Encore Movies & Music

Hey folks,
I think they’re open and just on East 6^th, now:

Well, an Austin classic is going to close, the big chains and online order businesses finally took its toll.
I have been going here for over ten years off and on to rent movies, unfortunately I also went the way of Netflix instead of going to Encore.
Sad to see it go, thanks Chuck for all your years in Austin.

A entire row of heavy metal Cd’s and the many sub– genres it has spawned. amazing selection. prices are average $ 13 – 18. sadly this place is seeing its final days. independent shops will soon be extinct. totally sucks for collectors like me who actually enjoy hunting for music (physically)

Encore is closing and having a sale. Supposedly they will be closed in a month. If you like obscure DVDs and a decent selection of hardcore, metal, and crust music and T-​Shirts you’ll get an OK deal… Nothing super spectacular. I walked out with a couple relatively hard to find electronic records, and a psych/​punk CD that I’d been looking for… The counter person was really nice and other customers obviously know him well… Not to impressed with the closing sale prices. They’ll probably get lower soon…

Encore is awesome! You cannot beat the prices and the selection of rentals. The staff (esp. Travis) is very friendly and helpful. I’m all about shopping local. I’ve bad experiences with «too cool for you» attitudes from the staff at Cheapo’s and Waterloo. They don’t get my money anymore.
Great selection, great recommendations…

Art & indie films. Old school CDs and vinyl. A major heavy metal/​slasher film bent. T-​shirts and other fan items. A sometimes indifferent too-​cool-​for-​school staff, but also sometimes entertaining with tales of days gone by. A genuine neighborhood gem complete with eccentricity and personality quirks. What’s not to love?

Great store with excellent selection of harder to find music and friendly staff. Record stores like this are a dying breed. Happy to support Encore.

I have bought music here before. Lp’s are all I bought.
BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!
I did a little dance in the aisle!!! I did a little dance on a chair!!!
I’m doing a little dance right now!!! ‘Cuz it’s Friday and I’m ready
to be out of here!!!
SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
If you want to do a dance at your house!!!
But all your music is stale!!!
Do a little dance on over to Encore!!!
And buy some new music on sale!!!
*worst song ever*

I had to rent a DVD to watch in a hurry. It ended up skipping a lot so I will never rent DVDs here again even though I liked its alternative atmosphere and polite staff. It was my first time here despite driving past it multiple times a day for years.
Old movies are $ 3.25 for 5 days and new releases are $ 3.99. The prices seem fair.

I love Encore! Let me tell you why– I used to belong to Netfilx but didn’t like the fact that if I got some DVDs and they sucked, I had to wait two or three days for my new ones to arrive. There goes the weekend! I’m a huge fan of hard to find art-​house and foreign films so it’s always a toss-​up if the movies I choose will be worth a watch or not. Encore stocks tons of those types of movies at a very affordable 5 day rental price. I sometimes talk to the guys behind the counter and end up having long conversations about the movies I’m chosing. It’s great to talk to someone who’s actually seen these movies and if they’re worth renting. They’re like my own private movie « Unilocal-​ers!!» What’s not to love about that?
Encore also carries tons of indy and popular music CDs as well. For those of you who still buy CDs, you may want to hit this place for rare or used CDs. The usual posters and music or movie related gifts can be found here too.

