Charley’s 33’s & CD’s

Google can give you great facts, but Charley’s can give you SOUL ! Even when I have only an idea of lyrics, genre and WHO, Dave can sleuth it out for me. I have very eclectic taste in Music (opera, bluegrass, Peruvian, vintage Chinese) so it never hurts to have an encyclopedic mind knowing who you are and what you like. Really good prices and only best quality

Charley’s is possibly my most favorite place to go to in Albuquerque. They usually have a great selection of old records and are constantly replenishing their stock. Looking through their vinyl is easy because they organize it, categorize it according to quality, and label them accordingly. Everything is clearly priced so there is no mystery as to how much I will pay for when I bring my items to the cash register (and I usually walk out with a bunch of records!). The staff is a bunch of very friendly, pleasant people who treat you more like old friends than customers. It’s very rare that I don’t find any interesting music whenever I go to Charley’s. I’d recommend Charley’s to anyone who is a vinyl addict like myself.

What a great place to lose yourself while looking for music. Very cool vibe, very knowledgeable staff, and tons of affordable records which are ALWAYS in great condition. If you’ve not been here, you have to check it out. It is Albuquerque’s best gem for vinyl.

This is a wonderful record store but like any other, it’s «hit or miss» and rewards frequent visits.
The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They seem keen on making fun of the overly geeky audiophile types– which I admire and find funny.
Some of my most prized records come from their bargain bins. On average the prices range from cheap to fair. They don’t really seem to charge «collector» prices. Except for some consignment items (but that has nothing to do with them). They believe in pricing things to sell. Get em’ in get em out’. Keep customers happy and loyal.
Not really a good place for new releases or reissues. but if vintage vinyl (60 – 80’s) is thing-​its as good as it gets for ABQ.
Easily the best record store in ABQ.

As good as it gets? Try better! I went in not sure what to get and I walked out with a bag of LPs. They had some vintage Kiss (Destroyer) and even Master Of Puppets and on vinyl! I found some ELO, recommended by the two working.
I spent more time and money on CDs than I anticipated, but it was my choice. Most businesses are concerned about making sales and up selling, but they showed they weren’t out to rip me off. They were pointing out used copies of what I was going to buy. The CDs played as good as new and the records made my day.
Thanks for the great experience guys! I’m coming back as soon as I can!

Great record store! Knowledgeable staff, great finds, and decent prices. Lots of great vinyl. I visit ABQ once a year and always visit Charley’s when I do. Recommended.

At the risk of sounding like a pretentious snob, I listen to some seriously odd music and I have grown accustomed over the years to being completely unable to find any of it in a real brick-​and-​mortar store. I’d love to tell you that I’ve finally found my Mecca with Charley’s, that it has everything I could imagine, that I come away with fistfuls of weirdo CDs. But I don’t. Every now and then, however, I do find something to enjoy that suits my more mainstream tastes. And that is actually enough for me to endorse a place. For others, Charley’s should prove to be dangerously well-​equipped to scratch albums off of the old wishlist.
Charley’s knows on which side their bread is buttered and so most of their offerings are comprised of the more popular albums from this and yester– year. That’s to be expected, and that’ll suit most people just fine. For the more adventurous, their offerings in jazz, blues, and metal are above average, and worth a stop-​in for those connoisseurs. To further distinguish themselves further from the painfully vanilla fare offered at places like Target or Walmart, Charley’s also boasts an impressive selection of local music, vintage vinyl, limited edition editions, and band merch. Prices on all this stuff is competitive and it’s a lot of fun to browse. To boot, the staff has always been warm, friendly, and disappointingly non-​judgmental, if you’re concerned about some sketch-​comedy style record store clerks inhabiting the place.
Record stores are in a perilous position in these digital days of manufactured music, and alliteration aside, they deserve our support. Next time before you ‘add to cart’ or torrent that new album, maybe swing by Charley’s and see if they have a copy for you. Perhaps they’ll expand your horizons a bit in the process, too.

FIRST!
This is a swell place to find vintage vinyl. Staff by eccentric audiophiles who are keenly knowledgeable in exactly the way people who spend too much time listening to music should be. I have added some essential and hard to find music to my collection thanks to this joint and I would encourage anyone who visits Albuquerque to make the journey to the cities eastern foothills for this not-​to-​miss collectors bonanza.

I have never quite gotten the feeling of Charley’s. It is a mish-​mash. Vintage clothing, posters, a food counter, and vinyl records all in one store. Nevertheless, I have found good records here from time to time. I have discovered obscure Krautrock records from Germany, odd 1970s boogie rock, and new wave treasures; however it also took wading through thousands of bands one step above Loggins and Messina. Charley’s is certainly worth the trip to the crate digger, but do not go if you are in a hurry.

Vinyl finds in the dollar bin:
1. Thelonius Monster — «You’re Bumming My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion»
2. Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group — «Live»
3. Tennessee Ernie Ford — «Bless Your Pea Pickin’ Heart!»
4. Beat Farmers — «Van Go»
5. Bless The Beasts & Children Soundtrack
6. Ted Lewis and His Orchestra — «Is Everybody Happy?»
7. Fred Gregorich and the Del Fi’s — «Polka Jam Session — Slovenian Style (41 Slovenian Favorites)»

Something aboiut the 70’s vintage clothing store, juxtaposed with a desperate scene from John Cusak’s HI-​Fidelty music shop did not seem to vibe with me here.\
The petrolium based black tar pancakes are as nostalgic as wood burning stoves in this media era. Owning CD players that draw 80−300amps before they even hit your speaker array is daunting to think about. The selection is overly redundant of TOP HITS, CLASSIC 1-​HIT WONDERS, and the kind of bootleg quality you recieve when buying used.
Save your dollars for the next concert in town, and use torrents, stream rippers, music aggrigate sites, and internet radio, like celebrated apprciators of music do, and for god sakes invest in your headphones 20−20khz is for checking if something works, 8−30khz or wider is what you need…
Just saying
–The music loving, audiophile

Super awesome music store. The best place in Albuquerque for used cds, and definitely for records. This was my go to music store when I was in high school (back around ’96-’97), and I would say that it’s even better now. I’ve lived up in the heights and then downtown for the last 6 years that I lived in Abq, and Charley’s was still worth going out of my way for.
Seriously though, where else are you going to go? Hastings? Please.

Charley’s has that nice combination of a hole in the wall paired with a decent selection. Although it’s mildly claustrophobic for anyone over 5’5″, it’s still worth browsing.
Average price for used CD’s – my named poison – is 7.99. Not terrible.
Although I’m not inclined to visit Albuquerque anytime soon (not a desert fan, sorry) should I ever find myself nestled against her mountains again (not a euphamism) I will certainly stop into Charley’s again.