Wombleton Records

Probably one of the best selections of import vinyl and collectables that I’ve seen in a very long time. Their 7″ vinyl section is great, with a lot of very rare and out of print records. Prices may seem steep to the average record browser, but for die hard collectors, the prices are reasonable. The owner travels overseas often to bring back new inventory so check the stock regularly. The décor and the small store space may not look like much, but the stock is well worth it. A lot of the inventory is geared towards 80’s alternative, goth, punk, industrial, new wave, etc, however there are gems within other genres as well. The staff is friendly, welcoming and helpful. Definitely not the snobbish «I work in a indie record store» type that you may expect in other LA based stores.

Chill digging spot in Highland park. Prices are a bit high even for common records. The word is the owner takes trips internationally and brings stacks back. It’s small shop but you’ll defintely find rare stuff.

Upon first glance, the bins in Wombleton consist mostly of 70’s — 90’s commodities, $ 10 average «used bin» fare peppered with a few gems. It wasn’t until i ventured towards the register that i noticed and started thumbing through, what i like to call, «the honey pot».
Sweetness was found alright, in the form of 1^st edition U.S. and U.K. pressings and rare label versions of some true classics. From the selection and rarity, It was immediately apparent that this was the reason to come here… not for general browsing or contemporary releases, but to find a nice selection of rare and sought after records.
To the people complaining about the prices… do some leg work, check out discogs and ebay, then add shipping costs and the variable of the item arriving damaged or not as described. and you’ll find that Wombledon is fairly priced.
Beyond that, me and the guy working there (his name escapes me at the moment) had a pleasant and insightful 30 minute chat over a Tom Verlaine album that he offered to play for me before i bought it. He even offered a slight discount for spending a bit more than i originally anticipated.
A bit niche and highly recommended.
Two thumbs up!

This place is not the cheapest record shop in town by far, however if you do go into Wombleton you’ll find a carefully curated selection of really good quality records and hardly any filler. That’s right, no thumbing through stacks of Tijuana Brass or mid 80’s radio pop to get to the good stuff. I also like that they don’t deal with new represses, which plague many other record stores these days. Nearly everything they sell is an OG or early pressing, which are scarcer and scarcer to come by. The stores’ selections lean more towards British Rock/​New Wave/​Post Punk, so if you are like me and have a soft spot in the ‘ol collection for bands like Wire and The Fall, you are in for a treat here. I’ll be honest and say that the first few times I came in I didn’t really like the place, however as I had chats with the owner and realized what they are trying to do, be more of a niche place, that caters to a specific sort of collector, I quickly warmed to the place and am now a bona fide fan. When I have the $$$ to make a nice, original pressing sort of purchase, Wombleton is often my first stop.

Outstanding record spot. They are loaded with high quality vinyl. They seem to specialize in rarer imports. Some people complain about the prices but you have to keep in mind the owner travels great distances to acquire these rare pressings and the overhead in that aspect is vastly higher than pretty much any record store in the USA. Elden is my fav record store worker in LA… no, forget LA, he’s my fav in CA… again, forget that… Elden is my fav in the USA… hell, screw it… Elden is the best record store employee in the world. His knowledge of all that is vinyl is greater than pretty much anyone in the USA!
Every dealing with Wombleton has been truthful (harder to find these days) about any item they have in stock. Pick up a record, Elden will know what pressing it is and answer each question you may have about it with class and honesty.
I will keep giving them my business as long as they exist.
Oh yeah guys… get some Manics in.

This record store has a good selection of LPs and 45s. Many of the 45s are UK pressings or international along with the usual domestics. Their customer service is great, the store had closed, but the person working at the shop didn’t press me to hurry up.

One of the best record stores in LA, with great guys behind the counter who are always willing to help you find what you need or just banter about music. If you’re looking for that UK Bowie or Au Pairs, this is the place to go.

