Cactus Music

I can’t say enough great things about this store and its employees. Everything from the customer service to the selection of music is what keeps me coming back every week.
I recently brought in some records and cd’s for trade and Joey, the clerk who helped me, was so nice and very cool.
It’s no wonder that this store keeps wining record store of the year by the Houston Press almost every year.

the staff is incredibly short-​tempered– they kept me on the phone for 30 minutes when I had a simple question and were curt when I went into the actual store to ask the same question– I won’t be going back

The staff that «served» us were complete asshats in the sense that the guy ringing up our sale had the audacity to speak rudely to my wife! We bought a used Don Henley record that had two price stickers on it, one lower than the other. The vinyl sleeve was cut at the top diagonally (I assume by the original owner to retrieve the disc more effectively) and when the staff member asserted it was the higher price my wife interjected and said «but it’s cut.», which was an honest thought as to why there might be a second price on it of lower value. The seemingly worn out hipster proceeded to say to her with a tone I can only describe as condescending mixed with a hint of nominal caffeine levels and probably too much alcohol the night prior, said «well, it’s used». It took every ounce of strength to not unleash my fist to break those Coke bottle glasses right into his forehead. Needless to say we have no plans to go back. With discogs, eBay, and siggy’s lagoon downtown, this place is only alive due to the vinyl fad that’s happening right now.
Cheers
Brandon Nathaniel

I always have a great place in here! Great selection — both old & new. Occasional live music is a bonus. A gear place for LP lovers.

Very cool local record store.
However, why do they close so early?
Check them out during cool events. We wandered in Saturday afternoon — and they had a live band and were selling beer.
Helpful staff, great selection. Also a great place to buy gifts for holidays or birthdays.

There is something here for everyone. The staff at Cactus offer ample opportunity for people to enjoy free live music and even provide a local beer as a bonus! I love this place.

The «new» locale has better parking. For a retail shop the prices on new and used CDs are average and fair. The people who are giving low stars due to prices either forget or actually don’t know that you are paying for the convenience and experience of actually viewing the record or CD vs a pic of it on the internet, and then waiting 3 – 7 days for delivery. For those of you who don’t remember life prior to internet based mass retail commerce (ca.2002 not ca. 1996), retail shops have always been the middle man btwn shopper and whole saler. For an extra one dollar you can take your time and view the product, and browse. If you don’t like this, then that’s OK, and your no fun and you don’t have much esprit du civitas. That’s OK, but some of us like our local shops just fine. Their jazz and popular selections are good, and what they don’t have they can order!
I always drop by Cactus when I am in Houston! And they are in the same walkable neighborhood that has good places for a quick meal !

Gotta love a large selection of vinyls, with really good selection of jazz/​blues. The guys spinning records usually play great music. They also have a good selection of new and used CD’s.
My main issue is that it is pretty darn overpriced. New records have something like a 50% markup over what I would expect. Used records are rarely a steal.

I really like Cactus Music because of the wide variety of CDs and music. Yes, I still buy CDs. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that fact that they didn’t have all of the genre of music and the fact that they would have Tupac, but not Biggie Smalls. I was specifically looking for Smashing Pumpkins 1993 album and although they had it – it was way too expensive for that old CD (plus they only had one copy).
It’s funny how they had Tool, but they didn’t have Diecast. I mean, they are both good metal bands. Why carry one and not the other. That was the same problem I had with several other CDs that I was looking for.

This was the first record store I had been to. I started getting into them about three years ago. Since then I’ve visited others including Amoeba Music in LA. This will always be my favorite. They have a great selection of records and of CDs as well. Every time I go I stock up on records to bring back home to Mexico :)

Vinyl heaven; old records start at $ 0.97 and up. It is so much fun looking through all those records finding that little jem (Huey Lewis — Sport). I also love the ability to purchase new vinyl for my old favorites; I just purchased AC DC Back In Black. My daughter purchased a record player and has begun to build her own collection.

Cactus Music is well-​known as the oldest operating record store in town, but if you’re looking for real deals, it’s not worth coming just for the piece of Houston history. The store has a large selection of what I like to call «beginner indie music,» or the basics when you first start getting into that genre — Vampire Weekend, Adele, Alt-​J, and the like; but with such well known artists, it’s a far smarter choice — both time-​wise and budget-​wise — to order records off of Amazon. Vinyl at Cactus Music is overpriced and the bins are beyond over-​packed — to the point where picking through them requires you to practically bend the jackets. If there’s a record that you absolutely must buy right away, Cactus has the most solid collection, but you’re better off waiting a couple days and ordering online. The used selection is worth browsing through, as there seems to be a quick enough turnaround given that Cactus is the most well-​known place in town. A check with Discogs shows that Cactus will always price either at or slightly above the going rate for used vinyl. Cactus serves as a good starting point for someone looking to begin a vinyl collection, perhaps, but anyone looking for a better deal should check out the nearby Sound Exchange or Vinal Edge in the Heights.

