Friends of Sound Records

I knew when I walked in this place was gonna have some good stuff. Record shops with entrances in back alleys tend to have great stuff and decent prices.
I bought a few records, but a lot of the stuff they sold was collectible and priced like it. Still, it’s definitely a great record shop to explore in Austin.

Definitely an Austin style record store located on the back side of some shops off of South Congress. Just follow the signs there. Pretty simple.
There are two «levels» inside the shop; however, their Unilocal check-​in deal is no longer honored nor did employees know about it. Good variety to search through. Just don’t have a reason to visit this spot over any other record store.

Surprised I haven’t rated Friends of Sound yet.
Really great place for rare records, priced reasonably. My favorite recent find here was a mint first pressing of Miles Davis — «Sorcerer» for under $ 30.
I have two minor gripes — parking is rough and the listening carts at the listening stations are sometimes a bit busted. The first is just a fact of being on South Congress (so I guess I’m saying they should move… maybe North East Austin… where I live!) and the second is really due to careless customers.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a record store I didn’t like. Except Hastings. I hate that place. Otherwise, it’s all mostly love. For me, the smaller and more specialized, the better. This back alley vinyl shop is a surprise find just off South Congress Ave. The used records are fairly well organized and in decent condition. The selection is fairly vast. They have «international» music (a catch-​all for artists not singing in English), rock, R&B, metal, hip hop, soundtracks, etc. Not bad.
Most of the sought after records are average price ($ 11-​$ 18). You’ll have to look pretty thoroughly to find good deals. I picked up a copy of Wind & Wuthering by Genesis, but after digging a little deeper, I found a cheaper copy of the same album. You also may miss the hip hop section. Those albums are stashed in cardboard boxes near the entrance, so you may not immediately see them until you’re leaving.
The only real criticism I have is that the person working the desk won’t be winning any Mr. Sunshine awards anytime soon. He wasn’t rude, but just wasn’t super welcoming. Not enough to take my business elsewhere, but definitely enough to not go out of my way to shop there. Overall though, this spot was definitely A-​OK.
3.75 out of 5

Shop is in a WEIRD spot… but hey it’s Austin. Park on the street and walk around back you will see a big RECORDS sign. Shop is a bit awkward and dusty. I will say that they have a wide variety of genres… even international. I’ve been on the hunt for a Selena vinyl and have yet to be lucky. I figured this would be the gold mine. It is a pretty small shop so it is crammed.

Every now and then they have some pretty sick deals. The main records are in good condition and I found a lot of oldie treasures in the downstairs. They honestly have wayyyy better prices than anyone else. However, you really gotta search because it is kinda small. But there’s some great vinyls in there. Love this place.

Awesome little record store! The selection is super awesome and my husband had a blast picking through all the records. We ended up leaving with the soundtrack to Saturday night fever. It was a steal at $ 5! Can’t wait to come back here next time we’re shopping on south congress.

Record buying has become increasingly difficult in recent years, and Friends Of Sound has followed the trend of having great inventory, but outrageous prices. It’s hard because it used to be, when records weren’t as fashionable when they are now, no one really knew the value of certain records, and sold them wholly on the cheap.
Friends Of Sound definitely knows they have good stuff, but wants to up the actual price of the record by at least 50%. Whether they’re looking to see what they’re going for on Discogs or eBay, I will definitely not be splurging on anything there.
Their back room, which until recently was a giant pit of unorganized records, has been slightly improved, but there isn’t too much down there. All filler.

Close to my home, love that I can walk through the alley to get to it. Very small but great selection. Some really rare stuff, especially in their jazz/​funk/​soul area. I’ve found some amazing lounge/​jazz albums there, thanks to their neat filing system and notes they write on the plastic sleeves.
Great Technics 1200 turntables for listening, always a plus. Some albums can be pretty pricey, but if you dig enough you’ll find some good stuff in the $ 5 – 10 range.
Staff could be a little friendlier, but oh well.

I really loved this little record shop. Tucked away in an alley but some really great finds!
The reason I only give it four stars was the guy behind the counter. One was very engaging and pleasant. One was not as pleasant.
Most of us vinyl record collectors really enjoy the hobby. We like to talk records! In my opinion, people that work at record stores should enjoy talking about records.

