Apop Records

The perfect place to be a weirdo in St. louis. Esoteric music music fans should look no further. Come here to discover something strange. Records, cds, tapes, dads, literature, etc. A true bohemian place to shop. I’ll probably be here every week.

Vintage tunes on cassette tape, vinyl, and cd. Also a small selection of books and some funny tracts.
I definitely recommend this place for their bargin bin. I scored 6 great finds for less than $ 8. Staff was friendly and helpful

Apop is the best place in St. Louis to shop for esoteric and experimental music. If you like bands like the Wire, Loren Mazzacane Connors, or Faust this is the place to find it outside of great record stores in other cities such as Reckless and Other Music. Really, support this store, it is one of the best in a city with many great record stores.

What a weird, wild and wonderful place. I’ve found some great records here (Monks, Neu!, Shit & Shine, a compliation of French female-​fronted garage rock from the 60s, United States of America — all of which are on the mainstream end of what they carry) and some horrifyingly interesting literature (a zine on people getting eaten at the zoo). It takes balls the size of ostrich eggs to open a place like this, truly a unique marvel in St. Louis. There’s also a sweet cat who will come out and let you give him/​her a scratch if it’s not too busy in there.

This place has a bad case of Cherokee Street Syndrome.
I like things that are different from the norm. Hell, I’m a unique flower myself! However, I’m not a big fan of Apop Records, and here’s why.
I love music. I’ve spent half my life surrounding myself with it. But when I step into Apop, I quickly feel like a man with no musical identity. I suppose that Apop likes to pride itself on being underground and independent, but just how far does that take the average music lover?
It all takes me back to the movie High Fidelity when a customer asks Jack Black if the store has Stevie Wonder’s «I Just Called to Say I Love You,» and JB promptly tells the customer to go to the chain store. Unfortunately, in this reality, I am that customer, and Apop is Jack Black.
I’m not saying that the clerk was rude or wasn’t helpful, but Apop has designed itself to be in an very small exclusive club, and I’m not entirely sure how this place stays in business by being so underground and peculiar.
To each his own, I suppose. And it breaks my heart because this store is so close to my home. But if I’m going to browse for new tunes, I’m heading down to Euclid Records or Record Exchange.

I’ve been through Cherokee countess times and never really noticed this place. But this past Saturday I stopped in. Holy weirdness.
First of all, they were playing eerie Halloweenish music. Then looking around it all soaks in. This place is for freaks (not saying I’m not one of them). Magazines on pornographic dismemberment, baby dolls in jars, creepy pictures, and books and music fit for every fetish.
I like this place, but it’s not for everyone.

Apop records is by far the best record store around. not only in saint Louis but probably anywhere. The thing is its hard to just say its the best RECORD store because more often than not I end up walking away with more books than records. Not trying to downplay the unbelievably awesome selection they have in vinyl tapes and CDs but I wanted to not skip over all the other really amazing things they have to offer. I have purchased more rare, hard to find things and a lot of titles with more interesting subject content than your adverage book store at Apop. I also want to point out how incrediblely helpful and knowledgeable the staff is. I love asking for recommendations when I’m down there because I’m never disappointed in the end result. Apop is always the first place I take my friends from other cities because I know they’ve never seen a place like it before and wil definitely walk away feeling the same as I do about it. So go and take your friends.

I was nervous to go back to Apop again. This time I was fearing the sophmore slump. The first date that goes so well only to find out on the second date that they are really into Jesus and has never eaten Thai food in their life.
Thankfully, there was no sophmore slump on my return trip. Sadly, I didn’t have the time to peruse everything and my wallet thanks me for that (as well as my carry-​on bag).
The bins aren’t overly stuffed but rather filled with great titles. Whoever handles the ordering here clearly knows what’s up. As a former record store clerk for the past 14 years, I know what a pain ordering can be. At the same time, it puts a definitive stamp on your place. You have to know your clientele, broaden their pallets and keep them coming back. Apop has it; a vision that no other store in St. Louis has. It is a crown jewel.
Simply put, killer records, stellar tape selection (I didn’t see the Night-​People section until I was leaving… bummer), VHS, zines and CDs. The stock is growing and improving and that is awesome. Keep it up Apop. I’ll be back in the winter and I can’t wait.

I like this place a lot because of the kind of music they carry. Awesome for indie stuff (like everyone here has mentioned), and you won’t really find mainstream music here. Although I did walk away with some cool records I couldn’t find in other record stores in St. Louis, it wasn’t the haul I was expecting given the reviews I read. That said, I probably set my hopes up pretty high. I like the area Apop is located in – as an LA native, I’m always craving Mexican food, and those seem to be in abundance in this area.
My favorite types of record shops are ones you can spend hours in just digging, and I don’t think Apop is quite that. It’s still a great place to check out, especially if you’re looking for uncommon records. The people are nice, and the place has a good vibe.

