Record Recycler

My husband and I have been visiting record stores everywhere in Los Angeles recently as we finally got ourselves a record player. I found this shop on Google maps and am extremely pleasant with the place.
Record Recycler has plenty of Jazz and 60s-​80s Rock vinyls. Most of them were priced between 1USD-​10USD. Great selections if you are looking to expand your knowledge and listening of music.
The quality of the vinyls were mostly mint. Nothing to complain about.
One thing I should add for other Unilocalers would be to know that this place doesn’t have too many new stuff, but a great place for the better music of the 60s-​80s.
I’ll definitely visit again :)

Stopped by looking for a specific record and help with replacing the cartridge on my record players needle. Got a new ortofon replacement cartridge. Owner was rude and sarcastic about it and made me feel like an idiot for asking. I usually spend at least $ 100 when I go to a record store all he had to do is at least show me how to do it. I would not reccomend anyone doing business with a place that doesn’t know how to do something so simple and treats their customers with no respect.

With the resurgence of Vinyl, this record shop is coming back into its own.
His collection specializes in 70’s rock and all manner of jazz, sole, r&b, and it’s a place where you can easily eat an hour or more up just cruisin’ his fantastic collection. And I guarantee there is always some manner of surprise waiting you within his stock.
I’m yet to go through his .45 collection, it is h-​u-​g-​e.
I feel his pricing is pretty spot on and I think it’s a downright true value shopping there. When you figure the selection, the way he has nice jacket covers on all his albums
Friendly, a bargain product, 5 Stars, f’sure a great little shop of treasures.

Great record collection at good prices. However, this guy has major issues. I inquired for multiple album purchases is their a discount, as with most shops. I was berated and sworn out while stuffing his face with a sandwich. I was told «buy some records»…I had 200 $ to spend o vinyl and he was an asshole. I walked out and strongly suggest you do not do business with this store. I am now on a campaign to disgrace this place…

Just visited this place for the first time today and walked out with about 10 records. 9 of them motown/​soul and one random Italian record. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of more obscure motown I was able to find — picked up three or four albums by Syreeta (Stevie Wonders former wife and collaborator, she is the female voice that sings background vocals on «If You Really Love Me») and one by Kim Weston in addition to two Temptation Christmas. I am not usually in this area but I’m glad I was able to come today. Will most definitely be back.

I came in a while back just as the owner was literally chasing someone out. He tried to make light of it, but it was a very tense experience afterwards. I left quickly without buying anything. Scary.

I love this place!!! Roy is a cool dude !!! He knows his music. The prices are awesome and he knows his customers! Always friendly to my bf. Hey Gabe :)

I used to come here back in the early 2000s and pick up on loot from all genres. He didnt have anything in order, which made you dig and dig. Which is perfect, because I would end up buying a bunch of random stuff that I was lookning for but forgot. The owner was alway cool and never bugged me while on my 5 hour digs. Its been a minute since ive been here, but my times here were solid.

This is THE place in the South Bay for hidden gems, incredible prices and clean vinyl. Roy sells only quality records with the BEST prices. He is knowledgeable and friendly without interrupting my «vinyl therapy».
The last great, no frills record shop in this area.

Ok I’ve read some of the negative reviews here… don’t believe them. I visited for the first time today and found the store to have a great selection and very fair prices. Let’s say that I’m the type of person with just too many records and have visited most of the record stores in LA and Orange County as well as collector shows, garage and estate sales etc. Roy keeps his store reasonably well organized, priced, and the records are clean all in plastic protectors. Overall the used record quality is very good + and above to mint condition. I hardly ever feel compelled to write record shop reviews… but this is an exception. Roy is a sharp guy and professional. Good selection of rock and jazz records (mostly under $ 10). Strongly recommend.

Real nice store. Especially if you are looking for obscure Rock records. Don“t sleep on his Soul section though. The owner Roy has really fair prices and re-​circulates the stock quite often. Worth checking out for sure.

I can see how the owner’s affect might put some off, but I think he means well. He joked with me about some of the rather terrible/​hilarious Unilocal reviews and his detailed retorts.
I saw a classical record that I wanted with no price. He looked it over and said $ 3.00, which I appreciated – I clearly wanted it, and he could easily have gouged me and charged me twice that, but he didn’t.
The prices are moderate. The selection is decently well curated; not all records are in great shape.

This place is fantastic. This is my favorite place to spend a few hours looking through records in peace. I go in a couple times a month and always find some gems. I see a lot of negative reviews and I have to disagree. The owner just doesn’t want to put up with crap. Don’t come in trying to weasel anything out of him and you’ll have a great experience. For example, I came up to the check out with a couple records that I had hid the week before. He called me out on it and asked me not to do that anymore. In my opinion, that’s totally fair and I appreciate that he didn’t make a big deal about it. He knows his stuff and is on top of his game. Treat the guy with respect and enjoy looking through his wonderful collection. I look forward to expanding my collection quite extensively here.

I’ve never been so insulted as a consumer before walking into this place! I traded in records for store credit and when I find the one I wanted to trade for plus cash. He tells me I don’t want your f@&king records! This guy has serious issues. I’m still in shock. Bad karma.

