Lou's is San Diego's music mecca. The business consists of two buildings - one side for new merchandise, and one side for used merchandise - separated by a cramped parking lot. One can always find young bohemian emo's, punkers, goths, etc. combing the aisles in search for that new disc, t-shirt, poster, video, or imported vinyl. The database they have on hand is pretty good, and the staff has always been helpful to me with regards to recommending to new bands for me. The prices are fair, the selection is good, and of course they can order just about anything you could want.

The parking is sometimes tricky.

I've been going to Lou's Records for 15 years. Lou's was THE place to go for your music needs for a long time. But going in there now feels a little depressing, to be honest. It's clear that business has gone WAY down, and Lou's is struggling to make ends meet.

Twice in the past six months I've gone in there out of loyalty to buy a new release CD, only to be told that "they haven't been purchasing much new music" lately. I think it's really a shame because Lou's used to be second to none...I mean, it is an INSTITUTION in North County.

If you're into vinyl or used CD's, I still say Lou's is worth a look though. I usually find some obscure gem in there, even if I have to dig a little deeper. Keep Lou's in business, y'all!

Lou's, particularly the "Lou's Used" side of the lot, caters to my bargain (read as "cheap") mind-set. I've spent many long, dusty-handed hours scouring through the beat up racks looking for those hidden gems (and often finding them). As much as I love the ability to always have a large used selection to pull from, I'm in greater support of their holiday oriented sales.

At least three times a year Lou's rocks a sidewalk sale. These are typically $5 sales (everything is $5, duh) but there is one $1 sale. Granted, these are a bit tougher to weed through (and the amount of albums before you is HUGE) but I did manage to snare some solid CDs during the last one.

In short, keep up the fantastic work! As a recent transplant to the SD area (O-Side!) it's welcoming to me to find a new independent music shop that fills the Amoeba-sized hole in me. You are the epitome of Local Music Shops.

Oh, and Ana in the used side is a pretty entertaining individual. Always a smile on the face, no matter the throngs of people clamouring for a deal.

A great place to browse music & video, especially on a rainy day :)

Lou's is my favorite record store in all of Sand Diego county. I can never get any of the music that suits my obscure taste anywhere else, and the guys who work there are cool ...