Books recently seen during a visit:
— How to hide things (with step-​by-​step instructions on building fake walls)
— How to smuggle drugs
— A primer on Mexican brothels
— How to seduce women through Satanic magic
— How to launder money
— How to snare humans
— A coloring book on women’s…erm…unmentionables
— How to build a 9 mm sub-​machine gun from scratch
When the apocalypse hits, you can find me at Apop.

Apop is not for the faint of heart. However, for punks, noise freaks, hardcore kids, zine junkies, and the like — this is THE place in STL.

I wandered into Apop for their Black Friday sale looking for something different to add to my record collection. I walked out with a few great records: Sonic Youth and Tom Waits. I haven’t seen either at the other STL record shops, so that was a pleasant surprise. I also enjoyed the complimentary beer while I was browsing.
Apop is really the perfect size for what it is. They really know their audience and stock appropriately. The record collection is manageable. I thumbed through just about every record and it took about an hour. My only complaint about the place is it can be difficult to tell which albums are used and which are new. This probably isn’t a problem normally, but there were different sale rates for new v. used vinyl.
I was satisfied with my vinyl finds, so I didn’t spend too much time browsing the other merchandise. I want to go back to look through the books. I saw a nice collection of Issac Asimov and some other intriguing titles. I believe they are currently having a basement sale, as well. I didn’t make it downstairs, so I can’t say much about it.
I agree with Jeff K. If you are familiar with Goner Records in Memphis, you should check out Apop.

Apop is an awesome store. Since I recently started collecting vinyl, it gives me a reason to want to go back to record stores… just looking through the New Arrivals bin, I can easily spend $ 100 if I don’t restrain myself.
I guess I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said — Apop is especially great for hardcore and post-​punk, but you can find all kinds of other cool stuff there.

I like to tell people that Apop is like the Goner Records of St. Louis. Those who have been to the Goner store in Memphis know what I’m talking about. The focus of Apop is a bit different than Goner’s, though, as Apop deals with mostly the noisy style of underground punk and hardcore, while Goner is more focussed on garage and roots-​based rock’n’roll. But both stores champion the weird and obscure over the trendy and mainstream, which is what I love most about tiny indy record stores like Apop. They’re also very involved with the local community and the Cherokee district and work with local labels on hosting crazy shows and interesting/​unique events from time to time. And yes, they also carry an excellent selection of books and ‘zines, too. Check ‘em out!

Just when I thought St. Louis had nothing else cool to offer…
I happened to be on Cherokee and saw Apop on the corner and made a screeching parallel park at the closest meter and popped in.
It felt like home.
Fun zines, cassettes (!), vinyl, used books on, well, everything, and a wonderfully indie/​weird/​experimental/​very well-​curated selection of cds. For those who love ‘difficult’ music, this is the place for you. A grey cat that appears out of nowhere to meow his approval of your selections rounds out the experience.
A little slice of heaven, really. It would be really easy to feel ‘uncool’ in a place like this, but the friendly staff and cozy feel make Apop a place you can spend hours in.

Apop is the only record store that I know of in St. Louis that sells mostly indie stuff, especially the Cd’s. Sure, you can find some used major label records here (The Cure comes to mind), but don’t go in looking for the newest Top 40 album that you could easily find at Target.
Apop is a fun place to look around, browsing records, Cd’s, books and magazines. The workers are nice. There’s a tarantula safely in a cage in the back (didn’t want to scare anyone off with that).
Of course, this kind of place isn’t rare in other cities, but here it is. Enjoy the thought of St. Louis catching up with, say, Chicago.

Apop Records is one of the strangest great finds that I have made. There is so much wonderful music here, and the couple working here take great delight in helping you find what you want, or in introducing you to new bands.
I actually came upon Apop Records because I had gotten turned around while going to a friend’s house the first time. I called my friend, told her where I was and to come and get me. We spent a good half hour in the store after she arrived. This is just a delightful place with reasonable prices

I actually didn’t think I was cool enough for Apop. My musical interests didn’t mature far beyond The Who and The Stones. But Dustin and Tiffany are way cool, and helpfull. I do like a lot of different stuff, I’m just not too knowledgeble. If you’re looking for music other than top 40, American Idol, or even classic rock; this is a great place to broaden your horizons. Futher, they usually have something interesting going on.