Best music stores in Austin: find options near you

I’m a Real cat & I do real reviews!!!! So…. Decided to liquidate my Collections. I started with WAX!! so Listen,, dont waste your time WIDT anyone in town!!!! It took an 1hr & 20 min to get my offer and it was worth EVERY SINGLE MOMENT!!!!

While looking around the insides of the New Location my piece of my precious collection was being Professionally Evaluated by a W.R.P.( W.aterloo R.ecords Professional) EVA. who Took the time,did the Research & made me a Fair & Full Offer . Waterloo is where to bring your Collection PERIOD!

EVA!!! EVA!!!EVA!!!

It’s a really nice new location. It just feels like there’s something missing; that classic record store soul. The store is beautiful, clean, well organized…but, even with the expansive size of the new location, I still found that large percentage of the records I was looking for were not there. As great as they are at promoting local Texas artists, I generally find that Waterloo falls behind finding artists who aren’t already in the mainstream consciousness. So, good enough for four stars, but not good enough for five.

On my visit to Austin I had to stop here and it did not disappoint. Went to grab a logo shirt and a couple of postcards. Spent an hour looking. If there’s anything associated to music, chances are they’ll have it!

Waterloo Records & Video – A Vinyl Lover’s Paradise

Waterloo Records is everything a record store should be. The vinyl selection is massive and impeccably organized — the A to Z layout makes browsing a breeze. Whether you’re digging for deep cuts or the newest releases, they’ve got it all. I picked up some Taylor Swift for my daughter, and honestly could’ve spent hours flipping through their collection.

Staff was helpful, the vibe was relaxed, and the whole place just radiates music nerd energy in the best way possible. An Austin institution that lives up to the hype. Don’t miss it!

Great selections of records and other novelty items. They have record players for sale of different kinds from vintage to modern. Well labeled and organized shelves. From Hamilton to rare soul. And so much more. Plenty of parking and conveniently located near Whole Foods and a diner. I wasn’t sure if this used to be an old diner spot and got sold. Cool place for record collections.

Thanks Guillermo and Patrick for hooking me up with some region B discs! Great place to go to look for records and hard to find discs, and there’s always new stock.

The staff was super friendly and helpful. They were kind enough to accept my Rhino Black Sabbath’s Paranoid record back when I realized I purchased a duplicate. Couldn’t find anything right away. they politely reminded me that they do not give back cash. I went ahead and circled around and found the perfect replacement. The Beatles revolver album. They’ve done an amazing job renovating the space. Their logos look incredible. A van was performing today but I needed to get back on the road. What a cool experience. You must go to this place. The customers were as excited as the staff was.

I’m a junkie for this place. Addicted. Found a few rarities here. Look at the old/used section. Always pristine condition. The new releases too. Easy to go in and spend too much. Love this store and try to come every weekend.

This place is cool if you enjoy listening to vinyl. Large building with just about every genre you can think of. They even have exclusive prints limited to the store. There’s a secret section in the back of the store where you can buy equipment to listen to your records. It’s dope. A+

Bought a couple of vinyls, an amp, and a set of speakers with the GF. Blake was super helpful with giving me and her insight on setting it up properly. System sounds amazing! Thank you!

I placed an order online a while back and was quoted 2-8 day shipping (which is normal for media mail). Unfortunately, they didn’t mail out my item until day 11 after purchasing, which meant I waited 18 total days – 2 days late for the birthday I ordered it for.

On day 5 I called to ask why the item hadn’t shipped yet, and I was ridiculed for ‘wanting instant gratification like everyone these days’ and told that maybe since I’m bothering them, they’ll take a few extra days to get around to my order (as if to punish me for calling them?!?). Extremely unprofessional. Cool selection and prices, but I wouldn’t hire these people to work at my thrift store, much less a record store.

Great Record Store , so many choices !
Customer service is not all great though kind of rude but ‍♀️still happy to have my vinyls

Has a huge assortment of vinyls, cds, and cassettes from old to new releases! I always buy at least a couple of things everytime I go! Such a good atmosphere, and smooth tunes! I recommend to go if you’re looking for a very specific item!