I love metal. And when I lived in Chicago, I was able to shop regularly at a store that specialized in metal (Metal Haven). I’ve lived in several other cities, but never found, or expected to come across, a metal selection like that, anywhere else (except maybe LA or NY).
Then today, my wife wanted to pick up some sheet music at Alpha on Anderson Lane. When we pulled up, I noticed a surprising number of metal posters in the windows at Encore, so I had to check it out. Much to my surprise, there was a large, dedicated metal section. and I even found a copy of a Plague of the Planet by Ogre, a CD I had been on the look-​out for, but hadn’t come across (even online), for the 6+ months. So I was excited to browse through the rest of the metal section. Although I didn’t pick anything else up, I will be making regularly trips to Encore from now on, as I found the metal selection to be quite comprehensive.
I hadn’t tried to look for such a place in Austin because I really didn’t have much hope in finding such a selection here. The metal selection alone gets it 5 stars from me. Of course the selection wasn’t quite as deep as the dedicated metal shop where I used to burn $ 75-​$ 200 a week, but it will certainly do the trick.
One thing that struck me about the selection was the large number of Watchtower CDs – most places may have 1 copy of Control and Resistance, if that. But then I came home, scanned some of the other Unilocal reviews and saw that Jason McMaster evidently works here… and it all made sense!
So Encore, I applaud your metal-​ness. Keep it up!

Ahhhh… this place is awesome! The only gripe I have is that it’s a 30 minute drive from where I live in south Austin, so it doesn’t really make sense for me to get a rental membership here. But hey, nothing that can really be done about that until I finish work on that hypergate I’ve been tinkering with out in garage.
I went here initially to check out their metal selection that I had heard so much about. I was very pleasantly surprised that it actually took up a full aisle in the store instead of just a tiny section labeled «bob’s metal picks», which is what I was expecting. Nice! Not only that but they have a ton of cool t-​shirts, dvds, and other memorabilia. I don’t think I’ve yet to run into this disgruntled, elitist shop worker I read about in some of these reviews. Every time I have gone in there have been one of two guys behind the counter, both who have been nice, making small talk and what not while they rang me up. I wish I could be more of a regular of this place, that drive is one I don’t care too make very often, but I will definitely be a return customer.

Almost 12 years ago Encore won my devotion for being not only the only video store in town with a laserdisc section, but for having an extensive laserdisc section. Obviously, the laserdiscs are all long gone, but the store still has the same commitment to keeping niche shoppers happy. Their rental DVDs include all the mainstream stuff, but also a very healthy collection of foreign, indie, direct-​to-​video, soft-​core and other specialty releases. I’ve never sought a TV show on DVD that they didn’t have. They also still have a ton of VHS rentals and a nice selection of Blu-​Ray discs. I Luv Video and Vulcan (both very admirable places, to be sure) get all the movie nerd love in this city, but I’ve always thought Encore totally kicks their asses.
They sell CDs, too, and though they’ve generally had what I’m looking for, music-​wise, I’ve always thought the video was their real strength.

One of the last great local music shops!

In my last review, I griped a bit about the customer service. I feel I should revise my review a bit though; the staff’s been nicer, but this is largely because my boyfriend knows one of ‘em, and therefore I’ve been «introduced,» and am no longer a mere peon customer. Or at least, I’m not when I go there with said bf. If he’s not with me, I’m demoted to «pesky customer» status again. Oh well.
I’ll also mention that this place was perfect when we were searching for an Iron Maiden T-​shirt to give to a friend’s ten-​year-​old who, because of Rock Band, has become a fan. I’m glad that video games are giving «retro» music a resurgence!

Every place starts out with all 5 stars. So let’s take a moment to go through the scientific process of natural selection of the rating world.
Before we begin, I think it would be imprudent not to mention that this place is the video store equivalent to the comic store in the Simpson’s. You know, the fading-​glory /​wanna-​be still-​cool guy at the counter who is about 15– 20 years out of style? Oh, he’s SO annoyed that he has to come inside from his smoke break out front and watch the dumb-​ass public. (UGH)! Oh yes, inside, the store reeks of stale cigarette smoke making this little knocked-​up lady kinda wanna hurl!
OK, we don’t even have to bother with the scientific star system anymore. We can just simply say, one star for being near my home and another for having a copy of Strange Brew in for rent. If I’d personally witnessed the scene my baby-​daddy told me about there might be another star in this review. I guess one night there was a guy in there all rockin’ out in some headphones sorta half-​ass slam-​dancing to something only he could hear. But I missed that. 2 stars. Firm.

