Lost Record Stores

The Lost Record Stores Map - Version 2.0 is available in select independent stores in LA. You can also order one through our website. Link in bio. For Version 2.0, I went back to 1893, when the Tally Brothers ran the first ads in LA for phonographs the general public could buy. Before then, phonograph parlors served as early listening bars, since most people couldn’t afford to own a phonograph at home. This reminds us that early on people valued the experience of listening to recorded music together. The focus this time was to expand the directory to the San Gabriel Valley, South Bay/Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley. Our maps’ focus is on independent record stores: the smaller, locally-owned shops that often lack the name recognition of larger chains. We will gradually add chains, starting with small, local ones. For now, our priority is preserving the memory of record stores that might otherwise be forgotten. Whenever possible, the LRS website includes people’s personal stories and memories of these shops. After the devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades this past year, documenting the record stores that once stood in these communities became especially important. Thank you for your curiosity and picking up our maps. These histories matter. Most of these shops closed before the internet existed, leaving behind few traces. Their stories have been overlooked, dismissed, or simply lost to time. But these lost record stores deserve better. They were local hubs where subcultures were born, diasporas connected, friendships were made, and entire generations discovered music. Dyanne Cano Editor and Researcher Lost Record Stores

The limited edition Lost Records Stores Map & Zine (Version 1.0) makes the perfect holiday gift to someone who loves music, maps, Los Angeles and history. Hurry! It won’t be available next year while we roll out Version 2.0! Purchase at these select shops. Or send us a DM if you need to purchase online. Commune Records
12 E. Holly St. Pasadena 91103 High Fidelity Records
4765 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles 90016 The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Store
250 S. Grand Ave. Los Angeles 90012 Mount Analog
2217 Hyperion Ave. Los Angeles 90027 Ojalá Books & Stationery
5405 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles 90042 Small World Books
1407 Ocean Front Walk, Venice 90291

You can now purchase the Lost Record Stores Map Version 2.0 at Mount Analog, 2217 Hyperion Ave. Los Angeles 90027. They have some of the best selections of electronic records and out-of-print art books in town.

An immense thank you to Hector and Twelves in Long Beach, CA for inviting Lost Record Stores this past Saturday to be part of their Record Store Day. Getting to connect with folks about this map project is really special and is why I love building this archive. Long Beach’s rich history of record shops and music is unparalleled. Photo credits: Crystal Martinez Hector Waluyo Dyanne Cano

It was an honor to speak with Josh Kun at the legendary Book Soup about the Lost Record Stores archive earlier this month. We discussed how record stores transformed us as we were growing up in LA and why archives represent never-ending quests of knowledge and history. I want to thank Josh for taking an interest in this project and for a thoughtful and engaging discussion. (We could have talked for hours about LA’s lost record stores.) You can watch the entire event on YouTube (link in bio). Also that’s me holding up the very first vinyl record I purchased for myself back in 1994 at Archaic Idiot in Los Feliz. Photos credit: Ana Sanchez Venegas @fotogr.ana

RSD is upon us, and what better day could we pick out of the year to chat about lost and defunct record stores with the team over at @lostrecordstores than on Record Store Day, at a record store? For the unfamiliar, Lost Record Stores is a retrospective map from 1893 to 2025 documenting the independent record stores of Los Angeles over the past 130+ years. It is a labor of love, born from a passion of Dyanne’s decades of record collecting and a desire to commemorate the independent record stores that were integral to Los Angeles culture and community. It is not just about nostalgia; these spaces played significant roles in creating and fostering community. Come join our conversation, enjoy DJ sets by Dyanne herself as well as yours truly, where I will be playing a selection of records chosen specifically for this day, and everything you hear me play is for sale. As usual, we will be straying away from the RSD releases and bringing you records that I’ve handpicked one by one on my recent trip to the Netherlands; the type of records you want, don’t suck and won’t find anywhere nearby.

Record Surplus’ Chris Vagnoni on connecting with longtime customers—some who have been coming to the shop for 40 years. Clip taken from the Lost Record Stores Panel Event at The Central Library in Downtown LA on March 7, 2026. Video: Charlie Schmidlin Photo: Ana Sanchez Venegas Content used under the auspices of Fair Use. ID: Clips of Chris Vagnoni speaking on a panel at a public library event with an audience.

Record Trader’s Naomi Park shares what the 90s punk scene was like in the San Fernando Valley and her thoughts on the return to analog. Clips taken from the Lost Record Stores Panel Event at The Central Library in Downtown LA on March 7, 2026. Video: Charlie Schmidlin Photo: Ana Sanchez Venegas Content used under the auspices of Fair Use. ID: Clips of Naomi Park speaking on a panel at a public library event with an audience.

High Fidelity’s Ray Limon shares what it was like to work at the iconic Aron’s Records on Highland Ave. in Hollywood in the 2000s, including a story about Kutmah and Ras G. @kxxtz__luva Clip taken from the Lost Record Stores Panel Event at The Central Library in Downtown LA on March 7, 2026. Video: Charlie Schmidlin @charlieschmidlin Photo: Ana Sanchez Venegas @fotogr.ana Content used under the auspices of Fair Use. ID: Clips of Ray Limon speaking on a panel at a public library event with an audience.

Part 1 of our March 7, 2026 event at the Central Library in Downtown LA. More video clips forthcoming. Special thanks to filmmaker Charlie Schmidlin for documenting the event. @charlieschmidlin Photo credit: Ana Sanchez Venegas @fotogr.ana Images and videos used under the auspices of Fair Use. ID: Clips from a public library presentation with an audience by Lost Record Stores founder Dyanne Cano

Music Man Murray, 1985 Ad 5516 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038 (213) 466-4000 (First location) 5055 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016 (213) 734-9146 (Moved to this second location in 1987) Opened in 1962; closed in 2010 Owner: Murray Gershenz

Top Shelf Records 1768 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027 (213) 660-5877 Inside the X-Large Store 1994 Videos: Tom Weinberg, producer and camera. Images and videos used under the auspices of Fair Use.