Amazing selection and prices. I live out of town but save up for when I am in Austin to do my shopping here! Love the feel of the store and the expertise/kindness of the staff.

Used their service for getting the Trombone repaired. The water key was dislodged.

As we visited them around closing time, we had to leave the Trombone with them overnight for inspection the next day.

The technician was able to fix it the next day by replacing the cork. Charged $10.67 for it.

I’ve been a customer of Strait Music since I first started playing guitar in 1996. The fact that I’m still a customer should attest to my overwhelmingly positive opinion. I also highly recommend them for guitar repair and setups.

We’ve gone to Strait Music many times. Usually for small repair items for band instruments. We love looking at the wide selection of instruments throughout the store. Well priced, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Amazing first time experience.
I had come in to get strings for my Guitar.
Austen helped me out. He’s so so knowledgeable, plays guitar so well, got me hooked up with the right strings for my Martin – and got them strung so quickly.

Amazing – they have me as customer for life.

Thank you Austen! You are amazing!

Austen is amazing. Answered so many of my questions, suggested guitars to try based on my preference and helped me pick the perfect one with a discount. Highly recommend.

This is the best Music Store in Austin. I started going to the location on Anderson Ln in the early 80″s and now my son plays guitar and drums and we love the staff here. We bought an acoustic guitar and had issues with humidity that we caused (lessoned learned on humidity control) and Chris, Jack, and their entire staff took care of us and worked with us and Gibson on the repair. They all went ABOVE AND BEYOND, when this was our issue and hung in there with us until the guitar was returned (like new by the way). Highly recommend these rock stars.

I love Strait Music. The staff are extremely knowledgeable about their speciality, and if they don’t know the answer, they will find it. My son rents a trombone from Strait music and they have kept it in great shape, even doing a free summer cleaning. They gave great advice and low pricing when changing the strings on my son’s classical guitar. We’ve purchased two guitars from Strait music, a small amp, two pianos (the first one we traded back in and got full credit towards the second piano), and countless music books. When my sons’s electric guitar had a broken pick-up selector swtich, Strait music got it fixed under warranty, free of chage. I can’t say enough about how great Strait Music is. If you don’t have a “local music store” yet, make this one yours.

Breakaway Records is a vinyl lover’s dream. The store is packed with records, as well as audio and video cassettes, DVD discs, and even turntables. Whether you’re a serious collector or just someone who enjoys flipping through old records, the atmosphere here is something special.

Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, it’s a cool place to explore—there’s something about holding these older formats that gives a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for music history.

They also carry modern vinyl releases, so it’s not just for retro collectors. We checked out the international section, which was mostly filled with records from Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, and Japan, but it could definitely use some expansion. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything that really resonated with us.

Overall, it’s a great store with a strong selection and a unique vibe. Definitely worth a visit!

It’s a beautiful store with chill vibes. Man, I asked the person’s name two times and I still can’t remember it (middle age problems). That person in the hifi section gave me some great advice and the prices seemed honest and friendly. I never met bad person that loved music, so go in and talk to someone in the store.

Breakaway is a fun record store and is very clean, with the records in vinyl sleeves. They have some other items, including electronics, record care, and a limited selection of very cool posters. Unfortunately, their logo T-shirt size selections have been low on stock lately. Hopefully, they will order more with “Austin, Texas” in the design because they make good gifts. The staff and management are friendly and knowledgeable. Having sold Breakaway hundreds of records over the years, they have consistently paid a fair price and occasionally more than I expected. As a buyer, their prices are very reasonable. Be forewarned that their location on 53rd St. is dangerously close to Home Slice Pizza restaurant.

Breakaway is amazing!!! So many unique records, great staff too! Great way to support remaining record shops. I love how organized they are too and the area is a vibe

Really good selection (especially love the Texas artists section). The employees were super knowledgeable and kind. Definitely see it as a place to go and find some staples.

We weren’t able to find two of the albums we were looking for, but both were not super mainstream and contemporary picks.

Would go here to look for hip hop specifically. Great atmosphere.

Initially, I deleted my original review because I genuinely loved shopping here and hoped to come back. But after thinking it over, I realized I shouldn’t even want to.

