THE MAP
Every vinyl destination inside the greater Oakland footprint. Zoom in to see individual venues.
Oakland runs the Bay Area's most under-covered crate.
Oakland has always dug harder than San Francisco. 1-2-3-4 Go! on Broadway anchors the punk / indie side. Down Home Music (in El Cerrito, but Oakland-adjacent) is one of America's essential blues and world counters. Econo Jam, Vamp Boutique and the Oakland record fair round out the essentials.
The dig is heavy on funk, soul, jazz, blues and Oakland hip-hop — the local catalogue is under-priced compared to San Francisco. First Fridays and the Fox Theater handle the nightlife. Short drive from SF, worth a full day.
THE FIVE ROOMS
The East Bay's punk anchor — indie, hardcore, garage. Shop and label, community-run.
Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie shop — the world's essential blues, gospel, world, folk counter. A required pilgrimage.
Curated second-hand — soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop. The Oakland DJ counter.
Records + vintage — small, sharp, resident-run. The tastemaker's afternoon stop.
The East Bay outpost of the SF shop — punk, indie, experimental, jazz.