Nerdboy Records

I know most of the reviews are ugly and raw. I happen to like this place even though prices are a bit steep. Yes I know the guy is cranky and does not warm up quickly. Yes I know the hours are not consistent and he opens his shop when ever he feels like it. Yes I know, but the funk and high energy disco that one finds on line is right at your fingertips, ready to touch. The good thing is that you can haggle prices with him but be sure to have his sweet mom on your corner because it seems she brings out the good in him. Just like Oscar The Grouch, people who first meet him don’t like him but once you get to know him he’s not a bad guy.

I would come here and normally spend 40 to 50 $ on a trip today I walked in and my last time here was a positive experience today Iwalk look at the tapes the old lady the sons owner, she asked me if I took a cassette tape because under my phone I had a card holder under my phone she then again asked me if I took a tape I told her NO!!! I asked her for a price on a record she then had the fuckin nerve to ask me again oh I’ll ask my son for the price for the tape you have under your phone i said what tape??? i flip my phone it was my card holder aka a wallet. This stupid lady was like «oh sorry“yeah you’re sorry you lost a loyal customer I’ll just stick to amoeba and will never return here. A shame because I liked buying records here. Teach your mom some manners !!!

This place has a lot of beat up records. Some with no sleeves or anything. So I was surprised to see that someone said the owner only buys good quality. Anyways, I walked in and didn’t see a worker. About 5 mins into my digging, some older dude walked out. I said «how’s it goin?» He didn’t say a word. I was immediately annoyed but i thought ehhh i didn’t care how he was doin anyways. I look for golden era (90’s) hip hop which I would guess is some of the hardest stuff to find. The hip hop selection was very small and mostly 12″ singles. Whatever, I’m used to a crappy hip hop selection. I kept lookin around and realized this place was extremely unorganized. There was crappy hip hop singles in every section. 80s funk everywhere. As im attempting to look around the dude walks back out and says «I’m about to close.» This was at 4:15. That is the extent of my customer service experience.
I gave 2 stars because RECORDS! Theres always a chance to have a good time and leave a record store happy. The missing 3 stars is because the building is a tiny sweat-​box that hasn’t been organized in years. And the dude is a total jabroni.

More of a 3 ½ star experience but I don’t think this place deserves all the negativity I’m seeing here. On the minus side, the records are poorly organized, quite dusty and often marked with prices I wouldn’t consider affordable. However, the many racks and boxes harbor numerous hidden gems, the proprietor had a clean-​wipe dispenser ready to help with my dusty fingers, and everything was 50% off the listed price. The lady behind the counter did certainly eyeball me the whole time…
I came up to the counter with a diverse stack. When the owner arrived, he pronounced prices for each of the records, which then immediately rung up at half-​off («pour down like silver» NM priced at $ 8, rang up at $ 4). From this, I got the feeling like the guy didn’t want to come off like he didn’t know what he was looking at. I got the sense that he was a knowledgeable dude. I’ve been to places where the clueless owner just looks up whatever you have on popsike at the counter without factoring in condition-​this was a much more pleasant experience and I came away with great copies of 12 great albums for under $ 100. The guy clearly was familiar with the stuff I was getting and was pleased to know some of the more obscure items (jimmy giuffre’s «thesis», for instance) were going to an appreciative listener. I don’t live too close to here but I would definitely come back at some point.

Ive been picking this guys records when he used to be in uptown Whittier and the shop was called Groove Stop. His hey day of over over pricing 80s newwave are over, even though he still garneshes the exact same prices from 1995. But instead of re-​pricing his records he throws a 50% off sale. DONT BE SO LAZY… YOU LIVE IN YOUR SHOP. Which is still not enough, since most of the records can be found at Ameoba for $ 1.00 and in much better shape. If he where to close for 2 days and go over his inventory… he’d be suprised on what he has. The guy has knowledge of music, just is out of touch with his prices. I still recommend this record store over Norwalk Records.