I’ve spent thousands at Breakaway on vinyl, turntables, speakers, and receivers. A while back, staff asked me not to open sealed records, so I adjusted by committing to buy anything I opened. I even bought plenty of records I didn’t want just to respect that rule.

Then one evening, as I was finishing up, a bearded employee with glasses said, “You’re not putting the sleeves back in right”—not showing me how they wanted it done, just a passive-aggressive comment. I was confused. I’ve been a DJ shopping for vinyl for 30 years and never had someone complain about that. Apparently they wanted sleeves sideways, but he didn’t say that. I still spent $500 that day.

When I returned another time, I spent an hour happily pulling vinyl, waiting for a turntable to open up. Instead of simply telling me, “Hey, when you listen, make sure to turn the sleeves sideways,” one of the women waited until I turned around and then removed the needles. When I asked for them, she said coldly, “We pick them up at 5:30 now.” They close at 7. I asked when that new policy started and she said “recently” just sort of cold and condescending. I dropped the 30 or so vinyl I probably would have bought, left the store and sat in my car literally hurt not knowing what just happened.

I emailed the owner, who admitted staff “didn’t handle it right” but said they claimed to have corrected me before—and he believed them. That never happened. If it had, I would have respected it.

Afterward, I messaged an old employee to ask if I had really been “doing it wrong.” He said, “Honestly, yeah, man, I did feel like you didn’t.” Which only proves the point: nobody ever told me that. They just silently judged it, never corrected me, then one time chose to passive-aggressively say something, and the next time pulled the needles.

Instead of backing up a long-time loyal customer, he sided with rude, passive-aggressive staff. The most common negative review here is “rude employees,” and I’ve experienced it myself from the same guy before and seen him condescend rudely to other customers. This isnt an isolated incident but the owner seems to think that because people dont reply back to him anytime someone leaves a review that they must be lying. Most people leave reviews and walk away without thinking about it more but in his mind, they must be lying. They are not, i have experienced it. He didnt even respond to my review because it was clear they were wrong in how they handled it.. I had to send an email to get a response and instead of acknowleding it was wrong of them and telling me its ok to go back and just to be mindful of how i put the sleeves back in moving forward, he told me “they did handle that bad but I believe them if they told you before, they wouldnt lie” well they did. because it absolutely wasnt true. my only guess is they conflated telling me to not open the sealed vinyl with putting the sleeves in wrong. two seperate issues, and i corrected the first by buying the ones i opened even when I may not have liked the record.

I won’t be going back. After years of loyalty and thousands spent, I’ll never step foot in this store again—and I’ll make sure others know how they treat people. In 30 years of digging in record shops all over the country, I’ve never experienced anything like this.

God bless em, great selection and prices. But why would you not allow people to play 1$ & 3$ records on their players but still sell them to people? Is it so bad you can’t let people play them at the store?

The friendliest staff I’ve ever seen in a guitar center. so it’s so that it allowed me to discover their inventory in a relaxed manner and I ended up meeting my dream guitar, I have been wanting to purchase since I was 17 years old.

This experience was 23 years in the making and I would not have committed to this purchase without the input of their sales rep (Kai, if I remember his name correct), who was incredibly kind and made a genuine effort to make sure my purchase goes smoothly. This was a true, “Once in a lifetime experience”…

Only gripe for my visit: The electric cat orgy of hobbyists tuning guitars at volume 6, along with toddlers wreaking havoc on metal core pedals, was slightly noisier at this location. I chalk it up as a positive, the staff is friendly and that allows kids to make noise. I am fully aware that I sound like a depressive old man. I write this to warn anyone with sensitive ears. Bring a noise cancelling pair of headphones.

Been coming to this guitar center for a couple years now and they have always taken great care of me.

Came with an acoustic guitar issue thinking it was the pick up. Turns out I’m a moron and it was just a battery issue. Jordan and the team gave some good education on all the other things that are in this guitar I’ve had for 2 years and replaced the battery for free.

Thanks Jordan and team, y’all rock!

Love this place! When I’m not really sure what to do with my day, it’s always a good idea to drop by Guitar Center. It’s a good distraction and we get to see some live performances too =)

Great service, friendly staff and willing to work with you. New manager was great to work with as well.

