101 Music

 

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Tyler J.

San Francisco, CA

Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area. Walking in, you're overwhelmed with all the instruments, speakers and other musical "junk" you encounter. They had a few melodica, which I don't see in music stores as often as I'd like. My friend got a MIDI controller/synth for $60, because it was $100 but had been there for at least six months.

Downstairs is home to a huge vinyl collection that's somewhat organized (genres, not really alphabetically). It's fun to look through, and the prices are alright (about $5 a pop). Stop by if you're in the area, but not worth its own trip to the city for. Instead, have a music day and hit 101 Music, Amoeba, and then catch a show somewhere.

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Elite '08

58

199

Paul B.

San Francisco, CA

It's an awesome thing that my girlfriend is understanding when we're wandering around before dinner, and she sees my gaze locked on that xylophone on the sidewalk across the street. Thanks for suggesting we check it out! I will never complain when you want to stop to look at shoes.

I got completely mesmerized by the stacks and stacks of instruments and music-related electronic gizmos... EQs, banjos, reel-to-reel and cassette tape decks, accordions and squeeze-boxes (which, by the way, are harder to play than one might assume), speakers, amps, harmonicas, and who knows what else I missed. All this is packed in amazingly tight, floor to ceiling, with barely enough room for someone to squeeze past in the singular aisle.

It's a good thing I don't have a garage. I would probably fill it with stuff I bought and collected from this place, and then I'd end up having to open a store packed floor to ceiling with stacks of instruments and music-related gizmos...

Wait, what? There's a basement? I had no idea...

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1

38

Giofreddo W.

Oakland, CA

This has been a favorite vinyl-hunting spot of mine since the mid-90s when I discovered it while wandering around North Beach one day. A trip here  is pretty much mandatory for any vinyl-obsessed record geek. But if you're claustrophobic, forget it! The place is literally consumed by mountains of used stereo components piled on yet more used stereo components, along with cheap old guitars and keyboards, and milk crates bursting at the seams with used LPs.

And of course there is the ever infamous, dank, dim, and musty basement, (accessed via a narrow, rickety staircase in the back), which is quite the spectacle. Newcomers might think they've died and gone to heaven. That is, until they realize that the gazillions of LPs jam-packed in their racks, and the zillions more crammed in milk crates stacked on top of and in front of the racks (sometimes 4-5 crates high), are COMPLETELY UNORGANIZED. That's right, more LPs than the most hardcore vinyl-obsessive could ever dream of shaking a stick at, and they are totally not alphabetized at all. I think there used to be some semblance of a  jazz or soul section, but it's all just kind of a mess now.

And therein lies the fun. Clearly, one needs a few hours to make a meaningful dent in this mess. Thing is, naturally there is A LOT of crap to wade through. And all records are $5 a pop, regardless of condition or level of scarcity. So yes, you'll flip past tons of Eagles-y dollar bin garbage in search of whatever elusive gems you hope to find.

And I have found a good number of said gems. There once was a healthy assortment of post-punk/new wave import rarities scattered throughout the stacks (some of them new and unplayed), but my friends and I have more or less picked those out over the years, so I don't really have a reason to venture over here so much anymore. But getting to pay a mere $5 for some of these impossibly rare LPs (some of which I never thought I'd even get to touch) more than made up for the long hours spent searching and the resultant thick film of dirt on the finger tips.

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6

24

Sarah J.

San Francisco, CA

Walking into this place gave me a flashback to my pack rat great aunt's apartment.  However this store's clutter is in much better taste than my aunt's (RIP) with her hundreds of saved newspapers and candy wrappers from the 60s.

Speakers, record players, and accordians stacked up to the ceiling welcome you to the front room. Duck down to the basement and find a maze of 10's of thousands of records...you can barely fit through the rows of vinyl, especially after your North Beach pasta feed.  LP's are $5.00.  As the recent inheritor (is that a word?) of a vintage record player, I plan on spending some rainy Sunday searching through the milk crates of vinyl...  

They also have neat vintage posters, congas, guitars and various instruments for sale.  The staff doesn't bug you if you just want to rummage through.  I shouldn't even write a review because if even two or three of you go there the day as me, there won't be room for all of us.  And a yelp throwdown is never pretty.

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Elite '08

331

368

Kate K.

San Francisco, CA

One of my favorite ways to spend a rainy weekend afternoon is laying on my couch with a book listening to my massive vinyl collection.

While there is no limit of places in SF for me to procure the vinyl that I so adore listening to, my favorite has to be 101 Music on Green Street (the sister store of the 101 Music on Grant Street)... the proprietor, Christian, is very helpful and knowledgeable about vinyl and is willing to keep his eyes open for special discs you happen to be looking for... I bought my Numark turntable from him last year and am very happy with it a year later...

I've spent hours in the musty basement sorting through records looking for gems - I happen to collect cheesy K-Tel compilation vinyl and have found some gems in 101 Music (Raiders of the Pop Charts, 80's Beat... awesome stuff!)  I have also found great early Beatles pressings, the Rave-Ups, tons of great goth and punk and nu wave classics you've forgotten about, great soul and R&B, some original Big Brother & the Holding Co.... it's a wealth of wonderful vinyl if you have the patience to look.

All discs are $5 (a little pricer than some Amoeba, but worth it, I think)... double discs are $10.  There's a great assortment of random instruments, turntables and memorabilia...  the entire basement is filled w/records and guitars... awesomeness.

Go check it out.

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