Amoeba Music

One of my single favorite places in San Francisco.
I’d like to just set-​up a direct deposit at this point, if they would arrange it for me.
Amoeba offers acres of music and DVD’s. If you’re always looking to add to your record collection, these guys are your best friends. I always check out their «New Arrivals» section to get at the used vinyl they’ve just recently purchased.
Their DVD section allows for you to pick up copies of cult and Criterion favorites for super cheap.
This location is way better than the Berkeley store. I love these guys.

Unbelievable selection of vinyl and CDs. Not only used vinyl but a vast selection of new. I didn’t realize so much music is being produced on vinyl.
Prices seemed reasonable and an overall pleasing experience. Not enough merchants in touristy areas apply by that philosophy.

Fun, and overwhelming place to shop for music, theres so much! Its not a bad thing! The clearance bins are where the real gems are, those long lost singles, or maybe a special edition of an album you didn’t know existed! I love stopping in here when i visit! My only beef is some of the used pricing is on par with new pricing elsewhere, buying used i hope to save money, and more than $ 1. Just beware of some newer used items costing close to the selling price of the CD new at your favorite chain store.

Huge selection of records, CDs, tapes, and more. Good mix of modern and classic vinyl. Nice location.

This place is the disney land of music! I’ve never seen such a diverse collection of music in such great quantities. The albums are reasonably priced and the staff is very helpfull.

This place is awesome… Very helpful information desk if you don’t exactly know what you’re looking for and a HUGE selection of classic and new vinyls!!!
And once again the older gentleman in the information both very helpful and knowledgeable!!! If you’re in the area just stumble in and take a peek you won’t regret it…

Nothing makes me happier than stopping by to browse the incredible selection of audio and video titles Amoeba Music has to offer. After a quick dinner with friends in the Haight last night, decided to see if there were any DVDs I just had to have so I could take them home for a fun movie-​watching night. Decided on «Pee Wee’s Big Adventure» ($ 3.99) and «Sherlock: The Abominable Bride» ($ 19.95) on DVD. The packaging was fine and the DVDs worked well when I got them home. With only 30 minutes until closing time, I didn’t have a chance to check out their house music section, but will definitely be back soon!

Obviously Amoeba is pretty famous in the music world for selling vinyl, CDs, etc. I’ve been to the one in LA and the LA one is a lot bigger, though the SF location is by no means small. Theres a very very extensive selection of all different sorts of music, a much larger selection than most other record stores that I’ve been in.
My one qualm with this place is the lack of used vinyl at fair prices. There’s plenty of new vinyl, but the appeal of record stores to me is checking out used vinyls that you can’t get anywhere else. I spent a lot of time browsing through the rock section and even when going through older rock bands of the 60’s, I couldn’t find many used, cheap records, which was a shame.
I left empty-​handed but I’d definitely come back the next time I’m in the Haight.

TL;DR — Amoeba is the only game in town to get fair, ethical pricing on your collection, coupled with actually having the systems to fairly redistribute your music into loving hands.
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So, this is about the ethics of selling music. I know Cd’s aren’t valuable anymore, but there are definitely some rare things that can sell well. The kneejerk is to support your small, independent and cute mom&pop record store that is «local». But, that’s complex… there’s a reason those have all but shut down, because a lot of times it’s grumpy old people just sitting on top of their own records, not having to pay rent in an old spot they own, and not really caring about curation or service. Amoeba, in that regard, is the only game in town. If you are thinking of selling anywhere but Amoeba:
1) the small shops don’t have the skill or margins to really appropriately pay you out and then restock at a logical profit level
2) the smaller shops are niche, and won’t have the staff to really perceive the value or worth of your collection
3) the smaller shops have niche audiences /​locations /​and buyers as well… which means that, even if they purchased it at a fair price, they likely won’t have the resources to properly target and distribute your music back into the hands of the people that want them.
4) the smaller shops don’t have the resources, time, or energy to properly sell /​distribute your excellent music back into «real» people, versus selling it on Discogs, Ebay, Amazon one-​at-​a-​time, or GEMM to the highest bidder who might just collect, and file away, your music.
I am an audiophile and collector, so I am not trying to sell 40 of the same scratched Zeppelin CD’s. I brought in a bag of 60 – 80 CD’s, most were incredibly rare OOP Italian lounge soundtracks and the like. At this south bay «small, local, independent» shop, the gentlemen were not trying to have one over on me, nor were they anything but polite or enjoyable. But the simple fact is they don’t have the time and resources to sort through or assume anything about your music. If they don’t know it, it might as well be a scratched up Korn or Green Day album. This south bay indie spot offered $ 20 cash, $ 30 in store.
That same day I took the identical collection to Amoeba on the way home: $ 150 cash, $ 250 in store credit. I don’t think the smaller indie store was purposefully undervaluing versus just not knowing how to price rare OOP import stuff.
If you care about your excellent music getting back out into the hands of the people that will enjoy it, it’s important to philosophize about how this will happen, and figure out the best infrastructure to achieve this. I could have made a bundle one-​off selling them to rich people who just hit internet buttons, I could have just cleared my head and sold them wildly undervalued to a mom and pop (where they likely would have sat for a decade)…
or you can sell them to the only people who will have the systems in place to both pay you fairly, and re-​distribute efficiently. Ameoba is the only game in town.