My boyfriend and I came in today to purchase some cables that we needed for one of his shows. Usually customer service isn’t so great at this guitar center, but they really surprised us this time. The employee was very knowledgeable about the items we needed, and they took the time, even though it was very busy to help us out. My boyfriend is a Spanish speaker, so he felt very accommodated and surprised by the staff Jeremy’s patience and understanding. We left with some doubt that our cables would work with our equipment, but the Jeremy let us know that we could return it, and that gave us the confidence to make our purchase today. A+ customer service.

Excellent place with awesome staff! Jordan helped me pick up a stunning bass guitar for my dad’s birthday and was super helpful! Without him and the rest of the staff, a gift like this would have been too expensive and out of reach. I wouldn’t have known where to start, but they helped me find what I was looking for AND helped me keep it within my price range! I will definitely be coming back, and I strongly recommend this Guitar Center for anyone with musical needs! (Especially those who don’t know where to start!)

First… Great selection of guitars, amps and accessories
Second… The service is excellent
Professional, knowledgeable, friendly.
They are also community support.
They offer free lessons to young audiences who want to get involved with music.
Yea… Go see.

Purchasing our piano at Music Masters with Brian was an excellent experience! My husband and I went into the showroom to look at upright pianos. We shared our budget with Brian, and he helped us understand what range of pre-owned or new pianos we could reasonably afford. There wasn’t really an upright piano in the showroom that fit our budget or color preferences, and so Brian suggested a baby grand that was in the showroom on consignment from its previous owner. The piano was in great shape and surprisingly was quite close to our original budget due to the previous owner’s desire to sell it quickly.

We hadn’t considered a baby grand, and were unsure if it would fit in our space. Brian was not pushy at all; he understood we needed to think on this. He leant us a piece of felt that was cut to the size and shape of the piano so we could put it in our space and visualize how the piano would work. This was SO helpful! After a few days of trying the template in different spaces, we decided to purchase the baby grand. Brian met me at my work to collect the check while he was out on a tuning job, which was so kind considering we live far from the showroom! The piano was delivered a few days later and we couldn’t be happier. We definitely recommend working with Brian and Music Masters!!

MusicMasters made buying a beautiful gently used piano so easy. The price is fair, and the attention to quality and detail is amazing. We had a piano delivered and ready to play in house within 48 hours of my 1st call. 10/10 recommend.

Brian did a great job tuning my daughter’s piano. He explained that he tunes by ear, which allows for better-sounding treble and bass ranges, compared to relying solely on electronic tuning devices. The piano sounds great. Highly recommended!

Brian is an amazing piano tuner! Got my beloved baby grand tuned up after I sadly neglected it for over 5 years. Sounds so beautiful now! Loves what he does and is great at it too. Call him now!

‘Tuner Brian Henselman arrived promptly at the scheduled time and did a great job tuning my 1892 Decker Brothers concert grand piano. He also replaced a broken bass string. It’s been almost a month and it still sounds perfect. Brian also took the time to point out and educate me on various piano mechanical questions I had. Very knowledgeable.

I would definitely recommend MusicMasters to anyone in need of tuning, repair, or restoration. .

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for In a piano, I just knew I had a specific budget. I went to some of the other shops in town, and all they wanted to do was sell me the best one. Brian at MusicMasters was so very kind in leading me through the inventory that they had available, which was extensive. We found an amazing piano, perfect for our budget, and it’s all because of their kindness. These folks are amazing, check them out. Thank you, Brian, for taking care of people instead of customers. Bravo!!!

Brian recently tuned and repaired the grand piano at our church in SW Austin. He was prompt, friendly, professional and did an excellent job! The piano sounds awesome! We will continue to use the services at Music Masters!

Ενα εξειδικευμένο κατάστημα με ποικιλία προιόντων αναμνηστικών απο μπλουζάκια ως παζλ για παιδάκια ,καλής ποιότητας και μοναδικά σχέδια σε πολύ καλές τιμές! Το προσωπικό ευγενικό και ετοιμο να σε εξυπηρετήσει! Μπορείτε να βρείτε ότι θέλετε απο το αγαπημένοο σας ροκ συγκρότημα ή καλλιτέχνη!