Found hard to find Vinyls and for great prices. Good spot and experience. Appreciated the hook up when I was down what I owed. I honestly do not understand some of the bad reviews. I will be one of the good ones. Came twice and could not complain. Stop by and check it out.

My first review after a hiatus off of Unilocal is of Nerdboy Records, and I wish it was a positive one. I’m always looking for Ma and Pa record/​CD stores and made a special trek out to Whittier specifically to check out Nerdboy… and what I found was nothing short of a backroom interrogation/​harassment.
I happened to have a small drink with me as I walked in the store and immediately the woman (turns out she is the mom of the son/​owner of the store) shouted, «DON’T SPILL THAT DRINK!» to which I replied, «Oh, don’t worry I’m not going to spill it.»
I hadn’t walked a few steps into the store and she again shouted, «DON’T SPILL THAT DRINK!» I looked at her and once again assured her that I would NOT spill the drink. I also noticed that she had a scowl on her face.
I looked around the store and noticed it had a pretty substantial collection of LPs and bargain CDs (my favorite!). I started flipping through the CDs and for a third time she shouted, «DON’T SPILL THAT DRINK! We’ve had kids come in here and spill all kinds of drinks!» Okay, I’m an extremely nice guy but this was ridiculous. I looked right at her, and said, «I’m sure you notice I’m NOT a kid, I told you I wouldn’t spill the drink and I won’t!» I went back to browsing but looked back at her and sure enough, she was watching my every move, obviously waiting for me to spill my drink.
By this time, the joy & carefree spirit I had when I entered the store took a nose dive. I was disheartened, especially since I was so incredibly thrilled to find an out-​of-​the-​way independent record/​CD store that I was hoping I’d frequent over and over again… Alas, this was not to be.
I never did see the owner, but if you’re reading the review, do yourself (and your store) a favor, keep your mom at home (or in the basement), or better yet, put a muzzle on her. She’s the ANTITHESIS of good customer service. You’ve lost what could have been a very loyal (and spending) customer in me.

this shop isn’t for everyone. if you need a warm welcoming smile and an obscure indie pop hit humming in through the loud speakers don’t even bother walking into Nerdboy! however, if you’re a serious record collector who’s looking to complete his blue eyed soul collection no matter the price by all means WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR. 100, 200 and even 500 hundred dollar records are not uncommon in this little shop.

decent selection of 70’s and 80’s disco… but dear lord is it overpriced. $ 40.00 for a 12 inch single, when i can go on discogs and get it for $ 15 with shipping included? yeah, no thanks. «maybe thats because its out of print» you say. nope. the whole «i can get it cheaper on the internet» shtick can be applied to many businesses, but usually for a couple of things. unfortunately, that applies to every single record in there.
i purchased a 12″ single out of excitement, didnt bother checking condition and got home to realize side b had a small crack at the beginning and it was pretty scratched up. that is extremely disappointing and unacceptable to sell something like that for 15 bucks in that condition in the vinyl community, let alone a record store.
dont even bother selling your records there. i got sent back with 30+ records, all mint. he didnt even know what half of them were. he just assumed it was all one genre, but it wasnt. i wasn’t expecting to get much back, i had good stuff in there and i just wanted to help out a small independent record store, but unfortunately no one can. the owner is too damn old school and doesnt even like discogs. he told me he had too much of the genre i brought, and doesn’t like selling records online. I’ve sold plenty of records online and never had a problem. i’ll check back with this place when they close down, maybe then he’d give me a better deal…

Most of the records are not priced, so have an idea of how much you want to spend, then the guy will tell you how much he THINKS it’s worth to you, but sizing you up and your style. Totally bunk.

