! The owner Austin is super nice and helpful. They have THE BEST Selection out of…read moreCassettes tapes, CDs and Vinyl. They have super good pricing for what they have. They have cassettes that work for a dollar that sounds Brand New. Versus a different Record Store near me sells cassettes for 20 bucks and dosent work at all. This is the best record store I have been to and will ever have.

Small shop but plenty of parking and easy to get to. Staff were incredibly nice and helpful. I was…read moreable to find a couple things and had a good time going through the stacks. I appreciate that they care enough about their product to subdivide it into sections so I don't have to look at rock music if I don't want to. Best store in town in that regard for sure. I would definitely make a point of coming back on my future trips to the area.

Man I love this store. Best record stores I visited in town. I think I went to all of them. Great…read morecurated selection of clean mint records. Store employee was super nice to chat with. This would be my first stop back in town.

Overpriced crap. Lots of good titles but the condition didn't meet the price point. The smell of…read morethe used clothes was pretty unpleasant and kinda just felt like I needed a shower when I left. Owner was pretty stoked about his vintage sealed record collection but failed to offer any return policy on them. Sealed records from back in the day are often warped. You gotta be a good business and take care of the customer. Speaking with the other record store owners in town, they kind of had the same negative vibe I got.

Steve is a great guy. His shop has autographed items & non. Vinyl records, CDs, cassettes,…read more8-tracks. VHS, DVDs, blue-ray. Band shirts for men & women, dresses, skirts, pants, hats, scarves, belts, purses. Incense, lighters, ashtrays, vapes, glass. Novelty items, shot glasses, jewelry & body jewelry. Candles, greeting cards, magazines, comic books, flags, tapestries. Artwork. Largest collection around of items from local bands & local artists. Bicycles. And a music venue in Summer playing rock & metal bands. They buy, sell, and trade items...

Excellence Included! I can't say enough good things about Skylabs. Every visit, yes every one has…read moreexceeded expectations. I'm not an high-end audiophile & I don't have thousands invested in my equipment but Skylabs assisted me as if I did! Purchases include receiver, speaker cable, two turntables for different spaces (rec room & office) so what did they do - asked questions in order to make sure I bought the equipment that best matched my needs (size of the room, frequency of use, wired speakers or bluetooth, etc.). Hang with me as there is more- Skylabs repaired my father's Acoustic Research speakers (1960s). Amazing sound! Today I just purchased my 3rd turn table as a surprise for my son's birthday. Skylab - Thank you for making my vinyl sound amazing! Tim

Why this shop bothers to stay in business is a mystery. While they now state they will no longer do…read moreany service on anything not purchased there [lol], They did a service/clean on my Hi-end amp. They did not do the job I paid for. When I brought it to someone's attention, they did not honor the work I paid for. They did not offer a refund. This is a shop I would not step into again.

Our 1st time in this store. Great selection, price, and service. Will be back for all our vinyl…read moreneeds. Earl and Dale are reason enough to visit. :)

I love this store so much. It's a little amazing store and it deserves so much more attention has…read moreall the physical media you could want. LOVE!

This is a small little thrift store that is packed with all types of goods from toys to decor to…read moreclothes to books. I found a handful of clothes that I liked. They have a few dressing rooms so you can try on what you find. The pricing was very reasonable. This store is also generous in the mission of giving back with the money from the sales- makes you want to shop there even more!

Prices are getting much better. For some reason they occasionally get unreasonable. Unfortunately…read morethey deem "vintage" are still often very overpriced. Still I have bern finding mote genuinely high quality "thrift store priced" items lately. Staff at these stores are consistently great.

I used to travel to Chicago and Minneapolis for my skating needs, only to find the best skate shops…read moreright here in Iowa. Keep up the good work

My son tells me that the vinyl was actually fake.... He was super disappointed on Christmas…read moremorning.

staff is nice there is a great selection of just about everything i love going to jays it is very…read morefun and its not to expensive and they will give you a great price when selling things there.

Jay's CD & Hobby stores are probably my favorite establishments in all of Des Moines. I'm a huge…read moreretro junkie so scouring through old video games, music, trading cards, etc., is one of my favorite pastimes. This location in particular, is probably my most visited one, but also my least liked of the three. Even so, it's still a great store. When it comes to retro and vintage items, you can always find exactly what you're looking for on sites like eBay. The fun part of Jay's, is not knowing what you want and just browsing. More times than not, I don't buy anything from this location. The selection of items is usually better at the other locations. That's the only reason it's not a 5-star rating for me. Value wise, I think their prices rival eBay, and you can buy it on the spot instead of waiting for shipping. Staff always seems friendly and helpful also.

This was the first place i stopped to in town to get my coffee fix, it was excellent. The counter…read morestaff were extremely friendly and were pumped to recommend stuff for me to do in Ames. They didn't have drip coffee so i opted for an americano and it was delicious. Awesome place.

Morning Bell Coffee Roasters claims to pour a brew that is "moderately acceptable ". I'd say it…read moregreatly exceeds expectations. I really like is a coffee shop with a cool, informal vibe that opens early. Throw in a nice window and some big ass plants and I am in! Filled with plenty of seating, a couple of outdoor tables for the nice days and some larger tables for those with actual work to do, it's easy to spend a chunk of time here. I am sure if I lived nearby, I'd be here all the time. In fact, if I was looking for a home in Ames, I'd probably just draw a circle within walking distance and start my search there. Looking to start your day in Ames with a morning pour over or simple espresso? Morning Bell is your place.