8 Best Vinyl Record Stores in Houston

By: Andrew
Date: August 15, 2022

This post contains affiliate links.

Going shopping for vinyl records is one of my personal favorite things to do while visiting a new city. If you’re currently in the Houston area and wondering which vinyl stores are worth your time, I’ve created a list of some of the best record establishments around. Whether you’re new to Houston or just browsing during a visit, these vinyl record stores are sure to help you find what you’re looking for.

Here are the 8 best vinyl record stores in Houston:

Sig’s Lagoon Record Shop
Vinal Edge Records
Sound Exchange
Memo Record Shop
Sound Revolution
Cactus Music
Sweet Spot Studio
Soundwaves

The rest of this article will expand upon each of these selections, so you can gain a better understanding of what Houston has to offer for music lovers like yourself. Read on for more information.

Table of Contents

1. Sig’s Lagoon Record Shop

Sig’s Lagoon Record Shop is a popular destination amongst vinyl record enthusiasts in Houston, Texas.

With 4.8 stars on Google and over 400 reviews, you can be sure you’re visiting a trusted establishment loved by the local community and tourists alike. Known for their excellently broad selection of music to choose from, I’m certain you’ll find something to love at Sig’s.

Located right on Main Street, this store sells a wide variety of vinyl records for you to browse in an artistically appealing environment. In addition to vinyl, Sig’s Lagoon Record Shop also sells a wide variety of other merchandise such as art prints, mugs, books, and other fun collection items.

Next time you find yourself in Houston, I highly recommend checking out Sig’s.

2. Vinal Edge Records

Another excellent Houston record store you should visit is Vinal Edge Records.

Vinal Edge has been adored by the music lovers of Houston for decades. They initially opened in 1985 and have been selling vinyl ever since, so you know Vinal knows what they’re doing. Located on 19th street, this shop has over 500 positive reviews and 4.5 stars ratings raving about its broad selection, vintage items, and fair pricing.

Like many record stores, Vinal Edge doesn’t exclusively sell vinyl records. Additionally, they sell shirts, cassette tapes, posters, and more. They also buy used records and stereo equipment, so keep them in mind if you’re looking to find a place to sell some old musical belongings.

Another great thing about Vinal Edge is the atmosphere. Reviews say this shop has an excellent environment, friendly staff members, and a welcoming vibe overall.

So, if you’re looking for a good vinyl record store in Houston, I definitely recommend Vinal Edge.

3. Sound Exchange

Another one of the best vinyl record stores in Houston includes Sound Exchange.

Known for being one of the oldest music stores in the city, Sound Exchange has been around since 1979. For decades, they have established trust as a record store and continue to provide outstanding service and products to their customers.

Sound Exchange is also proud of its excellent selection of records to choose from, including music from different places around the world. According to their website, here are some of the locations they especially love:

Mexico
South America
Africa
India
Japan

While they have a very wide variety of vinyl, here are some of the genres they love the best (which just happen to be my own favorites too):

Rock
Soul
Jazz
Psychedelic
Punk

In addition to selling excellent merchandise, Sound Exchange will also take your used records off your hands for a fair price. They also purchase and fix turntables, making them the place to go if you need to replace or repair your own record player.

If you need to buy or sell records in Houston, Sound Exchange is the place for you.

4. Memo Record Shop

Memo Record Shop is another wonderful option if you’re looking for a great vinyl record store in Houston, Texas.

This establishment is located on 75th street and has been serving Houston for years. Memo Record Shop is known in the community for having a “quirky” and “sizable” collection of records, especially in the Latin music genre.

One distinguishing feature of the Memo Record Shop at Houston is the decorative front of the store. Paintings of music notes across the front exterior wall really make visiting the store a fun experience.

Next time you’re looking for a record store in Houston, check out Memo. You won’t be disappointed.

5. Sound Revolution

The next Houston record shop on this list is Sound Revolution.

Sound Revolution is a family-owned and operated vinyl record store that has been running for decades. It initially opened in 1976 and is one of the oldest record stores in Houston. They also opened an additional location in 2014.

What distinguishes Sound Revolution from other similar establishments is definitely the wide variety of merchandise they sell. In addition to vinyl records and clothing, they also offer smoke and skate accessories, which makes their location really unique.

If you’re interested in a good experience and a broad selection of products, Sound Revolution at Houston is the place for you.

6. Cactus Music

Another wonderful vinyl record store in Houston is Cactus Music.

Cactus Music takes pride in being the oldest independent music store in Houston and has served the community for over three decades. They have almost 900 reviews on Google and a high rating of 4.6 stars.