There really is no reason why another 5-​star review of Amoeba should be posted, but what the hey — here it is! Two things about Amoeba, either you have been here or not. If you are of the latter, then you have a serious problem and it is time to correct it! Do it, do it now!
I can easily spend hours (this place is gigantic) on end here just flipping through LP after LP — you just get in that groove and go on autopilot, pausing every once in a while when an album catches your attention, read the liner notes, minutely scrutinizing the condition of the record and placing it in the ever growing pile you’ve amassed. Yeah, good stuff, baby!
Wow, that place is cavernous! Yeah, kind of like your mom.
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I love coming here to catch up with my favorite hobby. This is my absolute favorite place to kill time between school and work or to simply pick up some music. I love hard copies over digitals because theres just something about having something tangible in your hand that keeps me coming back for more.
I love the feeling of walking out of here unwrapping some audio dope and slapping it in my car!
They have a WIDE selection of music. The guy at the service station is super helpful! Not to judge a book by its cover but he didnt look like the type of guy who would know who Curren$y is, mainly because of the age difference. But he said «oh yeah the hip hop artist» and had someone look it up for me right away. Not only him, but everyone else are also extremely helpful. Theyll help you until you find that special piece of music youve been digging for
Overall, great music, great atmosphere and friendly staff! Check it out if you havent already :)

This is a list of things that are as cool as Amoeba:
Puppies.
Sunsets.
The smell of a Taylor guitar.
The gas pump stopping on a dollar amount ending in .00
The buildup of sugar on the outside of a Honey Baked Ham or, as I like to call it — Hamdy.
A clean public restroom.
An honest mechanic.
Little fat babies.
A mortal enemy or arch-​nemesis receiving their comeuppance.
Hitting all green lights.
Jimmy Johns sandwiches.
A hobo with an unusually sweet sense of humor.
Miracle on 34^th Street
Having dental floss on hand after eating corn.
Anyone who is not Dutch.

Amoeba! I LOVE Amoeba. I hadn’t been here in so long. I decided to visit on Black Friday and they had some sales. I had wanted to buy some Fillmore posters, and on Black Friday, they were 25% off, so I bought 4. I got M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Bleachers, and Calexico. I also checked out their comedy vinyl and bought Mike Nichols/​Elaine May and National Lampoon. I ended up returning the two comedy vinyl and one Fillmore poster. I used the credit to buy Adele’s 25 on vinyl. Yes, that’s how I roll. I buy Adele on vinyl at Amoeba the Saturday after Thanksgiving! Here Adele – I, Denise Chiang, have donated $ 26 to your earthly cause. Now go eat a croissant or have some more fish and chips.
I was at Amoeba today for the Stephan Jenkins (from Third Eye Blind) acoustic 6 song set. He played Motorcycle Drive By. I was with my friend Karl. We got there so early like 12:45. Stephan Jenkins did not arrive until 2:30 even though the show was supposed to start at 2PM. He said he had just gotten off the plane after a surf trip. He is a SF local. Today was also Small Business Day. They had pizza and some cookies and snacks. Giorgio Moroder is doing a CD signing Dec. 5. Amoeba is such a great business.

Never lets me down. Been to the city a few times recently looking for clothes and things to fit my style… let’s just say I strike out in that department each & every time. Thank goodness for Amoeba. I don’t even go in looking for anything but always leave happy & pleasantly surprised whether I find an out of print Israeli film or Melrose Place Season 3 [arguably the best season, don’t judge] for only $ 5!
Amoeba, you are my SF shopping lifesaver!

Haven’t been in something like this since the late 80s. Wish I could hot tub time
Machine the world back to then.

This place is HEAVEN for all music lovers! I always make sure to stop in whenever I’m in the area.
You can find posters, books, vinyl, cd’s and DVDs from your favorite artists. The store is huge and has a massive collection of different genre’s. The prices are reasonable and the items are in good condition.
If you still value having a hard copy of cd’s and DVDs, you should check this place out.

Spent about 3 hours sifting through the vinyl and found a Hawaii classic «Home Grown» which it seemed like every ohana had one of these LP’s back in the day. Audiophiles could spend a lot of time sifting through the piles of stuff.

