Groove Merchant Records

one of the best selections of not only records but music ephemera, folk art, mysterious photographs, counterculture novels, whathaveyou, i’ve ever seen. the place is a dream. chris is the best, really class act. i don’t know where he finds some of this stuff. all locals must know about how great this shop is, but if you like these things and are in san francisco, spending an hour in this shop is a must. browsing is an education and a pleasure. great prices too, coming from someone who is used to Pennsylvania prices

Chris is awesome! Record sellers - this is your guy! I walked in and told the clerk about the collection of records I was trying to sell. He let me know that Chris would buy from me at 50-60% of the record's value, and then he took down my information. The next day, Chris called me and we set up an appointment. Chris stopped by my house and ended off spending $1800+ on my collection of 70's and 80's rock and jazz. He didn't buy as many records as I expected - around 2 of the 12 boxes I had, but he definitely spent way more money than I expected him to, which is fine with me. Like they said at the store - he gave me 50-60% of each record's retail value across the board. Chris is really easy to haggle with. He also gave me sound advice for how I should go about selling the rest of the collection. LONG STORY SHORT - Selling my records to Chris was a great experience. I would HIGHLY recommend others to talk to Chris before selling to anyone else - ESPECIALLY before selling at the big stores like Amoeba or Rasputin. Chris will definitely hook you up.

An awesome store with a great selection of Jazz and Soul records! Visited for the first time last week and really loved it. Will definitely come back soon. The owner was really nice as well.

The best record shop in the bay area. Every important figure in hip hop that comes through the city stops here (Madlib, Roc Marciano, etc) . If you truly love music this is the store to support! I will definitely be making a monthly trek from Oakland to here going forward.

Saw this place on a list of best record shops in the world, so I figured I'd have to stop in. A lot of rare finds in here. Probably even more if you're willing to dig. Found a few to add to my collection. The shop owner was cool; gave me a lil discount.

Don’t ask for a deal or haggle on the price for various items with the owner or he’ll hurl verbal abuse at you. BE AWARE! He can be very caustic and is very rude in his responses. Shame cause the store is really cool and the store has some great items- although the records are $5-8 more expensive than most places in the Bay Area.

San Francisco's premier record store for hardcore jazz, soul funk and more, Groove Merchant is a cornerstone of Lower Haight street culture. Store owner, Cool Chris, is a world class purveyor of rare vinyl. His store is NOT a front for online sales, it is a completely REAL TIME old school record store. Although he stocks plenty of rare discs, Groove Merchant has vinyl to fit everyone's wallet. What sets this store apart from so many others is the great vibe - whoever is working the desk is knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. They are happy to spin something or you can do it yourself on the store turntable. LPs and 45s here - this is not a digital record store. Dig it! Best jazz and funk spot in the Bay area! Great work!!! Keep it funky Chris!!!!! Thanks for a real record store! Avid jazz LP shopper

Went there today for the first time, and absolutely loved it. You'll def find something out of the store's selection. The store's selection consists of samples, rarities (just plain slept on stuff), etc. There is even an LP bin labeled "Classic Jams, Samples, Breaks and Beats, Etc." for anyone looking for a loop, and another bin labeled "Library, Sound Effects" that held a KPM LP / Danger Doom sample, and from that bin I pulled out a Chappell LP containing soft jazz (turned out to be worth like $30). The new arrivals bin is just great. I pulled out and bought a private pressing record which turned out to be worth up to $75. If you're looking for a certain something, the staff may be able to help you find it. UPDATE: I come back to the city every 2-4 weeks just to pull out a few rarities from here. I got to know Chris a bit more and he is a cool dude.

What can I say about this place that has not been said? I have spend probably multiple tens of thousands of dollars with Chris over the 30 years I have been going there. Always the best rare records for weasels like me....

Chris Veltri has held this wonderful institution down for well over two decades I'm thinking about three and he's so kind. Their records memorabilia magazines scenes go beyond the list of dreams it's almost unbelievable. Please support this wonderful man and his business.

There's no place like group merchant, and the owner is an extremely nice man. Great old-school books records scenes, posters and of course great vinyl. Please support them.

On two consecutive days I've been asked to leave because the person working the store needs to get a sandwich. Not recommended!