Came Across this store going down Whittier and the name just had me curious even though I had a few coins in my pocket (and by coin, I mean LINT).
I should have taken heed from the small stream of customers leaving the place that I, too, would leave with a confused look on my face. I appreciated that Nerdboy does it’s best to cover as much as the genre’s as possible. But with that said…
They have a little of everything but not much of anything.
Of the inventory they do have, expect to pay near retail price. I you’re the type who is accustomed to paying swap meet /​garage sale prices, keep driving.
Maybe it’s the preference or style of the owner but I don’t know about having to catalog your collection with the LPs arranged with the covers at a 90 degree angle. We crate diggers have a bad enough back but do you need to throw in a bent neck while we fish through your $ 20 dollar Billy Joel stash?
I’m probably nitpicking but shouldn’t a record play records or CDs instead of terrestrial radio?
Save your money and feed the gas tank instead.

the place has a large selection of LP’s. didnt know it exisit until today… although they are not open until late… the selection was worth it… service is average

This spot has a killer selection of medium rare golden era hip-​hop, disco and soul/​funk. Unfortunately it’s all priced as if their only customers are buyers from Japan or as if their price guide was Ebay 5 years ago. Lots of good stuff is unpriced and when you take it to the counter expect some sticker shock.. Also the dude working when I visited totally vibed me and was all up in my grill begging me to look through bins I passed by. Not the most comfortable experience. If you are a trust fund kid that just got a set of 1200s, definitely hit this spot up. If not, stop by Lovells or some of the spots in Long Beach.

this store is horrible, and shows the sad state that things have come into when most even consider walking into this dump when looking for LPs.
if you are buying or selling anything at this shop, beware to know your prices first, because this guy may not know, and you may get ripped off.
The condition of the records you sell him Must be in great condition, or he won’t buy them, while he turns around and marks up the price of his scratched up goods.
Customer service is horrible. I wouldn’t even bother asking if you make you way into the store (which i would not suggest in the first place)

Don’t know what happened to all these unhappy folk, but I had a fine experience in Nerdboy. I didn’t pay over ten dollars for anything, I don’t think, and I got quite a few things for 2 to 5 bucks, including a Lively Ones copy of Surf Drums for 7 bucks. It was in somewhat rough shape visually, but plays well, and if you take a gander on Ebay or something, you’ll see its a rarity (not even available right now. .. another of theirs is going for 75.)
There was a host of old school hip hop. I got a sweet Fat Boys LP for a few bucks. Walked out with an armful, including Al Bundy’s song, «Anna,» by Arthur Alexander on 45. Haven’t seen that one anywhere else, either. Prices were quite reasonable.

OK selection… the guy who owns this store used to own Groovestop in Uptown Whittier… and that place blew chunks!
This one was better when he first opened a few years ago because he had hundreds of 45s that you just had to dig through. I found a number of gems in there, but the guy knows records and he would price them waaay up there. You could haggle with him and he’ll drop his price, but he tries to high ball you all the time so BEWARE and always counter him!
He recently got rid of his 45s so there’s no point in going in anymore because his LPs are EXPENSIVE! $ 55 for a really beat up Midniters LP! No thanks!
If you’re into hip hop and all that DJ crap then maybe you might like it since he has a ton of 12″ mixes junk… if you’re a rock n roll fan don’t bother… go to Don’s Music in Eagle Rock or Bagatelle in Long Beach.

Unless you like high and rude hippies telling to look for the cd yourself, these by all means please come.

gets 2 stars cuz I bought a picture cover of Monie Love’s ‘Monie in the Middle’ and Adina Howard’s ‘Freak Like Me’…
not really close by anything…
so convenience is out the door…
prices are whack…
mu’fuckas tryin’ to charge $ 15 for Madonna’s ‘Get Into the Groove’…
are you serious right now…
you might find some rare breaks records in here, but be prepared to trade in your little brother and his new tricycle to get a copy of that rare Quincy Jones record…
I paid $ 11 for a copy of B-Movie’s ‘Nowhere Girl’…
trippin…
go to bagatelle…

If you happen to drive down Whittier Blvd. and see this store… DO NOT ENTER… this place sucks ass!!! It has shadiness stamped all over it… don’t bother going in it’s not worth your time, and it’s over priced… everyone that has been employed here from the past including the owner have had no personality and may have had a slight drinking problem which is probably the reason nobody is ever there, who knows what time this place actually opens… My recommendation is that you look elsewhere for diggin’!!!