Portland Record Stores

Spend the day exploring the stacks at these local record stores.

Updated Nov. 8, 2024 3 min read

Tuck Woodstock

Tuck Woodstock wrote and edited content for Travel Portland from 2014–2020. Read More

Every day is Record Store Day in Portland, where vintage audio hi-fi systems and turntables are commonplace and vinyl record shops line neighborhood streets. Whether it’s gift-giving season or time to build out your collection, you’ll find everything from rare imports to the latest pop sensation at one of these local record stores.

Vinyl Shopping in Portland

Music Millennium

Portland’s oldest music store, Music Millennium, opened in 1969 with a mission to stock the kind of underground tunes absent from the racks of mainstream department stores of the era. To the delight of audiophiles, not much has changed. Multiple rooms stash untold tuneful treasures, from bargain bins of used CDs and vinyl to collector rarities (a first pressing of Led Zeppelin I sold here for $1,000). Looking for live music? Touring bands often drop by the shop for free shows.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Music Millennium (@musicmillennium)

2nd Avenue Records

Crowds of pierced teens and graying rockers find common ground at popular 2nd Avenue Records, where stacks of used hip-hop and hardcore punk albums draw devoted fans. A downtown fixture for more than 40 years, the shop has a massive metal collection, rivaled only by its robust collection of vintage band tees.

Everyday Music

What’s even more exciting than the enormous selection at Everyday Music, you ask? Its scrupulous organizational system is surprisingly rare among independent record stores. The mammoth West Burnside Street mainstay keeps its vast vinyl collection impeccably sorted and neatly labeled, letting customers use the time they’d usually spend digging through jumbled boxes to listen to groovy tunes instead.

A closeup of a Black man's hands flipping through records with the labels "Sam Cooke" and "Ry Cooder" visible — DJ Ambush shops for records at Everyday Music in SW Portland.

Jackpot Records

In the bustling shopping district of Hawthorne, Jackpot Records record shop (and indie label since 1997) stocks new and used vinyl of every genre, including soundtracks, pop vocal albums and everything in between. The neighborhood also boasts a stellar collection of vintage shops, some of which have vinyl collections of their own.

Mississippi Records

Eric Isaacson maintains a meticulously curated assemblage of rare releases at celebrated Mississippi Records. Finds include old-timey gospel, blues, folk and pre-Beatles rock, as well as contemporary albums released under the shop’s namesake record label. (Not in Portland? Local Little Axe Records is the label’s online distributor.)

Speck’s Records & Tapes

Local DJ Michael Gersten opened Speck’s Records & Tapes in the Kenton neighborhood of North Portland in 2017. In addition to stocking records from a wide range of genres, the store boasts a small but mighty collection of gear, new and vintage tapes, and a stage equipped with turntables and a PA system.

a band performing in a record shop — Portland-based band La Chute performs at Speck’s in 2018.

a man and woman browsing through records — Speck’s founders Maia and Michael Gersten say they “fell in love through music.”

My Vinyl Underground

In the basement of Division comic book shop Books with Pictures, My Vinyl Underground sells a mix of new and used vinyl, focusing mainly on local artists, small labels (including its own mail-order service Jigsaw Records), and indie pop/rock subgenres including shoegaze, twee, lo-fi, and dream pop, plus some punk and metal. They even occasionally host shows.

Crossroads Music

Crossroads Music works like a melodic consignment shop, divvying up the catalog of more than 35 individual record collectors. The deep well of musical tastes results in an impressive selection of quality vinyl inside this Southeast Foster gem. Spend an afternoon browsing bins of prog-rock, post-punk, classic rock and more, and don’t miss the killer assortment of vintage concert posters.