Vamp Vintage Art & Music for the People

This place is super neat if you’ve got time to dig through records. It’s not organized well, but that’s what gives it its hodge-​podge homey feel. If you want to stock up on random records you didn’t know you wanted, go here. If you’re on the hunt for something particular, come back another time.

Vamp is one of the best shops in the East Bay to get affordable and awesome vintage records. They also have stylish vintage clothes and other bric a brac!
Their owners are super cool and — perhaps the best thing about Vamp — they are constantly hosting art openings and providing space for local and traveling bands to play to the public for free. Truly a great community space in Oakland for advancing music to the city’s residents. A total gem!

Super cool little store. Really nice owners. I love the records and the other vintage household and clothing items. They were sweet enough to let me use the store as a photo backdrop for Neckjeck t-​shirt shoot. Thanks! I’ll need to go back and do some shopping.

Looks cool from the outside, but I really wouldn’t know as they were closed during listed business hours. Even had the «come in! We’re open!!!» Sign still in the window.
Lack of accountability leads to failure– call first to make sure they’re open… If it’s even still in business.

I’ve gone a few times now and every time I’ve walked out a few dollars lighter but incredibly richer musically. As others have noted, they have art, ‘zines, vintage sound equipment and other items. I can’t comment on that too much as I go strictly for the vinyl and the digging is nice! Good quality rock, jazz, soul and even Latin, which I tend to have a hard time finding around here. The prices are fair and to top it off, they bought some records off of me for a higher price than expected. Let me put it like this. One place rejected me outright, another offered $ 5 for two crates, but VAMP took a few select records and gave me more money for those alone than what others had offered for everything. I would’ve given them the whole shebang for what they gave me but they didn’t have the space.
To be honest, I don’t know if they’ll get their direct return on the records they bought from me but the goodwill they generated will have me coming back to buy more and I still ended up spending more than they gave me so it works in their favor, which I’m 100% fine with. I wrote this review based off of the customer service alone.
But back to their selection, they carry local groups and producers as well, including some great cumbia mixes.
So why not five stars? Some of the music styles I really enjoy such as house and dancehall or barely represented. I recognize they have limited space and I’m sure those genres simply don’t sell as well in the digital age. In fact, I had some classic tunes for sale that generated no interest. Still, I’ll be back and as as their stock is used it’s ever changing so ripe for discovery. I think it’s pretty well curated so you’re not digging through as much junk.
I look forward to seeing this shop evolve and spending more money here!

This is a cool little shop. There’s mostly records, but some other little odds and ends. Definitely a cool place to check out.

VAMP is the place to go in Oakland for unique music on vinyl, chic clothing, retro audio gear and general good vibes and hep-​catery.
Par example…
I would like to share a success story with y’all.
So…I gave a few crates of relatively choice records to the sartorially astute folks at VAMP RECORDS who are downtown OAKLAND a few months back. Today they gave me a check in the amount of five large ones by way of reciprocation.
This is what I like to characterize as a (using my special language for such choice moments) … ‘way cool’ ending to our business.
If you find yourself with some relatively choice records, crated or otherwise that you no longer find central to your soulful life here on MARS… then…you might want to check out VAMP RECORDS. They offer this bizarre alchemical translation to the… GENERAL PUBLIC, if one can even believe it. Yes you… unwashed mass personage. They can turn vinyl into money. I am not kidding. They did it for me. Responsibly, lucratively and fairly.
VAMP RECORDS…
Categories: Music Venues, Art Galleries, Books, Mags, Music & Video [Edit]
331 19^th St
(between Webster St & Harrison St)
Oakland, CA 94 612
Neighborhood: Uptown
TALK TO FERNANDO OR TRACY… tell them that your sexy love engine thing… Phonic theE Somber sent you. They will scratch their heads in bewilderment and will then awkwardly try to move things back onto a business footing… They are good people.
BUY SELL TRADE… it’s a win win at VAMP.

I Love Vamp! The owners are super nice and they have a really great selection of vintage records, as well as vintage house goods and select vintage clothing. Come check um out!

Love the new location on 19^th and Webster. Great atmosphere to shop, just make sure to have lots of time to dig through all unique vinyl. Staff is very helpful and prices reasonable.

Vamp is a great shop! I can’t honestly comment on how good their selection of vinyl is because I don’t own a turntable. But you only have to walk into the store to see that the offerings are quite extensive and you can tell that these folks love what they do. They’re always spinning some great jazz when you go in and they have a few other vintage items like clothes and what-​not to look over besides just the vinyl. Definitely worth checking out.

Great selection, depth of music, and fair pricing. The owner is also very friendly and knowledable of music and events going on in the city. I will definitely be back next time I am in town!

vamp rocks. i work nearby and always look forward to a stroll down 19^th street so i can pop in and do a little crate digging. good people, good atmosphere. you can’t help but notice the warm rich sounds of vinyl being spun over vintage turntables. this is not just a record shop for me, its a hangout spot. the vinyl is very reasonably priced and they have a good selection too of various genres of music.

I love this place! Killer selection and a helpful staff. Can feel a little overwhelming and maybe a bit unorganized, but who wants to always look thru music thats organized A-​Z? You find a lot of hidden gems if you spend some time looking around.
Hope this place is still open… last few months when I drove by they seemed close. This makes me very sad, cause not only do they sell amazing vinyl, but its a venue as well. My band actually played here a while ago and we had a great time! Would love to come see a show here soon.

I absolutely LOVE this shop. Vamp has a big, eclectic, reasonably priced selection of vinyl in great condition, which is more than enough to make it a killer record store. But they also serve as an art gallery, sell vintage clothing and have a fun and friendly staff. They play awesome music while you shop and you can listen to any of the records at their listening station. The icing on the cake are their Soundout events, which feature live music from killer bands. The MacArthur Garage Brewery provides the tasty beverages. Just caught Freddie Hughes, Brother Bob and Along Came Jones last night, all of ‘em fantastic. Soundout is a great party and Vamp is a great record store and a great addition to the Cleveland Heights neighborhood.