Lou's Records Is Music to Encinitas' Ears

At first glance, looks like it’s just one of the many quirky little
shops sprinkled along Highway 101.  But after going inside and glancing through its collection of over 200,000 items, the music store reveals itself as something quite special.

Lou’s Records, , maintains a strong appeal to people of all ages and all tastes in music. 

“We have kids that can’t look over the counter and old people that can’t walk.  We have every age,” said Lou’s sales clerk Neil Mclean. “Some really old people constantly amaze me that they still have an interest in new music.”  

Lou’s Records carries every genre of music, but rock and roll is the most popular one purchased, according to Mclean.

“It’s a treasure trove of awesomeness if you know where to look,” said Kiley Dalrymple, a senior at . “I like to come when I’m trying to reconnect with music I might have forgotten about or find new music.”

“Lou’s is pretty cool.  They’ve got a bunch of stuff, and it’s fun to look around.  You can always find what you want,” said Cody Durazzo, an Encinitas native who
currently lives in North Carolina.

Even though music can now be easily purchased online, many customers prefer buying their music at Lou’s Records.

“With people spending less money on physical products than on downloads, the money coming into the store has lowered, so we’ve had to downsize a bit,” said Mclean, who has worked at Lou’s for over two years. However, the store is still doing relatively well, said Mclean.

“One thing we have that downloading doesn’t offer customers is physical products, something they can trade in and something that is worth money.  Also, helping customers is something that digital downloads doesn’t cover,” said Mclean.

Colter Jensen, of Poway, said he buys his music at Lou’s Records because he likes
supporting a small company. 

“I like the feel of Lou’s Records, they carry interesting music. I get a little bit of everything – rock, hip hop, electro, blues,” said Jensen, who shops at Lou’s Records every few weeks.

With over 150,000 CDs and 50,000 records, Lou’s Records offers a huge variety to
music collectors.   

“I collect a lot of CDs, and this is the best place to get CDs cheap.  Lou’s has
everything,” said Anthony Castelli, a Carlsbad High sophomore.

“[Collecting CDs] is cool because there’s so much that you can get and I always try to push myself to get more.  One day they’re not going to make CDs anymore, and I think that one day maybe they’ll become valuable,” said Castelli, who goes to Lou’s Records about twice a month.

Lou’s Records sells both new and used music.  Some of the items that pass through the store are rare, special editions of albums.

“My favorite part of working here is seeing rare records, and seeing people get excited about finding stuff.  Some of the stuff that comes through here is really hard to find. People will put it on the wall and cherish it,” said Mclean.