Dave’s Record Shop

Dave was very accommodating, even though he had another person to deal with bringing in a record collection. He explained that he didn’t take much classical music because of his smallish space, and because there isn’t much demand for it. Still, he took about eight records and was extremely nice to deal with.

Great every changing stock. Lots of finds plus good recommendations from the owner. Highly recommended.

I was in the Bay area for a week doing a lot of record hunting. And Dave’s was my last stop. Good thing too because I found a grail, Dramarama’s «Cinéma Vérité». Very cool. Amoeba and Rasputin are obviously mind-​boggling in their size but there’s nothing like the personality of the local shop. What makes Dave’s a much more enjoyable experience is, well, Dave. Good conversation about music.

I like Dave’s Record Shop mainly because Dave runs it! Nice little shop with good selection and I Dave is straightforward and knowledgeable about both selling and buying LPs. Yes it’s a limited market but at least you get good treatment there versus the big shops in campus area. Highly recommended.

I heart Dave’s! After years and years without, I’ve finally got a record player and I’m slowly but surely building my collection. Dave’s is a gem. It’s a good, old-​fashioned record store with a focus on classic rock, jazz, blues, and other standards. It is primarily a used record store, so I recommend frequent visits to get the best out of your record-​finding karma.
While I might not find the beautiful new indie releases at Dave’s, I can count of finding a pristine or playable favorite from the 1960s-​1980s. Prices are really fair to excellent, and the $ 2 bins on the floor are full of playable favorites that still sound fine.
If you’re into discovery, there are boxes of inexpensive, well-​worn 45s and 78s in the front window and a free box outside. A listening station in the corner allows you to preview your purchases.
I give Dave’s four solid stars for stock, location, and the great tunes he plays in the store (thanks for cueing up the Stones). Five stars is for service and honesty — I purchased a record a couple of weeks ago that I didn’t preview, and it just wasn’t what I had hoped it would be when I got it home. Despite the lack of receipt, he took it back and exchanged it for a record of equal value. Super solid!

If you’re one of those people with a sickening and unrelenting obsession with vinyl, you should really check out Dave’s Record Shop.
It’s a small store, with a small selection compared to places like Amoeba and Rasputin, but on my first visit there were lots of quality records, and the prices were totally reasonable. I was mainly interested in the rock and jazz sections, and while both certainly had plenty of things you can find in any record shop, there were also some pleasant surprises. And again — the prices were very reasonable (they really don’t seem to be trying to gouge their customers).
What made my first visit to Dave’s particularly memorable was when flipping through the robust and eclectic new arrivals section, I happened upon an incredibly elusive EP by an insanely obscure early-​80s British post punk band that I never in a million years expected to see in a brick-​and-​mortar shop in the States. The price was fair, the condition was great, and a purchase was made.
I’m admittedly a bit late to the Dave’s train, but that’s only because I was living abroad for 3 – 4 years from the time the store opened. When I got back to the states, I heard some murmuring about Dave’s and finally had the chance to see what all the fuss was about.
At any rate, Dave’s might not blow your mind, but it’s definitely a business worth supporting, and it’s nice to have a newish little hole-​in-​the-​wall record shop at a time when so many of them have disappeared.

I just worked with Alan to sell part of my record collection, what a pleasant experience! It’s clear these guys love music and go to great lengths to help customers enjoy browsing and shopping. My old classic rock albums have found a good, temporary home before someone else adds them to their collection.

This place is an awesome find. I’ve been 3 or 4 times now and Alan was really chill while I browsed the selection for ten or fifteen minutes. He changed up the records a couple times while I was shopping around. While ringing up my selection he was friendly and shared some knowledge of my choices and offered some more recommendations.
It’s hard to review this place cause on one hand it feels like a hidden gem, but the place is so likeable they deserve the promotion. If you dig vinyl, checkout Dave’s.

Very reasonably priced. Not as big as Amoeba or Rasputins of course but nice to support a local business. Very well organized, good selection. Quality over quantity. Personable staff. Boxes on the floor were 3 for 5. Buys albums as well. All the albums we bought were in impeccable condition.

I’ve resisted writing this review for a long time purely based on my own greed, but Dave’s Record Shop deserves some face time. They are easily one of my favorite independent record stores in the area. Vinyl only and delightfully dusty.
They carry a truly tasteful selection of jazz, rock, soul, blues, classical, and more at fairly modest prices. With new inventory coming in all the time, it’s hard not to become a devotee. This is an incredible spot for music discovery. So many things I’ve never had the pleasure of hearing, so many things I never even knew existed. Even though they don’t cover a lot of square footage, it’s amazing how quickly I was able to pick up some quality finds, classic and obscure.
During your search, if you have doubts about a particular selection being in mint condition, you can give it a whirl right in the store before making your purchase. On top of having an incredible range of records for sale, the employees are also very kind and don’t mind if you mine for treasure for an ungodly amount of time.
Don’t sleep on Dave’s. If you’re a vinyl aficionado, I can guarantee you’ll never leave empty handed.

