Grooves Vinyl Attractions

What you need to know

A record store packed with oddities

Grooves (officially “Grooves Inspiralled Vinyl”) is a record store on Market Street that specializes in the kind of vinyl you forgot existed. The inventory tilts heavily toward the 1970s: soundtracks nobody remembers, comedy albums from canceled sitcom stars, soul and funk records that never made it to streaming, and the occasional forgotten gem that makes the whole dig worthwhile.

What makes it different

Where most record stores try to stock what people are looking for, Grooves stocks what people stumble into. The store is packed with curios and oddities alongside the records. There’s a listening station so you can sample before buying. The pricing tends to be fair, and the fun is in the discovery rather than hunting down a specific title.

If you’re a serious collector looking for mint-condition blue-note pressings, this probably isn’t your first stop. But if you want to spend an hour flipping through bins and leave with three records you didn’t know you needed, Grooves delivers that experience better than almost anywhere in the city.

Getting there

The store is at 1797 Market Street between Pearl and McCoppin Streets. The space is wheelchair accessible. The Church Street Muni Metro station (J, K, L, M lines) is a short walk, and the 22 Fillmore bus runs on nearby Church Street. Metered street parking on Market is available but competitive during business hours.