Tucked away near a residential neighborhood and in an unassuming building, End of an Ear (4304 Clawson Road, Austin, Texas) feels like it could also be the end of your bank account when you enter the place.
The place is stacked with a lot of killer vinyl and a good amount of CDs. I found four CDs to buy at the first bin I found immediately to the right of the door. They even have cassettes.
Getting back to the vinyl for you collectors, they have every genre you can imagine and some you’ve probably forgotten. They have bins off oddball stuff like this…
…to cool soundtracks and film scores like this.
If that’s not enough, their DVD/ Blu-Ray / 4K selection of movies was outstanding, and heavy on cult films and concert films, but I managed to hold off on several purchases of them due to having a stack of unwatched films at my house. I also would’ve bought this if it was for sale (and it probably was) and if I had room for it in my house.
That’s an original banner as far as I can tell, and I’d love to know the story of how they acquired it.
They have a large room full of vintage and new stereo gear, too, in case you need something on which to play all that vinyl you’re going to buy.
It’s amazing that I walked out of their with only four CDs – all of them compilations.
I’d been looking for Bombay 2: Electric Vindaloo for a while. The Disco Italia compilation is outstanding. The French Funk Experience should be a blast, and, in a bit of synchronicity, I discovered Menace while at Austin’s Hotel Vegas when they were played over the speakers before Osees hit the stage.
This place should be one of your required stops if you’re record shopping in Austin. Heck, Drop Nineteens were doing a signing while I was there. How cool is that?
Keep your mind open.
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