Visiting from out of town, I found this record store, with lots to choose from new and old with amazing prices, for new and veteran collectors

Groove Merchant is not your best bet if you're trying to hunt down a particular title. But if you like to be surprised by records you won't see anywhere else, come here. One of the more unique selections in SF with a very kind owner. It also has a nifty selection of used fiction, nonfiction, and art coffee table books. Groove Merchant is the entry point to what I dub the Lower Haight Crack Corridor, four excellent record shops (including Vinyl Dreams, Originals, and Rooky Ricardo's) in the neighborhood that, between them, will likely have whatever your little heart desires. You can easily spend a whole day browsing these shops, if not the weekend! San Francisco is incredible for digging. Not bad for a so-called "failed city."

Bought a cool wax poetics magazine in here. Everything is pretty cheap and the owner has a lot of cool vintage items, not just records.

Great finds and even greater people! spent a good amount of time looking in awe of what was there. Didn't get to catch his name (he was wearing an orange beanie), but he was super friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. Stopped by on a visit from socal, but if I lived in the area, there's no doubt I'd be here all the time!!

I contacted the store by email trying to track down an old SF band. The service provided to me was absolute first class. Look forward to being in town some day to thank them in person.

I sold my collection to Chris today and it was great. I live in the neighborhood, ​and he came to my house to check out the boxes. Selling my vinyl has been on my todo list for 15 years.. and if you are reading this, you might imagine why. However, I felt I got multiple goals met, such as: - I am supporting neighborhood retail - My records will likely be loved by neighbors - I got 2x$ of what I expected - I met a cool local proprietor who shares my taste in music - I got my closet space back. I am super happy I did business with Chris and Groove Merchants today and highly recommend it!

Small, I mean barely bigger than a bathroom small, not really well organized store. But that's what makes it fun! Go in, turn sideways as you squeeze past people, and dig through the bins and the boxes on the floor. Some good bargains to found to give your ears turntable bliss, at prices that won't empty your wallet! Always worth a few minutes of your time to dig around! See ya again soon Groove Merchant!

Dope lil spot with curated collection of soul, hiphop, funk, classical, jazz, psych, and more. Great spot.

This is THE spot -- Chris is super sweet and crazy knowledgeable, and for such a small little storefront I always feel like I'm absolutely swimming in phenomenal finds in every genre. Jazz section is A1, tons of good latin stuff, great soul section, and the little avant-experimental selection is all wheat no chaff. Took me a while living in the city to find this place but I'm a groove merchant die-hard now

Great San Francisco neighborhood staple. Rich and eclectic music collection. Love going when Adrian is working. He has a passion for music, flags the new and unique records, and knows his stuff. I especially love Latin and Jazz genres which he knows a lot about. Super friendly staff and feels nice to know I have a neighborhood, family owned, record store walking distance from my apartment.

A tried and true favorite. It is worth your time digging through the various shelves and stacks to find some good rare stuff. The walls also feature great finds at higher but reasonable prices. Lots of 45s as well. Always friendly customer service.

In my opinion, this is the best record store in San Francisco. Known worldwide for their selection of rare groove, jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, rock, you name it. Always intriguing stuff up on the walls, and the new arrival bins are constantly stocked with interesting titles of all genres. The owner Chris is friendly and helpful, and is always playing deep selections over the house sound system. They have a great listening station as well, for auditioning discs. Watch their IG page for a preview of the day's new arrivals. Prices are very reasonable, even for sought after and collectible records. Highly recommended!!

you'll find all kinds of new and used hip hop, soul and r & b vinyl LPs, EPs, 45s at this joint, including stuff you would think you wouldn't want but wind up getting, anyway--just in case. = ) the cats up in here are always chill 'n laid back and even offer up a discount if it seems like you've gone through their entire selection. as a DJ, it's places like this that you hope stay in business because it's truly indispensable. long live Groove Merchant!

Great selection of jazz, soul, funk, and more! Store owner is really chill and nice guy. Great store to browse around and nice listening station available. Prices are decent. Sometimes the condition of records isn't great for the price, but it is easy to check condition and test play records, which is all that matters. They have some pretty rare items, which are priced accordingly. They know their stuff, so you likely won't get a really cheap deal on a super rare record, but they have a range of $1 bin and typical stuff too. I've found a couple records here that I've never even seen anywhere else in years!

If you can't find anything good at the Groove Mercahnt you either A). Are Corny B). Don't like Soul, Hip-Hop, Latin, Reggae, New dancefloor type stuff, Jazz, or psyche rock C). You're cheap D). One of the few people on earth who knows more about undiscovered music than Cool Chris, B-Cause, or Vinne! I'm not sure why people always mention price, that's what records are worth nowadays. Sorry, a one-of-a-king soul record that was pressed in small amounts 30 years ago is going to go for cash. And if you look and know your records you can find a lot of great music under 15-20 bucks. Unless heads are going to some super-duper magical store where everying is super cheap and GOOD, then yeah complain away. Otherwise, keep-a-steppin'!