We just happened to see this shop on our way to lunch next door. This is a fantastic guitar and touristy shop in downtown Austin. The artwork on the walls are great; there is plenty to of things to buy and browse. Staff friendly and welcoming. Well worth the quick visit.

Great shop full of very unique items. Perfect for the music lover. Stop in the guys are great and they have the sweetest house kitty that rocks a tie. From Prince to the Beatles, crazy western shirts, fun socks, lunchboxes and real guitars. It’s a one stop shop.

This place is a MUST stop! Amazing music playing as you enter to jam to .
Why they stand out:
✅music books for CHILDREN and as a teacher I can say with confidence high quality children book. Even leveled readers. We got purchased a Selena book!
✅Great vibe, an amazing atmosphere
✅AMAZING shirt selection
✅music and guitar supplies
✅top notch souvenirs

This place grabbed my attention as I wrapped up the workday. Being new to the area I’m glad I stepped inside as it’s very clean front to back and an easy shopping experience. The staff was so nice and I look forward to coming back soon.

Walked in got no greeting but every person after me was greeted with hello and welcome ..at checkout the cashier then stepped aside and ignored me after just helping another customer in front of me .. so other cashier stepped in to help me ..once I was finished being charged the cashier who continued to ignore us then stepped back in to help next person after me ..Racist environment!!! Would never visit this place again..wouldnt recommend visiting if your Hispanic.instead of keeping Austin weird they made Austin seem like racist city

I came in to see if I could get some small gifts for my music students after their recital. The staff helped me and the kids loved their gifts!

Has a stolen bass of mine I sent photos. I am changing my review in hopes that they work with Reverb to get this back to me.

These guys really put up with me trying a lot of guitars out before I purchased one- but I am extremely happy with it. They truly love what they do. They have one of the best collections in Austin- I highly recommend anyone check these guys out and support them. This store is truly a gem.

MUST SEE Guitar store! While I was in Austin, I found this incredible vintage guitar store. I have been to hundreds of guitar stores over the decades and this is one of the best vintage guitar and amplifier stores that I have ever visited. Friendly staff and amazing inventory. I highly recommend this store.

Visited Austin Vintage Guitars and what a delight! Staff were friendly and easy to talk to. Such a great variety of gear. One of the best guitar stores I’ve been to!

Austin Vintage Guitars is a musician’s playground! Their selection of guitars, basses, and more is unrivaled. If you’re looking for a unique instrument, you’ll likely find it here. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and professional.

This is a great guitar, bass and amplifier store. Their inventory is fantastic. They have so many guitars in a wide range of prices. If you are in Austin, TX and you want to see a LOT of vintage guitars and old tweed amps, stop by this shop. If you want to try out a large variety of Fender Custom Shop guitars… this is the place. I have been there a couple different times and most everyone in there is very friendly and nice. The only reason I took away a star is for value. If how you spend your money is a factor, you will likely find other Fender dealers who are currently offering deeper discounts on high end guitars. In the current economy many stores are inventory heavy and are looking to move more of their expensive guitars. I compared prices across the country and could not justify buying from Austin Vintage. It is a wonderful store and I plan to return when I am there again.

This place is amazing. Drove from Dallas just to see their amazing collection, biggest guitar selection of non-new Gibsons. And first time to ever play thru a Mangatone amp. The employees treated me so well and let me play and look around. 2 months later and I’m still extremely happy with my guitar!

The staff was very kind and accommodating with pricing. They made sure everything went smoothly, even checking in at the end to confirm the piano had arrived safely. Thanks to them, I was able to purchase the perfect piano. Highly recommended.

We have been customers of Capital Music off and on for 15 years. We’ve bought 3-4 pianos from them over those years and my husband has taken lessons from Todd and Catherine. We couldn’t say enough good things about everyone there at Capital Music. They go far and beyond to make sure you are satisfied with your purchase. They have a great selection of music books and the musical instruments that they sell are first class. We highly recommend that you stop by Capital Music if you’re in the market for music, music lessons, pianos, keyboards, or accessories.