i teeter between 2 and 3 stars because of the staff. i’m not saying i have to be greeted with a flute of champagne when i enter the door, but i shouldn’t be shunned like i have the bubonic plague when i check out either. one guy, who’s super friendly, nice and encourages me to sign up for their repeat rentals card gets the 3 stars, the other guy who’s unamused when i forget my wallet and i practically have to beg him to let me recite my driver’s license number to him so i can rent Baby Mama gets 2 stars. i wish i knew their work schedules so i could plan accordingly.

This is a little difficult for me, since it’s a place near and dear to my heart.
I’ve been going to Encore for about 7 years now. Not as often as I used to go, which was like 3 times a week, but I still need to fill in the Netflix gaps sometimes. (I used to not need Netflix, but when Encore moved out of walking distance, I had to make the switch)
Over the years, I’ve become familiar with the selection of movies and music, and with the staff. It took a loooooooong time for the owner Chuck to acknowledge me, but now he actually says hello, and sometimes more to me! The real shining star there is Jason McMaster. He’s the guy with the long red hair. Frontman for local rock group Broken Teeth.(they rock, check ‘em out!) Super nice guy. Remembers my name and is ALWAYS helpful.
On the other hand, you got Mr. Poopy Pants. The guy with the long, straight brown hair and sour puss. I don’t know his name because he *never* talks. To me, or anyone but the other staff. I think he prefers to do tasks like checking in DVDs so he won’t have to interact with the hated public. I’m telling you, his thinly-​veiled rage is all in his eyes. Don’t try to make contact or get him to ring you up! It just makes him angrier!
Just go to Jason or the shorter dude with the curly heavy metal hair.

The movie selection is great. I can always find something good to see, even if I don’t care for the new releases. Plenty of crazy foreign, Japanese cinema, and Animé, if you’re into that. They put their recommended vids facing out so you can find them easier. Just like any music store, but better.
Speaking of music, I haven’t purchased much of that there since they moved a few years back. I think the old layout was more music friendly. You had to wade through numerous music displays before getting to the movie section. Now it’s half and half, side by side. Easier to navigate, yes, but I don’t notice the new music they might have.

I kind of hope they read this, so they know what I’ve been wanting to tell them: Put the music back into a customer-​friendly layout, instead of the towering aisles. I’ll start buying CD’s again! Then do us all a favor and fire Mr. Poopy Pants! I’ll give you that 5^th star, I promise.
Much Love,
Mike L.

Encore is my neighborhood Movie rental now that I’ve moved North. They have a huge selection of flicks but something about the layout sticks me as wrong. Maybe I have too many choices or a movie snob. Meh, who knows.
The people that work there aren’t snobby ‘cept for this one disgruntled guy — but I’d be pretty pissed off if I had to work Saturday night instead of walking in half buzzed from going out and renting a flick.
As for the music, they have a decent selection but they love their metal

So I was intent on spending some money on new music. I had a list of about 7 cds to buy. I planned to head south to Waterloo, but the idea of spending 20 minutes driving and then 20 mintues waiting for a parking space I can hardly fit into, was really killing my «i’m-about-to-get-new-music-buzz.» Then I remembered that there was a music store in my hood that I hadn’t been to yet. In steps Encore – my new music store.
I found 6 of the 7 cds I wanted. The prices are comparable to Waterloo, the selection is quite good for the size of the shop, and the owner, will probably order anything you might want. I have to disagree with Astra on the employee treatment. I found it totally lacking in «I’m too cool for your Fantasia cd» vibe. I don’t actually have a Fantasia cd, but it’s only because I’m intimidated by the coolness thing. But I was helped by and older dude who was possibly the owner. Not young hipsters.
So, visit the shop! But note that it’s on Anderson Ln now (Anderson and Rutgers) and not Burnet.