Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bass Clef Record Store
220 S Comanche Ave, Bartlesville, OK 74003
Record shopping in Oklahoma
Oklahoma has produced more foundational American music than its profile suggests: Woody Guthrie wrote 'This Land Is Your Land' out of Okemah, Charlie Christian came out of Oklahoma City to invent modern electric guitar in jazz, the Tulsa Sound of Leon Russell and J.J. Cale shaped laid-back country-rock from the late 1960s and 70s, the Gap Band turned Tulsa into a 1970s-80s funk capital, and Stillwater's Red Dirt scene produced Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland, and Stoney LaRue. Garth Brooks came out of Yukon, Vince Gill out of Norman, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood out of small-town eastern Oklahoma, Wanda Jackson the rockabilly queen out of OKC, and the Flaming Lips have run their indie rock empire out of Oklahoma City since 1983 under Wayne Coyne. Guestroom Records has anchored the state since 2003 under Justin Sowers and Travis Searle, growing from a single Norman storefront to three locations across Norman, OKC, and Edmond. Josey Records on South Rockford Avenue holds Tulsa's largest vinyl selection with 30,000-plus records as the third location of the Dallas-based chain. Vintage Stock runs 11 Oklahoma locations as the state's largest national-chain footprint, while Velvet Fudge filled Stillwater's record-retail vacuum after the 2016 Hastings closure with a back-of-house concert venue. Ride 44 east from Tulsa toward Joplin, swing 35 south from OKC to Norman, and see what the Sooner State has been keeping in the bins.
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BEYOND OKLAHOMA: VINYL JOURNEYS FROM THE SOONER STATE
As the last side plays out in the Sooner State, every shop you flipped through today is just one stop on a much wider Great Plains and Mid-South map. The Arkansas River runs east through Tulsa, the Red River marks the Texas line south, and Oklahoma's six bordering states put Kansas's wheat country, the Ozarks, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado all within a single day's drive.
Kansas Record Stores: Head north into Kansas, where Wichita and Topeka indie shops anchor the state's record scene, Lawrence carries the KU college-town circuit, and the smaller plains towns hide bluegrass and old country in family-owned shops.
Missouri Record Stores: Cross northeast into Missouri, where St. Louis's Vintage Vinyl in the Loop carries deep soul and indie, Kansas City's Mills Record Company and Vinyl Renaissance run the Midtown circuit, and the Ozark towns hide bluegrass and rockabilly pressings.
Arkansas Record Stores: Drop east into Arkansas, where Arkansas Record-CD Exchange in North Little Rock holds 90,000-plus LPs as the state's largest vinyl retailer, Block Street Records anchors Fayetteville and Bentonville, and the Helena King Biscuit Time radio legacy keeps the Mississippi Delta blues close.
Texas Record Stores: Roll south into Texas, where Austin's Waterloo Records and Antone's heritage carry the city's roots and indie pull, Dallas's Josey Records flagship runs as the chain's HQ, and the I-35 corridor from OKC to Dallas keeps the Oklahoma-Texas music exchange constant.
New Mexico Record Stores: Travel west into New Mexico, where Santa Fe and Albuquerque shops carry Pueblo and Hispanic music traditions alongside indie and country pressings, and Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley shops anchor the southern New Mexico corridor.
Colorado Record Stores: Swing northwest into Colorado, where Denver's Twist & Shout anchors one of the country's most respected indies, Boulder's Bart's Record Shop runs the college-town dig, and the Rockies pull Oklahoma visitors up for skiing and summer mountain weeks.
Tennessee Record Stores: Hop east to Tennessee, where Memphis still spins Sun, Stax, and Three 6 Mafia in roughly equal measure, Nashville's East Side stocks outlaw country alongside Third Man pressings, and the Smokies pull Oklahoma families east for cool-weather weekends in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
At Record Store Directory, every state line is an invitation to keep exploring. Share your finds, connect with fellow collectors, and chase down that next unforgettable album, because the perfect record is always closer than you think.
Happy hunting, and we'll see you in the next stack!
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