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. I want to move to SF just so I can go here every single day. No joke. This place has vinyl for DAAAAAYS. And not the same goddamn copy of Judy Collins/Carly Simon/ and the shit that Rasputin craps out. And the prices are hella reasonable. I got a Beatles vinyl for a dollar. A DOLLAR. Good condition. In San Jose, I guarantee it would have been at least 4 or 5. Also, I saw a copy of Led Zeppelin 4 at Street Light Records (which i adore, no disrespect!) for 13 (in worse condition) and at Groove it was 7. WHAAAAAAAT?!!? Deals off the chain! You can't afford not get your vinyl here! The dollar bin is a treasure trove! I assure you, I did not spot a single Neil Diamond album in the mix. Or that Jackson Browne album, Hold out. I swear at Rasputins they have like 85367 copies at any given location. 10 mins into it I had already collected 7 albums . . . Be prepared to be overwhelmed by the selection. It's intense. If I lived in the city I would never step foot in another record store again; it would be betrayal. It's not just the prices! They have copies of albums, by pretty popular artists, that I have not seen at Rasputin, Streetlight, or Amoeba. P.S. : I want to say to Matthew R: Jim Croce has the voice of an angel!

I mentioned in my Jack's review that there are two types of record stores; Groove Merchant is in category two. Clean, meticulously organized, with a small but well chosen inventory. This ain't no thrift store; You won't have to dig through two hundred Jim Croce albums to find that Brazilian funk album from the 70's. The thing is, said album might set you back anywhere from 10 to 50 bucks. You pay a price for the convenience and not having dry fingers that smell like moldy cardboard when you're done. (Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.) It's worth stopping by if you're out on a music binge; even their bargain bin had a few cool albums in it.

My friends and I joke about living in the "vinyl apocalypse" nowadays. Many used LPs I used to pass on in record stores in 90's I have to pay double for the reissues now. And so many of those stores either don't exist any more or are completely picked over. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are hidden gems still out there if you're down to drive far and dig deep. Either way, these days you're into vinyl or you're not. And if you are, then Groove Merchant is for you. Let's check it out: Groove Merchant stocks many diverse genres. From serious DJs to casual music fans, there's something here for everyone. There is also a listening station which is a huge plus that many stores do not have anymore (like Wombleton in LA). Yes there are LPs here that go for $$$ but there are also a clean $5 bins with good records as well. There is a good turn over here too, always new stuff on the shelves. Cool Chris lives up to his name - very knowledgeable without being pretentious or intimidating. He can rap with serious heads and tourists alike. He never goes for the "hard sale" or makes you feel weird if you don't buy something that he recommends (like Deadly Dragon in NYC). The other people who work there are the same way. Overall Groove Merchant is a great shop - San Francisco would not be the same without it. Highly recommended to all.

Awesome shop! Amazing collection of jazz, hip hop, funk, soul... Great prices and great staff. A must for crate diggers

This is a great fixture of the lower haight. They stock a variety of genres and have interesting titles in each of them. The owners/staff are also very knowledgeable and can recommend or help you find that certain something.

"Livin for the city/ Livin for the city/ Said/ Oo-Oo/ Wee" If I could make a record store my home, this would be it. And I would love to play house with Cool Chris. I would mix up the drinks and he could pull out some obscure Afro-Cuban soul and make me feel like the only woman in the world getting the best show ever. I would lounge in the windows and say, "s'up" to every beat digger that came in because that's what the guys at Groove Merchant do. I would offer my assistance to help anyone who came in- because that's what they do. And I would let you stay for as long as you wanted and sample and dig and dig some more- because that is what they do. This home away from home is a mecca of all beautiful vinyl. Sure you can hike up the street to Amoeba and deal with the douches and the tweekers there- we all have. But if you are being true to your beat digging soul, you will come here. I won't be offended if you do not take my invite because that only means there will be more vinyl gems for the rest of us. So welcome and I will let you admire the artwork and tell you where you can find the local artist. I will also tell you where to get some great food and some cool retro digs for your own pad. Aaahhh, it's good to be home.

This is one of the last great record shops in San Francisco. Second-to-none in taste and selection. You get what you pay for. Bargain hunters hit the damn swaps.

