Jack’s Record Cellar

Jacks is a vinyl haven, hidden in the lower Haight between Vinyl Dreams, Rasputin and Amoeba (part of the great Haight vinyl crawl!). However once you step into this old school atmospheric environment, the warm friendly staff and their great selection may make it worth it to do one solitary digging session.
Specializing in classic Jazz, Rock, Soul, from 33’s to 45’s, they’ll mos def have what you need. Im more of a hip hop and edm head so I was surprised to see they had subsections of Bay Area hip hop, g funk, and old school house.
Can’t say enough great things about the staff. Very reasonable priced records and helpful staff. Ask them for what you’re looking for and you’ll end up with a hellofa bang for your buck. Finally, they welcome you just as they thank you for your business, with a great big, warm, sincere smile.
Definitely coming back

I find that a lot good things are usually served up with a side of mystery. I’ve walked by Jack’s many times and just assumed it was an abandoned record store, a glorious temple of a bygone era. When my friend suggested we attempt to storm the castle, how could I refuse? At first, we thought we might be SOL. The gate was locked, but the front door was cracked. However, after a few moments of our chatter and several sneaky peaks inside, a very friendly dude came out and invited us in. Oh Happy Day! I won’t give away too much more other than this: These guys love records. They are very knowledgeable and friendly. You will find things here you won’t find at other record shops. you will leave happy and immediately start the countdown to your next visit.
Consider the fact they are open only on Saturday to be a rare gift.

Had a great Saturday afternoon here with Wade and everyone. Friendly and polite people prevail. They are also ultra-​knowledgeable about multiple musical genres. If you are looking for jazz, soul, R&B and rock vinyl, don’t pass up a chance to visit. This is the oldest record shop in the bay area and absolutely one of the very best.

Killer! 5/​5, best in SF!

This is a fantastic record store with many genres available for all kinda of music taste. It seems to be only open on saturdays unfortunately, but definitely worth the visit. The prices are very reasonable and even cheap for the records they have! I personally got a original mono Nat Cole King album in NM (Near Mint) condition along with a random hip hop single for a grand total of $ 10! It was originally priced at $ 20 for the two but he gave me it for cheaper which I thought was a great buy. This store also have one of the biggest collections of 78’s i’ve ever seen.
Customer Service
The man working there was very helpful and friendly, he gave me some recommendations based on what I inquired about, and was constantly talking casually. He seemed to really care about them. Not only this, but he really know his stuff.

What a place. Find some rarity or an old favorite. They’ll knock a few bucks off the «list price» and you’ll leave feeling elated. No snark, no attitude – lots of records and a ton of mojo.

Love the wisdom of «jack». Great place

I first visited Jack’s back in the 90s after moving to the Lower Haight neighborhood. I remember scoring a couple of Vince Guaraldi records (not the Charlie Brown stuff), as well as a Bola Sete record. Those were and remain dear to my heart.
Jack’s is the kind of place I can image Vince himself hanging out at. Pure San Francisco underground+old school.
Over the past decade, I would infrequently visit and at some point it seemed like they were closed.
More recently, they’re regularly open on Saturday afternoons and still have a huge quantity of older soul, jazz, classical, offbeat pop and foreign stuff. I’d recommend going in with a few different artist names/​records in mind, but not expect to find them (you never know) but do expect to find something else at a very fair price.
You’ll also find Gene from Gene’s Sound Service around, he helps out there but on his own is a master audio equipment repair tech who makes house calls. If you have vintage/​audiophile gear, he’s the one to call.
I like this place so much I would work for ‘store credit’ an afternoon or two a month just to help records cleaned up and organized. Regardless, you should visit Jack’s Record Cellar for a vinyl searching adventure!

Open to the public on Saturdays, on other days it’s by reservation only. Seriously, that’s what they told me.
Shopping for records here is like getting a rug from a rug store. You chat, you tell him what kinds of records you’re looking for, he pulls out some from the back and elsewhere, plays them for you, you haggle, and then you chat some more. Their specialty is 78’s and 45’s, though I walked out with a couple of nice Temptations LPs from the mid-60’s.