Vinyl. No Dave. Alan is cool. Small, but excellent selection.
Love Dave’s.
5 stars.
BTW, vinyl is super cool.

Love this place. Small demure dusty record shop and you can listen to the records before buying too. Dave used to sell out of the 33 ¹⁄₃ spot down the road. You can find some pretty unique and rare vinyl here and not spend a fortune like you would at an amoeba or larger store. Love this place. Vinyl!!!

Really great small shop. Seems like the kind of place you check out once a week on your list of other similar places to see what’s come in.
The guys working here are super nice and very helpful. I picked up a used turntable here and was given a ton of helpful info both over the phone and in the store.
This is definitely a place to frequent and shoot the shit while digging through records.

This is a really nice, low-​key, small, ultra-​local, vinyl only record store, clearly being operated just for the love of it. They specialize in jazz and soul, and rock to a lesser degree, with modest selections of other stuff (I’m more of a world/​country/​roots music guy myself) with more turnover in the larger categories.
The prices are remarkably fair and the stock is well-​chosen and well-​curated; in an era when many sellers are jacking up the prices on badly damaged vinyl, Dave’s has LPs in good condition at reasonable rates. I like it so much that I’m probably going to take them some of my overflow, just to help them out.
The store has a great vibe and is a pleasant place to browse and, if you’re in the mood to schmooze, the owners are very personable and down-​to-​earth. Combine this lack of ‘tude with the steady stream of excellent music, and you’ll find this to be a pleasant shopping experience. This is what the best records stores used to be like, way back when.

The phrase, «get lost» has significant new meaning when it comes to Dave’s. Getting lost in the masses of vinyl records has become sort of a past time of mine. From the moment I walk in, the overpowering sound of music on vinyl, with cracks and pops aplenty, takes me back to my childhood. Whether it be a song I can hear on any radio station, or a song that has been stored away and all but forgotten in the depths of my mind. Or, if I am lucky, a really cool song that I have never heard, that has me raising my iphone up with the shazaam app open. I’m rambling, but since I very rarely come across a vinyl only store, it’s easy to get lost in my description during this review. Go see and hear Dave’s, and remember to look high and low for records you want, or records you didn’t know that you wanted.

Popped in here expecting not to find much and wound up almost $ 100 lighter upon leaving with a bag full of vinyl — and there were a few more I would have bought but I had to set a limit on myself (though I may sneak back and get them soon if they’re still there). It’s a very small record store with a small selection, but the records on offer are quality and very reasonably priced. It’s not like the bigger «crate» stores where you flip through hundreds of crap records hoping to stumble into something cool, which can be exhausting. It’s very relaxed. Not so much newer music — but if you like older rock and pop, jazz, blues and obscurities, it’s definitely worth a visit. It is strictly vinyl.

This is my favorite small record store. Great selection and reasonable prices, Dave is a friendly personable guy who knows a lot about music.
You can find really good copies for under $ 10 and the $ 1 bins are always full of pleasant surprises. The Jazz selection shines and you can find some rare gems for affordable prices.

As good as a local record shop gets these days.
I went on Record Store Day and found many decent vinyl selections with fair prices, slightly below Amoeba and way below Ebay. Prices matched conditions, and a couple rare records (Harrison’s Wonderwall, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, etc) were under $ 20.
YAY.

Dave used to be the record guy at 33 Revolutions in El Cerrito. That space was too large for the shop to survive and it closed in December. He’s reopened in Berkeley on San Pablo, just down the block from Black Oak Books. It’s a small, tidy store w/​a hand lettered sign in the window. It looks like a store out of my childhood in the 50s. He was playing a record from the 60s or 70s. I didn’t ask what it was, but it sounded good. He sells vinyl only. He also buys. He’s a nice guy and deserves support.
We have a bunch of vinyl and no functioning turntable. We had a turntable but rarely used it and now it doesn’t work. We are music lovers but not audiophiles. The radio and CDs work for us just fine. Alan collected a dozen or so of our LPs and today we took them in to Dave, who looked through them and offered us $ 30. That seemed fair, particularly because they weren’t being played. There are three more places where LPs are stored in our house. We’re going to go through them and take more down to Dave. Might as well put them back in circulation. There are clearly people who will play and enjoy them and we’re happy to clear more stuff out of our house.

Dave’s Record Shop is the sort of place that if you are coming here to buy vinyl, there’s a good chance you will walk in and think, «Damn I want to be Dave.» This small, but neat space is the kind place you want to work in. You get to listen to great music all day, you get to talk music all day, and since its vinyl, the store really attracts people who are passionate about music, no matter what genre it is. I have a theory that the more time you spend in Dave’s, the more you will inherently learn. Just by hearing something old that is really something new… and by suggestions from Dave or other patrons.
If you listen to vinyl or have a favorite album you want to own in every medium, make sure to stop by Dave’s. I think I’m going to apply for a part time job here… just to have a reason to hang out.
Great $ 1 album rack. Various selection of classic rock, jazz, & soul records.