I've been going here for the last few years and it's flat out one of the best records around. The selection is top notch; this place doesn't have filler, just a great, tight selection of good quality, often hard-to-find albums. Even the $1 bargain bins can produce some good stuff. The prices might seem "pricey" to some but they're fair and reasonable. (Dude you just walked in there and found an original Fela record... yeah, it's not gonna be $5.) With that said, you can also find some GREAT deals. There's even a section titled something like "awesome albums for $5." And Chris is the man. His knowledge of great music is phenomenal. The guy should be teaching a college course on the side about awesome music. Listen for what's being played in the store, you'll probably hear something new and awesome while looking through the collection. Bottom line: this place is a digger's and colllector's dream.

It took me a while to warm up to this store. I have mixed feelings on it, but overall I would definitely tell someone from out of town that they need to make the walk down to Lower Haight (from Amoeba in Upper Haight) to Groove Merchant Records. It's a nice store but my main complaint is that a lot of their records are overpriced. I suppose that shouldn't come to any surprise for this day and age or this city. Still, as someone who likes to dig (and honestly, I'm not so great at it) there is a lot you can find for cheaper. With that said, I would be dumb to write off this store. They carry records nowhere else in the city carries and have access to some of the most obscure records one can find. So they more or less have a solid selection with very few common records in the store. If you are after a certain something and don't want to bother spending hours, days, months, years or your entire life digging, this is the spot.

The thing about Chris is that he has figured out the system for cracking open great collections and getting them into the store. Won't divulge here but rest assured he always has THE MOST collectible records in SF - maybe the country. Tight inventory - no fluff - not for bargain hunters...but you will leave with some great stuff.

The finest specialty shop in San Francisco for rare vinyl. For all you beat diggers, this IS the place to go. The records may not be as cheap as other shops, but the time you save looking for that perfect break is well worth the extra cash. Located in the Lower Haight, owner "Cool" Chris is always pleasant and when he's not in the shop, he's either venturing around the country in search of those hard-to-find classics or putting out his own records with label-mate Vinnie Esparza (see http://www.dis-joint.com). As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for", and folks like Eric Hilton (Thievery Corp.), Mike Diamond (Beastie Boys), and Dan Nakamura (The Automator) would probably attest to the quality of this shop. Oh yeah...you can listen to anything you want here, even those $100 albums on the wall.

Dusty Groove & Cool Chris is the truth! Thank you for always keeping it real and being organic with it! Will always keep supporting and spreading the word! Keep up the great work! P.S. Thank you for having a listening station and taking the time to build with your customers! It doesn't go unnoticed! Cheers!

Absolute winner. Cozy store, most records are really good meaning that you don't need to dig through a whole bunch of crappy stuff to find something. There were even some classics in the 1$ bin that still played really well, such as, Al Green - Call on Me and B.T. Express. The dude at the counter is also really cool and friendly. He was playing DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist type of funk, which really made my day!

Hands down the best record store for purveyors of collectible vinyl. If I am in need of the ultimate funk record, or a deep jazz album that aint been seen in years, or that latin boogaloo that no one else has in their stacks... I find it at the Groove Merchant. They've even served me up with some awesome Psych rock from the sixties. Every great deejay in San Francisco shops here, cuz Cool Chris is continuously digging through crates and crates of used records from all over the world. Like, right now, he's prolly in Austin, looking for collectibles to sell to you and me, sucka.

Best record store in SF !! And one of the best records stores in the world! If you're into soul, jazz, funk. hip hop, psych rock and any other music that has stood the test of time Groove Merchant is the spot. I've been coming here since the late 90s. As a longtime DJ and record collector my tastes have continually changed and grown but this store has always been there. It's a treasure trove of records, information and just a cool vibe. The owner Chris is super friendly. He always has cool tunes playing and is down to talk music and put people onto to dope music - whether it'd be tried and true classics or obscurities you'll never find/hear otherwise. The prices aren't low but they're totally reasonable for what you're getting. You gotta understand this is a HIGHLY CURATED selection of music. He's done the work of finding those rare gems. Come through and experience a long time favorite of DJs, collectors, and music fans.

This has to be the most dangerous record store for me. I could easily spend my entire savings and max out all of my credit cards at this record store. It is so tempting because this record store has everything I want! I want about 80% of his entire inventory. I love this place. I feel like a kid in the candy store when I come here. This is an awesome record store and the guy that works here is very knowledgeable of the records they sale.

Next time I have 80 bucks I can spare, I'm going down to the GM to pick up that ESG record. Now someone will grab that...never seen it in a store! Never seen A LOT of amazing records at decent prices in the racks that they have here. Verrrry respectful and helpful staff, you gotta stop by this joint if you dig soul/funk. So many options, you can't leave empty handed.