I was looking for a starter keyboard that would serve me well into intermediate playing. They were able to help me get set up with everything that I needed, gave great advice, and provided exceptional customer service. They offer a unique experience to explore a music shop on a personal level that reminds me of old Austin. 10/10 will buy from them again.

This is a grade A music establishment. I was trying to figure out how to get my new piano back home and I find out that they will deliver it for free! Should I have seen the piano before the purchase? Absolutely! Did I? No.. I’m going to go with my instinct that Capital Music is totally legit and has been for the last 37 years.
Keep in mind that they also rent musical instruments and that’s why I got a discount on my piano even though it was used for just a month.
I am acting like a little kid at Christmas and can’t wait until Friday when my gift comes to my door!

I rented a Roland digital piano and had a very positive experience. The store was peaceful and Michael was kind, patient and knowledgeable. I was a little nervous about doing this but his calm energy put me at ease. Taxi did the delivery and he was on time and told me everything I needed to know to get started. He was great. So far, I love the piano. It was nice to be able to do month to month.

Update: I rented the Roland 5 months ago to see if I still loved playing piano as it had been a long time since I had played. The answer was yes! Playing still made me happy. So I went back to Capital Music to look at their Yamaha U1s and they had two so I played them both and favored one but couldn’t quite decide so I asked Michael if he would play them for me. This was very helpful. His playing plus his description of the differences between the two was confirmation that the one I thought I wanted was the right one for me! All of the money I had paid toward the rental, including the deposit, was credited toward the purchase of the U1, as well as a $200 discount they took off the list price. This made the price very reasonable, and also included a 5 year warranty, a tuning, delivery, and two free piano lessons. The piano was delivered a few days ago by Cobra, and the delivery went very well. I now have a beautiful piano that I have already fallen in love with and I’m looking forward to starting lessons with Michael this coming week. If you’re looking for a piano to rent or buy, stop by Capital Music. I’m really glad I did. 🙂

Guiseppe was very informative about the digital piano models and let me test out different Rolands for nearly two hours before I made my decision. Very good experience in store. Taxi was very prompt and was able to deliver and assemble the instrument in less than two hours from purchase with no problems! Highly recommend this store for anyone looking for a piano purchase.

This place has a great selection of digital pianos and large acoustic pianos. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable and helped me find the right piano for my needs. I never felt pressured into anything. Highly recommend!

It had been some time since I last rented from Rock & Roll Rentals. I was blown away by the smooth & exceptional service that i received years ago when i first visited the store still remains. I can’t say enough good things about their service. Every time I’ve rented equipment from them, it’s been in excellent condition and ready to go. Their team is always friendly, professional, and willing to go the extra mile to make sure everything runs smoothly. It’s clear they care about their customers and take pride in what they do.

It’s rare to find a company that consistently delivers both great gear and exceptional service, but Rock & Roll Rentals does just that. I’m always happy with my experience and truly appreciate the way they’ve treated me over the years. Highly recommended!

Came in to buy in ear monito headphones never had an easier time! Great service and prices. Will be back for sure! 10/10

They rented us a broken dongle and my brother had to go out and make a last minute dongle run the day of the wedding, which was incredibly stressful! We had to buy another dongle on our own. When I told them about this, they didn’t offer anything, just said “okay” and hung up. Once we got another dongle the speaker system worked okay.

Edit: they reached out and ameliorated the situation! I appreciate that they followed up!

The staff is so efficient and helpful, and the equipment worked perfectly. It’s also super easy to request rentals through their website.

Rock n Roll rentals was an absolute essential part of the event planning I did this year. I cannot recommend enough! Anyone looking for some sound systems to rent should take comfort that this team is on your side. The crew at both locations are wonderful! The Burnet location in particular was patient, informative and very helpful
Thank you to the entire team !

Very easy to rent, fair prices and no hidden fees. Had a really good experience 🙂

We used these guys to help facilitate a large business meeting last week and their service was nothing short of amazing. We loved working with them to assist us with our audio and video needs. I loved their large screen and projector which made it really easy for our group of 70 plus people to stay engaged as we held our meeting at the Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, Tx Thank you from your friends at CDK Digital and the Nissan Digital Marketing Consulting Team.