I’ve been going to record recycler for about 10 years. 95% of my record collection comes from this great used record store. I make my friends jealous of all the amazing finds i make. If you’re a digger, this is the spot for you. If you like everything neatly organized with douchey music posters on the walls and store windows, some young skinny hipster kid working in the store with 2″ ear plugs and tattoos, hipster kids hanging out then this is NOT the spot for you. This is a place for serious vinyl lovers. The best thing about this place are the prices! I’ve seen the same exact record go for about 50% more at amoeba and other records shops of the same vain.
The owner (and sole employee) Roy is extremely knowledgable about music and is a super cool guy. He’s turned me on to a lot of music and has suggested very cool records to me which I always end up buying. Once he gets to know you he’ll start suggesting stuff to you. That’s the kind of community you can’t get at major record stores. I can’t say enough great things about this place, I really can’t.

The owner is definitely a quirky guy — socially strange — the type Id rather just do business with and not try to chat up. Anyways, the store is no frills and full of vinyl on shelves. Records are split by genre and then alphabetically so thats helpful. Not much new stuff, although there seem to be bulk orders of lesser known artists sitting on the bottom shelves. Its about ²⁄₃ rock and ¹⁄₃ jazz/​blues. Mostly everything is marked, and prices on the things I was interested in were a few bucks more than I was willing to pay (Queen: Day at the Races, Flash, and Jazz were $ 7-​$ 10), although they seemed to be in VG+/NM condition. Theres one testing station that actually has a decent headphone. Ended up with a VG+ Michael Jackson and VG+ Van Halen for ~$ 7.

Zero offense to the people who gave RR a bad review, but I didn’t experience any of the «horrible» conditions they spoke of. The shop itself is awesome; tucked away in Torrance on Crenshaw, not packed or picked through, and a solid collection with very solid prices. It definitely requires some picking through (records are loosely sorted by genre and alphabet), but that’s sort of the «joy of the hunt» for people who love record stores anyway.
On my first visit yesterday I got two great Beatles records for 10 bucks total, an awesome blues compilation for under 5, the Last Waltz triple-​vinyl for 5, and a Willie Nelson for a dollar.
And Roy, the owner, was super nice and cordial. There was one other customer when i came in and Roy went out of his way to tell the guy he would cut him a discount if he spent more than $ 100; at another point, Roy politely tried to dissuade a record seller who called over the phone from coming in since her/​his selection was small and Roy didn’t want them to waste a trip. And he thanked me for coming in when I complimented his selection.
Maybe these super-​negative review people just don’t «get» how awesome, underground record store gems tend to work, or the slightly eccentric people that both own and frequent them (myself definitely included). This is no Amoeba (which I love), and that reality carries big «plusses» in addition to some «minuses» (smaller selection, not much new stuff, etc.).
I’m stoked to return and had no idea there was another great indy record store so close to me in Hermosa Beach. Viva Roy!

I’ve been going to Record Recycler for about 3 or 4 years now and I can honestly say that this is my favorite record store. (And I’ve been to a lot)
This is a bare bones store filled with used records with the lowest prices I’ve seen in any record store.
You are going to have to invest some time in order to get the most out of this store. The records are loosely sorted, so you are going to have to dig. This is the kind of place that you should check in frequently, because awesome records come and go every day. There have been times when I’ve come in with money burning a hole in my pocket and I found nothing, and other times where I have to make an extra trip to the ATM.
As far as the owner, I can’t say I’ve ever seen him act out towards a customer. He speaks directly and I can see how he could come off as short. He is a very knowledgeable guy and if you can articulate your music tastes and interests, he can be a great asset.
The reason why I like this record store is because it’s just the one guy, and if you go in enough, he’ll get to know you and your musical tastes. You won’t find this at too many places around town.
Bring cash!

Similar to another reviewer, I was accused of trying to steal/​shoplift records by the owner (not sure what prompted him to make such an outlandish accusation, but I think it’s because the guy is bat sh*t crazy).
It’s too bad I had such a terrible first experience at this store, because I really was enjoying the selection and prices before I was accused of theft!
On a side note, I saw the owner at a local record convention a couple weeks later and he was again flipping out on some poor soul. Apparently, outbursts of paranoid delusion fueled accusations seems to this guy’s M.O.
I will never return to this store and I urge you to do the same, unless you enjoy getting chewed out and having false accusations thrown your way.

First of all, it smelled like bacon, outside and inside of the shop… I don’t know why, but the smell of bacon wouldn’t leave me alone, which is quite bothersome because I don’t EAT bacon… but anyways…
I bought 6 records for $ 27… In my book, that’s AWESOME.
The shop has a TON of vinyl, and you MUST dig through… don’t give up, you WILL find some gems! His prices are really really good.
The store is a little messy, could be organized a bit better, but stuff IS alphabetized, so that helps.
If you’re looking for something in particular, ask the fella, he seems to be pretty knowledgeable about his stock, he seems pretty nice too.
I like that this place doesn’t even LOOK like a record shop on the outside, makes you feel like you’re apart of some special club or something. Hahaha
Oh… CASH ONLY!!!