Amoeba Music

ADD wonderland!

One of the things I love about Amoeba is how I can get a hankering for some album or movie and pop in and just... find it. I live a few blocks from the Haight St. store and sometimes I run up there in the evening to pick something up. So pleasant. And I can bring my dog into the store, which is great.

Very True Story: When my ex-wife and I split several years ago, I found myself at a type of emotional and physical "bottom". No job, no money, no prospects, cut off from my kid, cast adrift into a new phase of my life. As I clawed and scratched my way back to "normal", I would occasionally visit Amoeba's SF location and raid the Clearance Section with a goal of reclaiming CDs I'd either lost or had taken from me or had been forced to part with (sell) during my darkest days. I'd sift through the racks and - bit by bit - I put my music library back together which has been a significant part of my feeling "whole" once more. Music is now and always has been a VITAL part of my existence; not having a music library was representative of the emptiest time of my life, so thank you, Amoeba, and your AWESOME Clearance Section!

Ever since mt teens in the easy bay , I knew of the amazing selection at AMOEBA , then when they moved into the Park Bowl on haight , near my SF flat , I have managed to cruise by at least once or twice a month to find another wonderful recording that HAD TO BE IN MY COLLECTION. The live shows have been amazing. The family and friends who know me will get a gift certificate to AMAZON for me when a gift is necessary. And , I always ask the customers i see on the bus or walking away from the SF location just what they got that day. Great Store.

My husband goes to Amoeba every Tuesday for "new music Tuesday" as he affectionately calls it. I look forward to him walking through the door, giddy as a school boy, with his bright yellow bag. He has certain music rules that took me a while to learn, but here they are: 1) Listen to every new or used album 11 times. Ten times to decide what he thinks about it and the eleventh for enjoyment. 2) Keep CD's organized by era, artist, and release date. 3) Always begin playing a CD where it left off and never let it play a second time in a row. 4) Write, blog, and memorize your favorite albums of the year, decade, and of all time. 5) Read pitchfork.com every night at ten pm when they post their reviews of new music. Complain profusely if the reviews are not up at their regular time 6) Some CD's such as Kid A by Radiohead are strictly saved for specific special times. Night drives along the PCH will do. 7) At social events try and find people who are almost as obsessed with music as you are. This entails you have someone to talk with for the evening and compare lists (that you carry with you in your man bag) with. 8) Marry a woman who has very little opinions about music so that you can brainwash her into liking what you like. My husband goes to Amoeba so frequently that they nicknamed him "used rock guy". He is obsessed, to say the least. If you still don't believe that he is addicted- read his blog. http://antennalists.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-albums-of-last-decade-00-09.html XOXO

I was lost when I first stumbled upon (or rather into) Amoeba Hollywood. I remember seeing funny lunch boxes in the window and wondering how old they were and if there was some special mystery surprise held within them. I was visiting LA for no reason really, I spent months at my high school making shitty dvd sales of skat singers to sell to their parents for a fundraiser. So I was trying to have a good time to make up for those lost hours of soulless drudge labor. Luckily the group I was with went off and got drunk across the highway, and left me to my own devices to explore this utopian database promise land of melody. I found records by Stevie R Moore, Gary Wilson, cactano Veloso, the carter family and other records that theWalmart in my small suburban hometown could have never been able to provide me with the heavenly pleasure of indulging in. Amoeba, I thank you for helping me become one of the cooolest ass kids on my suburban block, early on...

I started coming to Amoeba when I was 15 years old. I would take the bus with my "walk man" on and think of all the records I could buy. I was the first Female DJ at my school and whenever my school had competitions I would always have to hit Amoeba and get the latest "GEMS" to ROCK. The best part about that time in my life was when I would walk into flyer parties, house parties and downtown warehouse party's with my AMOEBA TOTE BAG full of records! Good Times! MUCH LOVE "DJ KRUMZ"

I'll always remember living in Hollywood and my room-mate and I being so excited about the Hollywood store opening. We were walking distance and easily visited at least twice a week - minimum!! I loved and appreciated being so close. Unfortunately now I live on the west side and don't find myself at the store as much as I used to be - but it's always a treat when I get to go there. It's also one of my very favorite places to take out of towners, who are always amazed at the size of the store and the tremendous selection of new and used stuff. The in-stores are like icing on the cake and some of my favorite performances include Concrete Blonde, Mia Doi Todd, Shonen Knife - and probably my very favorite Kasey Chambers. Happy Anniversary and keep up the great work!

I moved to Los Angeles in 2006 from South Louisiana. Exploring the city and trying to adjust to the life changes in, well, um, EVERYTHING, I found Amoeba on Sunset. I walked into the front door and was immediately comforted by a large plastic jug resting on a counter. The words on its label, "Help NEW ORLEANS and the Gulf Coast continue to Rebuild" were a sort of hug, a confirmation that I was going to be all right in this big city.

When I was sixteen, I was absolutely over the moon for my best friend. We were getting to the age where music was starting to trump basically everything else-- after he went to the Amoeba in Hollywood he passed off their business card to me with a couple music recommendations and promised I'd totally find what I was looking for. I'm originally from Seattle so I had high expectations of what a record store should look like, but visiting the location in SF totally blew me away. The staff helped me find more albums my friend would probably like; sharing them with him/going back for more made for some of the best memories, and probably why I eventually got the courage to ask him out. We've been dating for almost four years now. Thanks for awesome music and an awesome relationship!