This place is great. Huge selection of used LPs under $ 5. Many only $ 1. It’s gonna take multiple trips to dig through all the magic here.

Friends of Sound is the only reason that beer wasn’t my greatest expense on a recent trip to Austin. I very quickly found myself channeling Al Pacino in Scent Of A Woman: This is gonna get expensive. In the new arrivals bin alone I found 4 albums that unquestionably needed to be in my collection. After perusing the rest of the store the damage was done and I was praying that my finds would fit in my carry on. The feller behind the counter was a nice enough guy and was helpful in steering me toward a lot of stuff I’d been seeking for what seems like forever. Awesome store, and my girlfriend will probably not let me anywhere near it next time we’re in town.

This was a cool record store, I feel bad because I used my Unilocal check in to get one of the cheap records downstairs but didn’t buy anything upstairs… honestly it was just because I pretty much already have everything that I liked upstairs! But it was a cool little record store and the guy behind the counter seemed like a cool guy.

Great collection of Lps. Most of them are in good condition. What’s more is the store owner actually cares about customers. They were very nice to me and I am planning to go back first chance I get to lighten their shelves.

When Record stores dream they imagine that they are Friends Of Sound. This place has everything you could want.
Funky/​secret location? Check.
Cool and euber-​knowledgeable people? Check.
Tons-​o-​sweet and rare vinyl? Double check.
Once you figure out that the store front is actually a store back, and up a ramp, and down to the left, you find yourself in wax heaven. I have been to every record store in Austin including Waterloo Records, and this place finally gave me what I was looking for. Selections!
I walked in with my list of the top 20 LP’s I didn’t own, and couldn’t find, and found 7 of them on the first trip. Lp’s that none of the other stores ever had no matter how many times I went back.
I was helped by Cyrus who broke down every record I asked him about like they were the Zapruder film and made sure I knew every subtle nuance and piece of trivia there was to be known. I thought Rob Gordon, Dick and Barry were going to come out from behind the counter. (Gratuitous High Fidelity reference)
Located just up the street from Guerro’s and the Continental Club on South Congress this is the Record Store that other Record Stores want to be when they grow up and get serious.

The owner graciously agreed to donate a few old records for a project I’m working on. Ever since I went in to get them I’ve been a customer. Great selection, great prices!

I like vinyl. I like the smell, I like the feel, I like to look at the covers. I obviously have the same feelings about vinyl that I have about sex. So, there’s that. If I was to use an accurate metaphor then Friends of Sound would be a swinger’s club. I would go there to get my fill. I would lightly thumb through varieties. Taking my time to be particular, and make sure I was getting exactly what I wanted. I would make sure I was gentle, and polite, so as not to get hassled by the management. I could hear the other patrons small sighs and grunts as they tried to find what they were looking for. I could walk through and see the smiles as a customer was satisfied with something they found, or possibly were helped onto the right choice by a friendly employee. Ok, I have to stop now. You get the drift.

I don’t know who was working tonight, but he was less than helpful. He was sarcastic when I asked him a question, and didn’t act the least bit interested in finding out the answer to my questions that he didn’t know (but should have). Basically, he was a D-​bag. I went to this store last September and found some great funk, and while I ended up buying a couple of albums tonight, my last words to my husband as we walked out the door were «I will never come here again». If you don’t have basic customer service skills, then you don’t get my business.

This is a nice place run by nice people.
I couldn’t find anything here that I wanted but that’s just due to personal taste. I like some weird music and have no qualms with these folks for not catering to my finicky tastes.
They have a good hip hop section and this is a great place to go digging for older stuff.
I asked the guy about a record that was somewhat obviously not within their realm of expertise and he was somewhat knowledgeable about the band and the label and gave me some advice on where to look. Thumbs up to this place.
Oh, this place really is in the alley. Actually around the back. It’s a little weird but you’ll find it.

Got some obscure funk records! Prices are great — I bought 2 cheapies in the back room just to use for framing the album covers — loved the artwork.