Here’s the thing about record stores – they’re not really about records.
They’re about the forty-five minutes you spend flipping through a crate when you only planned to stay for ten. They’re about the conversation you didn’t expect to have with the person next to you who just pulled out an album you’ve been hunting for two years. They’re about the owner who knows exactly what you’re going to like before you do and drops it in front of you without being asked.
They’re third places. Community spaces. The kind of room where time moves differently and the outside world’s noise goes quiet.
Ventura County has more of them than you probably know about. Some have been here for over half a century. Some opened recently by people who couldn’t imagine living somewhere without one. All of them are worth your Saturday morning.
If you want to understand the counterculture history of Ventura County in a single visit, walk into Salzer’s.
Jim Salzer opened his first store in 1966 — and at the time he was already a legendary concert promoter who had booked Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and The Grateful Dead at venues across Southern California. In 1967, the store carried a new brand of amplifiers which got the attention of Jimi Hendrix — who Jim was promoting at the time. Jimi came to the store and played the amp so loud that even the pizza place next door complained.
If those pizza eaters only knew who was playing.
That spirit — counterculture, fiercely independent, completely unbothered by what’s mainstream — has never left. Salzer’s Records has been a local counter-culture haven for over 52 years — voted Ventura’s best record store, smoke shop and gift store — with a huge selection of new and used LP records, CDs, DVDs, as well as jewelry, clothes, posters, books, novelty gifts, pipes and vapes.
“For me, it’s all about the counterculture and alternative lifestyle,” Jim Salzer said. “I’m not a hippie, but they call me one. And I support that lifestyle.”
Jim passed away in 2020 and his son Brandon carries the legacy now. The store that once had Jimi Hendrix playing amplifiers in the back is still standing on Valentine Road — still stocking every genre, still doing things its own way, still keeping Ventura groovy after six decades.
The name says it all. This is a refuge.
Owner-operated since 2003, Grady’s Record Refuge on East Main Street specializes in vinyl — stocking CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, 78s and other collectibles alongside an impressively large selection of records across every genre imaginable. Grady Runyan runs the whole thing himself — and the level of knowledge and care that comes with an owner-operated shop is exactly what you feel the moment you walk in.
Beyond the records, Grady’s carries turntable needles and belts, performs basic turntable repairs, sells used stereo gear, stocks vinyl cleaning supplies as an authorized Spin Clean dealer, and offers high quality digital transfer services for preserving analog collections.
This is the shop for the serious collector — the person who shows up with a list and leaves with six things that weren’t on it. Impressively large space. Well-organized. Comfortable prices. And a Record Store Day protocol that the regulars plan their entire calendar around.
Small. Packed. Perfect.
Jockamo Records opened July 3, 2014 — the only record store in historic downtown Ventura — buying and selling new and used records, CDs, DVDs, posters, and t-shirts in a small space packed with a great selection that’s clearly labeled, well-organized, and priced to move.
Their emphasis is on providing and supporting independent music — with staple standards and classics of all genres integrated in the mix — stocking the finest in both new and used vinyl LPs and CDs, with some ephemera of the pop culture variety thrown in. They host live in-store shows and performances.
Owner Dave Peters is exactly the kind of record store guy you want behind the counter — the one who will quietly help you find what you’re looking for while casually pointing you toward three things you didn’t know you needed. Right in the heart of downtown Ventura, steps from restaurants, the Majestic Ventura Theater, and the beach.
The perfect pre-show stop.
This one defies easy categorization. Which is exactly the point.
American Pie Records was opened in Old Town Camarillo in March 2022 by Mike Curtis — a practicing attorney who turned his passion for vinyl and old-time rock and roll into owning his own record shop. His personal collection before opening was close to 2,000 records. He hasn’t stopped buying since.
On one hand it’s an old-school record store specializing in used LPs. On the other hand it’s a coffee shop with pour-over, espresso drinks, pastries, and ice cream. Friday and Saturday nights it becomes a live venue for local artists.
And then there’s the sister store. American Pie Coffee House opened in October 2024 — an homage to the coffeehouses of the beatnik generation and a stage for budding artists — with a listening room in the back with turntables set up to speakers and headphones. Live jazz and blues on weekends. Hand pies from a local Camarillo bakery. Vinyl and coffee in the afternoon sun in Old Town.
“We’re not the place where you stop at 7AM on your way to work. Come have some coffee and hang out,” Curtis said.
That’s the whole philosophy in two sentences.
Here’s what all of these shops have in common beyond the obvious.
They are community infrastructure. They are the places where the local music scene connects — where the kid who just got into hardcore finds out about the show at Mrs. Olson’s, where the collector finally tracks down the pressing they’ve been hunting for three years, where a Saturday afternoon turns into something you didn’t plan but needed completely.
You cannot stream that experience. You cannot get it from an algorithm. You can only get it by walking through a door and letting the music find you.
Ventura County has these places. Take care of them. Show up. Spend money. Bring your friends.
The record store will still be there if you do