This spot has a good selection but the stuff that U most likely want is really overly priced in a section by the register. I get the whole vintage thing and pay what its worth., blah blah blah. But with prices like that no ones ever going to buy them. Its like finding a vintage size Extra Smedium band shirt on ebay and they want 100 bux for it. I mean sooner or later your going to have to face the fact that ya its rare or ya its a good record or ya U need the money but if your in the business to sell… Cmon son. No on is going to enjoy that record while its sitting on a shelf. Prices are RE-​DONK (KU-​LUS). But then again if you got the money they got the record.,.maybe.

Twee, disco, Factory… you name it. If you grew up liking indie or british bands in the 80s or 90s, and you still have a record player, you will love it. It’s mui expensive, so be careful if you’re an impulsive shopper like me.
You can get a horchata latte after shopping here at café de leche.

Love this shop. This is the shop I go to for hard to find first presses and rare gems. Ian and his staff are extremely helpful and nice.
Yesterdays crate digging finds were Thee Headcoats, The Pretty Things and The Music Machine. All of them were first pressings and 100% clean.
Check this place out!

Dearest Wombleton,
Ours is a torrid and troubled love affair in equal measure.
Though I pine for you from my new adoptive home of Portland, Maine, I can’t say that my pocketbook shares the sentiment.
The fact of the matter is that you are two parts museum and one part record boutique.
I appreciate that you appeal to the ultra-​selective, and I love not having to wade through piles of Alpert and Streisand, but I do on many occasions find some of the titles you deem elite much cheaper elsewhere.
Despite that gripe, you always have many wares I covet, and you always take my money. As I pen this note I am shrouded by the warm sonic glow of the many Slowdive, MBV and flying-​nun originals that I have procured from your vaunted racks over the many moons and flings we’ve shared.
I love every one of the people you employ as they seem to be borne of a sagely guild of musical mystics. In them I have found kindred spirits, knowledgable (far more than I) yet still appreciative of the fact that we share a similar taste.
I can count on them for a killer recommendation as assuredly as I can count on leaving broken-​hearted about having to leave some true gems behind.
I love the hole in the wall intimacy, even when you are packed to the rafters with other collectors during your «just returned from ravaging the flea markets and record shops of Europe» post-​conquest parties. The free beer is just the icing on that particular cake, so fun.
Lastly, I hope others find you as I have: a beacon of radiant musical enlightenment, and can overlook the inevitable wallet-​enlightening.
Until we meet again, I keep you in my thoughts always.
_​chris

I really wanted to like this place… the man (thinning black hair. Amerasian appearance) that worked there– don’t know if he was the owner– was an interesting conversationalist… but I think the person who prices the records has a serious crack habit.
Yes– its great he gets hard to find vinyl… — when you find a VERY rare Bauhaus vinyl bootleg… and a My Bloody Valentine disc I have never seen before and I thought I saw them all… it gets you excited
BUT– when you examine the Bauhaus lp — and it looks like someone took it out into the street and danced on top of it with pointy metal shoes… seeing it priced at $ 44 is a bit extreme.
Seeing other records that were EXTREMELY over priced and in marginal condition (it’s cool to see a rare record but not when it is in sad shape and priced like it is in mint condition!) made me come to the conclusion that I will NEVER buy anything from this store.
Sure– I will go in there again– probably every time I am in the neighborhood… but ONLY so that I can see what crazy prices he has put on poor condition records… again– the title selection is impressive– but most record stores wouldn’t even carry those records in that condition… as they know that serious collectors don’t want to pay premiums for crap condition stuff.

There are tons of little gems here. Vibing to good tunes as you shop is second nature as the wonderful people who work here encourage you to play any record you are interested in. It’s a store that you just want to spend all day look through endless classic vinyl’s. Not to mention you can literally spend a good portion of your visit admiring the aesthetic look of velvet blues and deep browns. I love the business cards and all the wonderful branding done by the infamous Nick Taylor and his wife.

⁵⁄₅
I got my copy of Dark Side of the Moon here. Original German Pressing believe. Worth every cent I paid for it.