Chris is awesome! Record sellers - this is your guy! I walked in and told the clerk about the collection of records I was trying to sell. He let me know that Chris would buy from me at 50-60% of the record's value, and then he took down my information. The next day, Chris called me and we set up an appointment. Chris stopped by my house and ended off spending $1800+ on my collection of 70's and 80's rock and jazz. He didn't buy as many records as I expected - around 2 of the 12 boxes I had, but he definitely spent way more money than I expected him to, which is fine with me. Like they said at the store - he gave me 50-60% of each record's retail value across the board. Chris is really easy to haggle with. He also gave me sound advice for how I should go about selling the rest of the collection. LONG STORY SHORT - Selling my records to Chris was a great experience. I would HIGHLY recommend others to talk to Chris before selling to anyone else - ESPECIALLY before selling at the big stores like Amoeba or Rasputin. Chris will definitely hook you up.

A diggers paradise! Great curated selection, I like that I don't have to sort through a bunch of crap to get to the good stuff. Great stock of 45s as well. Most importantly though, the folks here know their tunes and are more than happy to turn you on to some new joints. Not cheap, but this sort of place simply ain't for the Crosley crowd. Killer selection of R&B + Soul, as well as Rock.

For the serious collector. Here you'll find records too rare to find on eBay. Sure, they're more expensive than the typical find at other stores, but you get what you paid for. (Today's purchase: original pressings of Pet Sounds and Ramones' debut album, both in excellent condition.) And they even have a listening station.

Great selection of soul, r&b, funk, and hip-hop records. However, you're not going to find any great deals here.

I wish this place moved to L.A. Or maybe I need to move to the bay. Whatever happens first.

I love this place. It's just the right size that you can spend an hour or two and look at pretty much every record in the store, and maybe shoot the s*** with Chris for a while. There's a listening station so you can try before you buy, and there's always a great selection of jazz, soul & rock to dig through. I've never left the store empty handed.

Agreed with Hog, this place is the shizznit. If you're looking for a piece of wax you slept on, the Merchant is the spot. This is the joint for all your Latin Jazz, Soul, Funk, and Old School Hip Hop needs. Cool Chris continually amazes me with his knowledge of rare Soul and Funk. And if you're lucky, you might stop in when Vinnie Esparza's working (hint it's hump day) and get a Latin Jazz lesson. Very nice

It's 6pm. I'm standing outside the store. It's closed. No signage. No phone message. Make sure you always call ahead.

Best record store in the City, hands down! Worldwide famous' Groove Merchant never fails to live up to the hype. Creamy beats, jazzy grooves, latin bangers, sultry soul, and galactic funk, can all be found here, at this legendary SF spot. Just talk to the friendly owner, Mr Cool Chris, and he will hook you up for sure... Groovy baby!

This store maybe small but unlike the big shops Chris does not carry any wack records. Dude knows his stuff and the pricing is reasonable. (how can someone make a living on this in a "scratch live" world, support a brother) Man, you can easily spend a few hours in this place. Records are well organized. He's even got a section for the Ubb lames. I've seen some people up in here but, I hear The Beatnuts, Beastie Boys, Biz Markie etc..... this place is banana's no peel

Like all the other reviews say, an extremely well stocked record store, with fantastic taste. Also, their selection of records are in really good shape, and the bins are extremely well maintained. It makes browsing much more pleasureable. The prices are a little bit higher than your average shop, but the shopping experience makes it worth it. One nice thing about the shop is that even though many of the customers are clearly _really_ into vinyl, there's a total minimum of snobbiness. Employees and customers alike seem to be totally willing to shoot the shit about vinyl and music in general with anyone who's interested.

These fellas are purveyors of some real nice wax trax. It's like what the dudes from Fat Albert would have if they owned a record shop. The homies werkin the joint are super friendly and know their selections. Sometimes you CAN expect to pay more for a jam than you think you should, but that's cuz THEY swooped it somehow,somewhere, BEFORE you did. We all hunt down selections right? If yer even on Yelp yer blowin cash somewhere. I suggest having one less drink on Sat. night so you can LOVE whatever record you bought there and own now, rather than write a sour a$$ review on how this tiny record shop in UBER-EXPENSIVE S.F. charges more than Amoeba. UNDERSTAND!?

Love this place. Neighborhood institution, tons of unique selections and hidden gems, unpretentious attitudes. Long may it live.