15 Best Record Stores in Texas
We live in an age when it seems like everything is available all the time, and that is certainly true about music. Streaming services, smartphones, social media sites, and apps like Shazam make it possible to find and listen to virtually any song you hear, whenever you hear it. But as the internet has increasingly come to dictate how we find and consume music, something else has happened: the resurgence of vinyl record collections.
Vinyl is the original recorded music medium, and its enduring appeal is understandable. There’s a warmth to the sound quality. There’s something satisfying about holding a record in your hands, looking at the photographs of the artists, and reading liner notes. Once thought a casualty of the internet age, vinyl record shops are experiencing a well-deserved Renaissance.
Throughout Texas, there are new and old record stores that are filled with bins of classics, rare finds, and sounds just waiting for you to discover them. Here are some of our favorite record stores in Texas.
RingTail Records, Alpine
Out on the lonely plains of Far West Texas, RingTail offers a rich selection, a musical oasis for people living in Big Bend Country. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for at RingTail, owner Michael McCollum will order it for you.
High Fidelity Records Store, Amarillo
Amarillo’s only record store, this small shop is in the historic Natatorium building and focuses on vintage vinyl, making it a must-stop for bin-diving collectors passing through the Panhandle. Every Tuesday, the store invites collectors to sell records.
BLK Vinyl, Austin
This 6th Street shop opened when three high school friends with oversized record collections decided it was time to free up some space on their shelves by selling some of their vinyl. The store retains this personalized touch and specializes in unique and collectible records.
Waterloo Records, Austin
This classic Austin shop started selling records long before the capital city’s funky boom, and it has survived and thrived by catering to music-obsessed collectors. Consistently ranked as one of the best record stores in the U.S., Waterloo should be on every vinyl nerd’s bucket list.
Good Records, Dallas
Co-founded by The Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter, Good Records is more than a Texas record store. It’s a community hub for Dallas’ music scene, with the store frequently hosting live music, events, and other excuses to gather with people who share a passion for music.
Josey Records, Dallas
Josey already boasted the best record selection in North Texas before it acquired the stock of the late, great Bill’s Records and Tapes. Now it is a bin-diver’s dream, featuring everything from popular new releases to rare and obscure treasures from the past.
All That Music & Video, El Paso
Owner George Reynoso has been running record shops in El Paso since 1980, and All That Music reflects his passion for music collecting. His massive inventory of new and used vinyl is a treasure trove for enthusiasts, collectors, and nostalgia shoppers alike.
Dreamy Life Records, Fort Worth
A cornerstone of Fort Worth’s music community, Dreamy Life Records is a record store, recording studio, record label headquarters, and music venue all in one. You can also pick up guitar strings and drumsticks after you are through browsing vinyl.
Record Town, Fort Worth
A true Texas musical gem, Record Town has been in operation since 1957, and its staff boasts a deep knowledge of music history to go along with those roots. Unsurprisingly, the store has a great selection of early rock ’n’ roll, as well as blues, jazz, rockabilly, classic rock, punk, and more.
Cactus Music!, Houston
As Houston’s oldest independent music store, Cactus can feel much like a community center when it hosts in-store concerts, parties, and other gatherings that help anchor the city’s music scene.
Vinal Edge Records, Houston
Owner Chuck Roast was a radio DJ in the 1980s, introducing Houston’s airwaves to punk and hardcore before he opened his record shop in 1985. To this day, Vinal Edge boasts one of the deepest and most diverse collections of records in the state.
Records and Things Strange, Llano
You might not expect to find one of Texas’ largest and most eclectic vinyl collections in a small warehouse on the outskirts of a tiny Hill Country town. But owner Charles Slocumb’s mazelike store contains an estimated 60,000 records, most predating 1990.
Ralph’s Records, Lubbock
Serving West Texas music lovers since 1980, Ralph’s boasts a large selection of new and used vinyl, as well as CDs, DVDs, video games, posters, and even Pokémon cards.
Fall Back Records, McAllen
McAllen’s independent record shop is also a vinyl-only record label, and the store claims to have the largest rock and punk collection in the Rio Grande Valley.
Janie’s Record Shop, San Antonio
Thousands of 45s, hundreds of posters and autographed pictures, a 50-year-old jukebox, and a deep collection of music featuring the sound of South-Central Texas — Janie’s Record Shop is a record shop that doubles as museum of Texas music history.
While you’re rifling through record sleeves, keep an eye out for these Texas outlaws who revolutionized country music.
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