Cactus Music is known for having a vast selection of records to choose from. They have vinyl in all sorts of genres to appeal to many different tastes.

In addition to having a wide variety of music, Cactus is also described in reviews as “meticulous” in the way they organize their products, which makes any vinyl shopping experience a lot more enjoyable for fans of all genres.

If you want vinyl record shopping without the headache, I highly suggest checking out Cactus Music next time you’re in Houston, Texas. You won’t be disappointed.

7. Sweet Spot Studio

Sweet Spot Studio is another beloved part of the vinyl record store community in Houston.

While Sweet Spot opened in 2010, they take pride in its strive to give customers a place that replicates the “old style” record shopping experience. They focus on vintage vinyl but offer a selection of newer releases and reissues as well.

Sweet Spot Studio provides customers with a healthy selection of music to browse through, all displayed in a pristine and aesthetically pleasing environment.

Additionally, Sweet Spot Studio also has a lovely collection of audio equipment to choose from, both new and used. Here are some examples of the equipment they offer:

Receivers
Amps
Turntables
Speakers

If you’re looking for the closest thing to a vintage vinyl record shopping experience in modern times, Sweet Spot Studio is definitely the place for you.

8. Soundwaves

Soundwaves at Houston is one of the more unique items on this list.

Soundwaves is not only a record store but a surf and skate shop as well. Located on Montrose, this retailer offers a wide variety of vinyl records, CDs, and DVDs for customers to choose from. In addition to selling these products, they sell used items as well.

Another really cool thing about Soundwaves is the size of their location. The store itself is rather big, which makes for an interesting experience when browsing through their record selection.

If you’re a music, surf, or skate enthusiast, then Soundwaves is definitely the location for you. Next time you’re in Houston, check it out.

Do People Still Visit Vinyl Record Stores?

In our current age, technology is constantly advancing. With this in mind, many people favor digital media. We always seem to be making improvements in many areas, including music. However, while lots of people have made the switch to digital music, there are still many people out there who prefer analog audio playback.

People still do visit vinyl record stores. In fact, there has been an increase in vinyl record sales over the past few years. More people are purchasing vinyl now than they have in a very long time.

Let’s put this into perspective for a moment. In 2021 alone, approximately 2.11 million records were sold, which is a significant increase from even 2020. Vinyl has grown in popularity, but it’s still growing as we speak.

So to answer your question, yes: it’s still considered very cool to frequent vinyl record stores, especially the sweet Houston locations I’ve discussed in this article.

Understanding What Makes a Good Vinyl Record Store

There are many factors that can make or break a vinyl record store, and I’ve kept these in mind while curating this list of the best vinyl establishments in Houston.

Let’s talk about some things that make a good vinyl record store:

The environment.
The selection.
The staff.
Specializations.
Additional merchandise.
The experience.

Below I will discuss each of these factors in greater detail.

The Environment

The environment is definitely a key factor that determines whether or not a record store is worth your time.

Ideally, a good record store will be clean, organized, and visually appealing in ways that inspire your love for music. Don’t forget—part of the joy of record shopping is being able to take in all of the unique store environments!

The Selection

The selection is probably the most important part of any vinyl record store. After all, what fun is record shopping if you can’t find any of the music you like?

You should look out for stores that have a wide variety of options to choose from, so you can be sure they’ll have what you’re looking for.

The Staff

In any retail establishment, the staff is extremely important. If a store is known for having staff that isn’t very welcoming, kind, or knowledgeable enough to help you find what you’re looking for, the store is probably not worth your time.

This is why you might want to read through reviews beforehand so you know what to expect.

Specializations

An additional factor you should consider is whether or not a particular store has any specializations.

Sometimes, record stores will specialize in certain genres so they can narrow down their selection in a way that draws in customers with a particular taste.

If you’re looking for records in a particular genre of music, you should consider a store’s specialization (if present) to see if it correlates with your personal needs.

Additional Merchandise

Additional merchandise available for purchase is another factor that can make a vinyl store great.

While this isn’t a necessity, it’s definitely a plus. Many good record stores also sell additional merchandise such as stickers, shirts, posters, and more, which can be fun to shop for while looking for new records to take home.

The Experience

The overall experience is another really important thing to consider while searching for a good vinyl record store.

Any good shopping trip is usually about the experience itself. This usually includes all of the previous factors we’ve already discussed. Environment, selection, staff, specializations, and additional merchandise all play a part in the overall experience that a record store provides to its consumers.

If you feel like a certain store provided you with a good experience overall, you should definitely put it on your list of vinyl record shops to visit again.

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