This place is AWESOME. First off, you cannot bring any large bags in, you have to check it but at least the employees seem trustworthy.
The actual store is HUGE. Absolutely grand. I have been searching for a SPECIFIC Ink Spots song on vinyl. And somehow they had TWO vinyl records with it and so reasonably priced!!! I squealed so loudly when I found them finally.
When we checked out, the staff was super friendly and even told us to go enjoy some free birthday cake they had since it was one of their birthdays. What? too nice!
I cannot praise this place enough. Would definitely go back each time I’m in town!

Like many of my generation, I’ve mostly switched to digital — I have multiple playlists in Spotify, enjoy podcasts on my commute, or use YouTube. I maybe buy a CD once a year now.
So I was impressed walking into Amoeba. The place is huge. Like would give Virgin Megastore a run for it’s money back in the late 90s. Plenty of CDs, records, even tapes for like $ 1. There is also a room full of DVDs. And in case you wanted to get your pot from a licensed dispenser instead of the shirtless hippie right outside, you can also get MMJ card too!
The place was busy too! At least 2 people per row, and staff all over the place. I mostly hit up the sale bins — and ended up getting Sealab 2021 Season 1 for $ 4.
If you know some music fans, definitely take them to this place. Lives up to the hype and is a shining light on different forms of music.

Had a great time here when I visited in March. Some colleagues and I took time of from GDC prep to come and bask in the glow of one of the world’s most renowned audiophile temples.
And boy were we glad we did. In fact we ended up calling our airline for hints on how to transport so much Vinyl back to the Netherlands without paying for special cases.
Racks of vinyl, CDs and even films await the flick of your fingertips, all styles are catered to from rock to happy hardcore EDM, and no matter your tastes there will always be a little something for you.
What takes this place from simply a great little wonder, to a 5 star for me, was the service. I knew going in that I had no way to take a new turntable home with me, but despite this their deck guru was more than happy to help me with makes and models that would suit my budget and my requirements. I simply wouldn’t expect someone to take so much pride in their recommendations, knowing they wouldn’t make a dime out of it.

On the east coast, I’ve heard myths and rumors about Amoeba since I jumpstarted my record collection. Now that I experienced the Amoeba empire for myself, I can happily confess it’s not a just dream, but a music-​lovers paradise.
Every nook and cranny has something unique to offer. From doom metal to underground hip-​hop to a behemoth-​sized classic rock emporium, there truly is something for everyone.
Oh, did I neglect to mention their free in-​store performances? Last night, Mini Mansions took the stage and rocked the house down. And they signed records and shook hands with fans after the show.
I purchased the Misfits debut album, Walk Among Us. For under $ 20. Need I say more? Amoeba will be your second home.

As a music lover and collector I found my self in heaven being able to find such a great music and video sanctuary in these days of extintion. A must for music and video collectors.

Tienda de discos BRUTAL al final de Haight Street. Podría decir que es la tienda más chula de música que he visto nunca. Un espacio enorme en un solo nivel donde encontrar verdaderas joyas.
La tienda es muy auténtica, y dista mucho de la típica cadena de discos (en su época la Virgin por ejemplo). Esta parece más bien un almacén (ver fotos). Es de visita obligatoria para cualquier persona que visite San Francisco y que se considere un amante de la música.
Nosotros nos tuvimos que ir rápido porque la economía no permitía dejarse mucho dinero aquella tarde, y estar allí dentro era muy peligroso. Eso sí, en cuanto vuelva a San Francisco una de las primeras tiendas que pisaré será esta.

Ich war das letzte Mal 2004 in Amoeba, damals allerdings in der Filiale in Los Angeles. Ich kann mich erinnern, damals vollkommen zufällig auf den Laden gestoßen zu sein und habe mich wie beim Eintritt ins Paradies gefühlt. Amoeba ist mehr oder weniger eine riesige Lagerhalle gefüllt mit Bergen von CDs. Ein großer Teil davon ist 2^nd Hand, wodurch fast jeder Kauf zu einem Schnäppchen wird.
Die Filiale in San Francisco steht der in LA um nichts nach. Es gibt einen eigenen Raum nur für DVDs und Blue Rays sowie eine (sehr kleine) Videospielecke. Außerdem ein paar Alibi T-​shirts, die glaube ich nie jemand kauft und die alle brandneu aussehen (und damit irgendiwe überhaupt nicht in den Laden passen).
Wahrscheinlich der beste 2^nd Hand CD Laden in dem ich je war. Ich bete jeden Tag dafür, dass die eine Filiale in Wien aufmachen. Man darf ja noch träumen.

Every San Francisco resident has certain places to which s/​he always takes out of town guests. For my music loving guests, this is either stop number one or two. Getting a proper burrito is before or after depending on their appetite.
The only criticism for this store is the total elitism when it comes to dividing genres. In the punk section, I can find the Ramones but not X. I can find neither Metallica, Megadeth, or the Dillinger Escape Plan in the metal section. Huh?