Wombleton is a great store for the hard-​core vinyl folks. The assortment is heavily tuned to non-​domestic, first pressings, and long out of print platters. Prices tend to reflect the exclusive collection. I think for the casual buyer who just wants some Eagles records to throw on, the prices will appear high. But to the eagle eyed extremist they’ll know and appreciate Factory UK first pressings over Qwest pressings, etc. I had a long discussion with the long haired Asian guy who was working there and he knew his history inside and out and commented on the selectiveness of Ian the owner when he goes to pick up his supply in Europe.
Small enough stock to completely browse, which is nice. I picked up quite a few, to the mild chagrin of my wife.

First off, vinyl continues to go up in price at ALL stores. It’s proven that vinyl records have a superior sound quality compared to mp3s, so complaining about price points at Wombleton is sorta lame. Especially because they offer a variety of affordable records within the store, outside of their speciality collections.
This place is catered to the musical collector. The person seeking that one early Joy Division 45″, rare French 60s pop from Francoise Hardy, Scott Walker, or original Brazilian psychedelic. However obscure, they probably have it. Sure, some of the collectible items range from 40 to 100 each, but that’s because the demand is greater than the supply. Plus, there’s a hefty amount of shit well between the 8 – 20 dollar range.
The owners travel around the world (UK, Europe, Jamaica, Brazil) and sift through the dusty junk to seal, wrap and ship heavy and expensive back to you in East LA. It’s like buying antique furniture – if you wanna pay less, quit your job and start scavenging the world.
Plus, the owners and employees are just super nice and passionate. They’ve let me return a record I simply didn’t dig upon further spins, and thrown in an extra free 45″ just cause we had a conversation while it was playing (In case you’re wondering, it was Prefab Sprout’s «Johnny Johnny» and I still love it). They have weekly vinyl-​only DJ nights, and every time you go into the store you’ll find an album you love. In pristine condition.
Wanna hear a record? Just ask. And they’ll put it on, give you some info on it, and let you know about why it’s priced the way it is. Too high you say? If you’re nice, maybe they’ll knock it down a few bucks just so you have it. Yeah, it’s like that.
And even better: they vocally support all the other upstart record stores popping up around them. I will always be a fan of this spot for being pioneers in the neighborhood, and just generally kind folks. Top shelf store.
And if you ask for the Eagles Greatest Hits, they won’t even laugh at you. I witnessed it myself.

Come here with lots of money, or not if you don’t have impulse control. This place has something for everyone. Even though it seemed a little out of the way to me, there were a bunch of people crammed in here on a Sunday afternoon. And everyone was scouring through the small but very worthy selection of vinyl. If I had another $ 100 to spend, I still would have left not getting everything I wanted.
Yes, it’s a little pricey (think ebay pricing.) So if you’re one of those people who’s looking for a great deal, this place might not be the place for you. But if you’re looking for some obscure c86 12″, then you may be in luck.

Sure, Wombleton is pricey, but I’ve never seen a select quite as eclectic as they have here. They have some quite bizarre stuff in those racks. Just digging through them is entertainment enough.
Walking out of there with some Residents in my hands is always enough to make the trip worthwhile. I don’t remember what else I bought here, but it was probably pretty weird.

Me and bro went walking around York Blvd a couple of weeks ago after grabbing some Coffee at Café De Leche. Walked into this record shop and browsed through some of their stuff. Lots of neat records and great selection. We didn’t buy anything but the staff greeted us with a smile. I’ll be sure to come back and check out their vinyl collection next time I have a little bit more time to browse in depth.
Also, some people complain about the prices. That’s like someone going to a BMW dealership expecting to get a 5 series for the price of a civic. They are not targeting or catering to bargain shoppers. They are targeting vinyl connesuirs and vinyl music aficionados/​collectors. Even then, the prices were reasonable.
Any chance of an online shop popping up? That would be rad.

The best British record store in highland park. Or is this eagle rock? Either way, the day I was there (actually I’m there right now), the owner had just put out a ton of new records pulled from a buying trip to the UK and Europe and the pickings were lovely. Rare Scandinavian pressings of Cure 12″ singles, unheard o punk comps, and my favorite, tons of indie pop and post-​pink 7“s on labels like rough trade. Great shit and a sexy interior to boot. Recommended!
But yo, I don’t collect records any more. So it’s all there for you.