I used to go record shopping habitually once or twice a week.
I had no regard for healthy eating.
I worked 3 days a week @ about 11.50/hour.
These cultivating personality traits of mine lead me to Jack’s Record Cellar. I was hungry for greasy food and cheap records. I wanted to go Open Mind Music at the time, but then I wouldn’t have enough for food– yea i know it sounds pathetic. So in search of a more cheaper, more hidden looking spot, I finally stepped into Jack’s, and surprisingly enough, they were open.
First thing you’ll notice, is that Jack’s has that record store smell. The kind of smell that lets you know that you just might find something here. Plenty of stacks upon stacks of vinyl filling your lungs with enough dust to build snowmen out of. The older fellow which I assume is Jack also didn’t frown upon me for being a young buck amongst middle/​older aged gents in his shop. I still don’t know what the hours of operation are, but if you somehow find yourself inside Jack’s expect to spend a couple hours getting those fingers dusty.

I’m not sure if crate digging and collecting vinyl is still relevant in this age. I’m finding I still enjoy it though.
There are generally two types of record stores (as in stores that sell records) left: Dusty places packed to the ceiling with boxes and crates of vinyl to be had for a couple bucks each, and extremely organized, well curated shops that cater to collectors and DJs. Jack’s is clearly in the first category.
Sometime’s he’s open, sometimes he isn’t. Call ahead. The primary focus of this store is pre-​1950 jazz, but he’s got a respectable modern jazz section and a smattering of rock and soul as well. Don’t pay too much attention to the sticker prices either; he’ll just make up a figure when you get to the register, and chances are it’ll be very reasonable.
My turntable won’t spin at 78 and a couple of those shellac beasts would probably grind my poor needle down to a stump, so I’ve no use for most of what he carries but I still stop by to dig for a few minutes every once in a while.

One of SF’s best kept secrets!
Every time I go in, I come out with an amazing stack of records!
Just be warned to give yourself a few hours to look around this place is filled to the brim!
If you can’t find something just ask the guys that run the place are super nice and super knowledgeable. They usually have the «good» stuff behind the counter.
Only thing is I wish they were open more.

this place is utterly amazing.
we didn’t have trouble finding it really. we walked in, it was empty except for the owner. he was listening to eddie murphy stand-​up. he quickly changed it once we started browsing to put on songs that were definitely intended to target our interests, which was noticeable and thoughtful. he put on some old bluesy stuff, some rolling stones, and some Cars. he wasn’t overly chatty with us, but he kept an eye on what we were browsing through because he seemed genuinely interested!
there are tons of records here, obscure stuff, great stuff.
i picked out about 4 records and was all ready for the check-​out when i realized that maybe i should look under piles on the floor, in the boxes that were so dusty and hidden beneath shelves that they probably hadn’t seen the light of day in ages.
in doing so, i found so many awesome and undiscovered gems in there. however, it seemed like the owner knew those gems were there all along. it was amazing how well he knew where every record was, despite the complete lack of organization in the store.

if you love vinyl, this is the spot. if you love jazz you’re in heaven. the staff knows music. the kids at amoeba are ok but these cats know the «cats”-diz, bird, bean, hawk, trane, newk and the music.

Jack’s is one of San Franicisco’s historic treasures. (Kenneth Rexroth
used to live upstairs) It’s the only place around, as far as I know, that buys and sells important 78’s and even the old victrola platters. Talking to the staff can be an education in itself.

If you like dusty fingers, Jacks is the place. I love that it still exists — it is like a relic from a past. Everytime I have gone in, I have some sort of trancendent experience. Saturday was no exception. Listend to a record called «Hi Fi-​esta» on a cruddy turntable listening station, late afternoon light streaming through the high windows, the musty smell of old paper pleasantly lingering in my nose. I got $ 2 worth of records and was treated to an invaluable conversation about Command Records, the joys of Enoch Light, and was shown a really great collectible book of RCA Stereo records. If you like old records, Jack’s is one of the great places on earth, like the Roman Coloseum or the ruins at Paleneque.

SO. MANY. RECORDS.
I dropped in yesterday for the first time, after first noticing it a few months ago. Scores of unsorted bins. Mostly older music — soul, jazz, blues, folk. Super super top secret. If you go, don’t tell a soul.
They keep pretty odd hours, though. I talked to the owner & he told me Ebay pays the rent, mostly.

I don’t understand how this store makes money, maybe it specializes in 78s. But I like the location and I’ve scored 2 of my favorite records of all time there: Bonzo Dog Band I’m an Urban Spaceman and Fred Neil’s Dolphins. Plus Roy Loney fucking works there.