Galveston/Houston music store advice?

Houston is suprisingly slim for good stores IMO, but you should definitely check out Sound Exchange, and you might have some luck at Soundwaves and/or Vinyl Edge. Also, Half Price Books for digging (good luck).

Galveston is a cultural wasteland. Do you live there?

Houston is slightly better, but the quality of its musical offerings is about the quality of a town 1/4 its size. http://www.spacecityrock.com is an ok music resource.

http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/images/shop.jpg

There's a Fry's in Clear Lake. For a big box store, they've got a decent selection of CDs and such. BTW, Cactus Music is back in the saddle again.

whoa cactus is back! that's cool...tho their selection was never that good.

i love sound exchange, mainly because it caters pretty specifically to my tastes (krautrock, metal, psych). pretty cool vinyl section. if im going music shopping without a specific idea of what i want it's probably my favorite place to go to in texas.

another good one is Soundwaves on Montrose close to highway 59. it's decent anyway...none of these places will blow you away.

Thanks for the info. I've always had lots of luck at Half Price books in Austin, so I'm glad to hear they're in Houston too. We've been in Abilene for the last 2 1/2 years, so anywhere seems more fun than here. My best finds here have been at estate sales, and I have amassed a fine collection of 78's. Of course, we'll still go visit friends in Austin every couple months, and I always head to End of an Ear and Cheapo's. Sometimes I just need a place to go and dig through records (or cd's).

If you've found good stuff at 1/2 Price in Austin, then I salute you. I mean, I've had a few come-ups here and there, but it's pretty slim pickens at the Austin HFBs (Dallas, Houston, and even San Antonio have way better HFBs IMO).

When in Austin, though, I recommend checking out BackSpin Records.

Having grown up in Houston, it's good hear that sound exchange is still around. I didn't know that Cactus went under. It was a great place to buy records back in the late 80s, but by the mid-90s, I felt like its glory days had faded.

I haven't found anything good on vinyl at either the Austin or Houston HPBs in years. Once, I found Sonic Arts Union and Silver Apples of the Moon on vinyl for 2$ each at the old HFB on Guadalupe in Austin.

When in Austin, End of an Ear is where it's at.

Galveston could sink into the gulf and no one would care...

I lived in Galveston 2002-2003. Let's just say that many trips over the causeway are in your future. On the brighter side, you can always visit Wrecks Bell at his Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe off Postoffice Street in Galveston.

My biggest find at a HPB was a collection of 60s/70s electronic lps (BBC workshop stuff etc.) that somehow ended up in Sugar Land. They were reasonably priced (nothing more than 5 bucks a disc), but I was so broke at the time I only could buy one album, and I guess the rest diasppeared pretty quickly. A buddy of mine claimed he'd scored a collection of private press jazz records from France (which he subsequently ripped and then sold on ebay) at the same location..

I haven't had great luck at HPB (or Houston in general), but if you are passing through Austin go to Friends of Sound on S. Congress (actually off an alley behind S. Congress). All vinyl, great finds, both expensive and cheap.