California RSD FAQ
How many record stores are in California?
California has 257 active record stores spread across 133 distinct towns – the largest single-state directory on the site. Los Angeles alone holds 29 shops, San Diego 13, San Francisco 12, Sacramento eight, and Oakland seven. The southern California shops in El Centro and the Imperial Valley sit a short drive from Mexico, the I-15 corridor pulls east into Nevada (Las Vegas is a regular destination for SoCal collectors), the northeast shops sit on I-80 toward Oregon, and the southeastern corner borders Arizona. Notably, California has zero FYE locations – one of very few US states where the national chain doesn’t operate.
Tell me about Amoeba Music.
Amoeba Music is the world’s largest independent record store chain, founded in California in 1990. The three California locations form a coast-spanning trio: Amoeba Berkeley on Telegraph Avenue opened in 1990 as the original, Amoeba San Francisco opened in 1997 in the Haight-Ashbury district at the corner of Haight and Stanyan, and Amoeba Hollywood opened in 2001 as the flagship megastore at 6200 Hollywood Boulevard. The Hollywood location is regularly cited as the largest single record store in the country, and all three Amoeba locations remain the anchor RSD destinations on the West Coast every April.
What are the best record stores in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles holds 29 shops spread across the city’s neighborhoods. Amoeba Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard anchors the entire scene. Rockaway Records is one of LA’s longest-running used and collectible specialists. Mount Analog in Highland Park, Supervinyl, and Permanent Records Roadhouse in Cypress Park anchor the indie cluster. Record Surplus on West Pico, Counterpoint Records and Books, Gimme Gimme Records, Headline Records for punk, and The Last Bookstore downtown round out the rotation. Going Underground Records in Little Tokyo is the LA sister to the original 2001 Bakersfield shop.
What are the best record stores in San Francisco and the Bay Area?
The Bay Area carries 35-plus shops between San Francisco (12), Oakland (7), Berkeley (4), and the South Bay. Amoeba San Francisco in the Haight is the city’s flagship since 1997. Amoeba Berkeley on Telegraph Avenue is the original 1990 location. Rasputin Music is California’s oldest indie chain (founded 1971 in Berkeley, with five California locations across Berkeley, Campbell, Fresno, Modesto, and Pleasant Hill). Stranded Records on Valencia Street in SF (the retail arm of archival label Superior Viaduct, specializing in avant-garde, experimental, ambient, and jazz) has a sister shop in Oakland on College Avenue. Rooky Ricardo’s Records, Vinyl Dreams, Thrillhouse Records, and Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl round out the SF circuit. Down the peninsula, Vinyl Solution Records in San Mateo has been operating since 1984 (the chain also runs a Huntington Beach location since 1989), and Streetlight Records covers the South Bay with locations in San Jose and Santa Cruz.
What are the best record stores in San Diego?
San Diego’s 13 shops cluster across the city. TAANG! Records is the retail arm of the legendary Boston hardcore label (now operating from San Diego), making it a national destination for hardcore and punk collectors. Folk Arts Rare Records handles the folk, world, and rare-collectibles trade. M-Theory Music, Normal Records, Vinyl Junkies Record Shack, and Nickelodeon Records round out the city’s indie circuit. Red Brontosaurus Records and FeelIt Records handle the contemporary indie trade.
What are the best record stores in Sacramento and the Central Valley?
Sacramento’s eight shops are anchored by The Cave, the three-location mini-chain owned by the son of John and Dilyn Radakovitz (the legendary Dimple Records proprietors whose family helped launch Record Store Day 15-plus years ago). The Cave runs a Folsom location in the former Dimple Records space, a Sacramento Arden Way location, and a cavernous Roseville location in a former Bassett Furniture space with vintage neon. Down in the Central Valley, Rasputin Music runs locations in Fresno and Modesto, and Going Underground Records in Bakersfield (the 2001 original under Ron Ramirez) anchors the southern Central Valley with a punk-label arm of its own.
Does California participate in Record Store Day?
Yes, and California is RSD-foundational territory. The Dimple Records family in Sacramento helped launch Record Store Day 15-plus years ago, and the family’s continuation through The Cave‘s three Sacramento-area locations keeps that history alive. The three Amoeba Music stores are the largest annual RSD destinations on the West Coast. Rasputin Music‘s five California locations, Streetlight Records (which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025), Rockaway Records, and dozens of other CA indies anchor the state’s RSD weekend. Check the official Record Store Day store locator each spring for the current California participant list.
Where can you find rare and collectible vinyl in California?
Amoeba Hollywood is the world’s deepest single-shop indie inventory, with collector pricing on the wall behind the counter alongside everyday used stock. Rockaway Records in LA is one of the country’s most-trafficked collector and dealer destinations. Folk Arts Rare Records in San Diego is the California reference for folk, world, and rare American roots music. TAANG! Records in San Diego holds the Boston hardcore label’s catalog plus the broader American hardcore tradition. For an unusual California story, White Rabbit Records in Fullerton operates at the same 645 S State College storefront where Burger Records ran from 2007 until the label’s 2020 collapse over widespread misconduct allegations; co-founder Sean Bohrman renamed the storefront and continues to operate it.