While this place has a lot of potential, it willfully fails at cool because the staff only slept two hours last night.
The store is disorganized, merchandize is all over the place, prices are high, vinyl selection is limited and the memorabilia they sell is lame.
They sure are friendly tho.

What’s not to love? Huge new and used music selection, tons of (FREE) in-​store performances (with FREE St. Arnold’s brews), and a neat selection of gifts. I love shopping at Cactus and can always find what I’m looking for.

When one wants to buy vinyl or CDs, Cactus Music is a charming reincarnation. The vinyl selection is varied but mainly focused on current music, jazz and oldies. The CDs, movies and books about music are all moderately priced and cover most genres of music.
*That being said… Classical music (alas) is not well represented at Cactus. (Joel’s is around the corner if you want Opera or Classical.)
Cactus also carries record players and some amusing novelty items as well as a large selection of t-​shirts and posters. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They will always give you fair and honest opinions about any purchases.
Essentially if you seek music in Houston, Cactus is worth a visit. They carry new and used music to satisfy most tastes at reasonable prices.

I love Cactus to the point where it may be unhealthy. I was introduced while working at a radio station in Huntsville by a college rep for a record distribution company and these guys immediately took me in as one of their own. Cactus has a great staff, great in-​store performances (free draft Saint Arnold!), a great selection of CDs and new/​used vinyl, and other knick-​knacks and merch.
Their prices may be a bit high, but who knows what you’ll find (a first pressing of Boston’s Boston). Plus, it makes me feel better that my money’s going to a local icon rather than a corporation. Take in an in-​store performance, have a beer, buy some vinyl. Repeat.

I was in Houston for a work trip and on my day off I made it a point to check out what the city’s vinyl scene was like. After doing a little research about the different shops around, I decided to check out Cactus Music and boy am I glad I did!
The store is pretty massive. I didn’t take much time to go through cd/​dvd section but it looked like they had a pretty large collection. The records were what I really came after. Walking through the store I noticed a band beginning to set up. I think it’s pretty awesome that the store takes advantage of their huge size and bring in different bands in (presumably local but I’m not 100% sure). On top of that they have one of the local breweries, St. Arnold, on site pouring brews as well. Free show with beer in a record store? Can’t ask for much more.
As for the record section itself, the amount of new releases was impressive. Every new album I could think of was there, plus about 100 more. Surprisingly enough they had a good amount of Record Store Day releases from the past couple years still around as well. The used selection was equally impressive. Divided into the typical rock, jazz, r&b/soul, etc. sections, they had a little bit for everyone. Even a decent hip hop section (which most stores I’ve encountered don’t have). They also had a great selection of rare records posted around the walls and behind the counter as well. Everything from the typical Beatles and Zeppelin to old Dinosaur, Jr. and old punk 7″‘s. On top of that they were selection prints of live shots of different artists taken by local photographers, with many of them on a gallery-​esque display. I’ve never seen a shop with that!
The only downside that I came across was that the prices for the new releases were a bit high. Other than that it was one hell of a record store. The amount that they give back to the local music scene alone makes it one of the best I’ve come across. Add on top of that a great selection and friendly, helpful staff and Houston you’ve got one hell of a record store.

Awesome

If you’re looking for a particular album/​artist that you can’t find at your neighborhood Target or Best Buy this is totally the place to check out! I literally walked in and just thought of random bands at the top of my head and they had it. I came in with the intention of buying only one CD and left with four! They are a bit pricey but I don’t mind supporting a local record store.
They also have amazing live music here.

I love this place. My dad told me about it probably a couple years ago. He was saying that he used to go to this place all the time when he was in high school and knew I would love it. I live quite a bit of ways from Cactus Music but being such a music fanatic I make a trip out there at least once a month. I never leave empty handed! My favorite thing is to go through all the vinyls. I spend hours in there! The environment is awesome, reasonably priced music, and it’s just a damn cool place. There aren’t many record stores left… Especially in my area, so it’s nice to be able to support local music stores!
:)