Originals Vinyl

The perfect small vinyl record store. Hard to imagine how it could be better.
I have bought lots of great records here and have had some of my old vinyl cleaned by their fancy cleaning machine.
One note: be careful about parking near the store. There is a bicycle-​mounted parking officer whose job appears to be making life difficult for the business on this small, meterless street.

Such an awesome store! The owners really know their stuff — not just the music, but the collector-​type info like which pressings/​masterings are best. And their pricing is extremely competitive, especially given the quality of the records they keep on hand. As someone else pointed out, the store feels larger than it is because there isn’t a bunch of crap in the bins to dig past. They also offering cleaning and de-​warping services, and if you tell them stuff you’re looking out for, they’ll let you know if it comes in. My only reservation about writing this review is that more people will find out about this place and records will get snatched up before I get my hands on them!

The last thing I need is more records. That said, I found myself with a few extra minutes before picking up my daughter at her moms this afternoon and did a search for vinyl record stores in the Mission thinking I knew them all. I didn’t.
Originals already had 5 stars and not trusting anyone except my fellow music industry brethren with that kind of recommendation I decided to head over. The parking was easy and the store while tiny is definitely curated in a major way. What I mean is that I, the guy who rarely finds something to buy found three total gems: The Vapors second album, a soul album by Ecstasy Passion and Pain and the piece de resistance: A album by Crazy Elephant containing «Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’ (a single I have multiple copies of and is a power pop classic.)
That last record was priced at $ 25 and I just don’t buy records that expensive pretty much ever. So, I put it back and as I was buying the other two ($ 3 and $ 5) I said to Dominick the co-​owner, «There’s one more thing I really want, but I just can’t pay that much for it.» He sold it to me for considerably less.
He also offered to clean my records on their very expensive machine (check Unilocal for a deal) and I didn’t have the time, but he said I could bring them back at my convenience.
This all happened before I told him who I was and what I did for my living that allowed me to have so many records — and why I generally increased my collection via always having credit from that big store on Haight Street.
He asked me how they should promote themselves, and I gave him multiple ideas since the non-​music-​half of my living is in advertising/​marketing/​socials. He was super appreciative.
That’s a long way of saying:
* Well curated selection but they don’t carry new vinyl so if you’re looking for a 180 gram pressing of Mumford, head for Haight Street.
* Fair prices (but they know what things are worth though most everything is under $ 20 at most)
* Rock, Soul and a few other interesting things
* Easy parking
* Knowledgable, friendly, and they do buy used records
* Very, very high end record cleaning at $ 2.50 per record
Support Originals vinyl so they do well. We need more shops like it in San Francisco and everywhere else!

Undoubtably my favorite record store! First of all, even though the shop is small — everything in it is excellent. This is where you’ll want to head if you’re a serious record collector looking for something you haven’t seen a thousand times, or someone who is just getting their collection started and wants to add a few things everyone else doesn’t already have. The turnover in here is great. Each time I come in, I have to look through everything because there is always so much new stuff. The record cleaning service is absolutely legit. I have taken in some extremely noisy records that I have cleaned with my own Gem Dandy system. After the ultrasonic cleaning they were vastly improved. I’ve had some records in VG+ condition cleaned that come out playing absolutely perfectly. But the best thing about this place is the owners. These have got to be the two nicest guys to own a record store. They are always genuinely interested to talk with their costumers, answer questions (without any attitude at all), play as many records as you want to hear, and are basically just really great and knowledgable guys.

Great little shop! The proprietors are friendly and helpful. Their cleaning and dewarping services are effective and fairly priced. Inventory turns over pretty regularly so it’s always worth dropping by and browsing the new offerings. Even the dollar bin is full of good deals.

For as tiny as this place is, it has one hell of a great selection. I found several nicely priced gems, and the guy behind the counter was super friendly and hospitable. It’s quaint, clean, and organized. Overall, don’t let the size of this place fool you! Their selection is very high quality, and you won’t be disappointed!

Great selection, great service and a great location. You’re not gonna find a place that’s offers the service they provide. They can really bring an old collection back to life and sounding like new all over again. The space may be small but the work speaks volumes.

Great selection, fair prices, nice owner. Definitely coming back.

The hubs and I have visited record stores up and down the west coast and the selection here really stands out. The Originals curators obviously know what they’re doing as every flip of the stack offered yet another must-​have gem or title that we’d never seen before in the wild (first Cows sighting — finally!); there’s literally no filler in here. The kind lads even searched their back stock for us upon request. This careful attention to detail will ultimately save you time but it definitely won’t save you any money — get ready to want it all!

This place is exceptional, one of only two stores in the bay that I deem worthy of purchasing from. Great prices, great quality, great customer service. This is a store that cares about bringing you the absolute best in quality music and not just selling newly pressed garbage at excessive prices like some of the bigger boys that have to support the overhead of, I don’t know, say 12 poorly curated bay area locations. The real value here is trading knowledge with these guys they can recommend titles you my not be familiar with that you will end up loving, they know their stuff. Great store, Great Dudes!

Great shop. I finally got my copy of Somthin’ Else — Cannonball Adderley at this shop. Highly recommended and well organized/​clean shop. You can tell the owners take pride in offering the best to their customers.

Like most people who love vinyl, I seek out record stores in every city I go and Originals is a hidden Gem in one of the greatest cities in the world. Nearly every record was a keeper, I coulda left with a hundred records and still not made a dent in all the rare soul, jazz, fusion, world, etc rarities they had. After talking with the owners, I could tell that this is more than a business but a passion. They have record cleaning/​restoration equipment that only a few places in the nation have and they can clean/​restore your records for a few bucks. They love and meticulously care for their collection and scour the Bay Area digging so you don’t have to. When I find a spot like this I feel it’s my duty to spread the word so great small businesses like this will be around for years to come! BUY VINYL. SHOP AT ORIGINALS and other local record stores!

Love this little spot for all vintage and old school vinyl. This is a great new record shop in the Mission that I can’t stop visiting. They’ve got all the jazz, old school hip hop, rock, soul, you name it. Everything I could want and also very knowledgeable about records and music. These guy know their stuff, have a great collection of records, and a super machine for cleaning whatever vinyl you need cleaned.

Great selection of quality jazz. Cultivated inventory makes it feel like a much bigger store than it is. Everything except bargains is professionally cleaned and is given a new outer cover and paper slip in addition to any original materials. Clean, organized, good stuff at proper prices. Good hunting!

The best part about this place is its small but has a great selection. The owners are knowledgable in all sorts of music. If they don’t have what you’re looking for they will find it. If you have some old records that need cleaning they have this machine that will do that quickly. It’s a chill spot for old and new vinyl collectors alike. I’ll be back soon to get my free cleaning

Just started getting into vinyl, as hipster as it sounds, and was in the sf area cus the old lady wanted to check out some nice fancy cat boarding place. Next door I found this dope ass little record spot with super clean selection. I’m cheap so I was especially diggin’ their $ 1 – 5 bins. Chill spot too, kicked it the whole time my lady was dealing with the cat.

Amazing selection that’s curated with such love and care by two of the nicest music enthusiasts I’ve ever met.
In a time where most stores exploit the resurgence of vinyl as an excuse to charge astronomical amounts of money for shitty reprints, Originals Vinyl not only has the, um, original version, but at a reasonable (sometimes downright surprisingly so) price.
Their cleaning capabilities are also just stunning. I brought in some records that have been caked in God-​knows-​what and within minutes, they sound new again.
The City has been dying for a place like this. These guys have reinvigorated my passion for discovering music.

Great little shop! Love the vibe there. They had a wonderful selection and their records were clean. Recommended!