Where to find Vintage Vinyl in San Francisco?

If you love vintage music and are on a quest for vinyl lp's and 45's visit Rooky Ricardo's Records in San Francisco. And especially go if you love chatting with characters because Rooky Ricardo's owner Richard Vivian is a Class A character. I had so much fun getting to know him yesterday, met interesting people who dropped by his shop, and marveled at his oh-so-subtle-salesmanship skills as I sat at the register counter soaking in the ambiance.

My friend Carl has known Dick for decades. They met when Carl the DJ walked into a record store and Dick was working behind the counter. One day in 1987 Dick opened a temporary storefront in the Lower-Haight between Filmore and Webster to unload a massive collection of singles he'd acquired, and never left. Over the years his shop has become a neighborhood institution, an indie shop with lots of character.

There are six listening stations where you can put some vinyl on a turntable, pop on a pair of headphones, and listen to a wide variety of music. The store specialties are Soul, Girl Groups and Oldies from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

I love this shot of just some of the 45 bins.

The shop has plenty of SOUL.

Being in the store feels like you've gone back in time or like you're on a movie set.

Of course another reason I'm blogging about Rooky Ricardo's is because it's a local small business and I love supporting them whether by making a purchase or helping to spread the word so more people can discover them.

If you watch the video and want to check out Glass Key Photo (Matt's film, paper, chemistry, camera gear, and root beer shop) that incubated at Rooky Ricardo's here's an update: Matt has moved into his own space next door at 442 Haight St.

Oh, and make sure you ask to use the bathroom while you're there. It's a hoot and a half.

Rooky Ricardo's - website
448 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-7526

Store Hours are usually
12:00-6:00 Mon-Fri
12:00-6'ish Sat-Sun