Two floors of records sit inside Euclid Records on Chartres Street in the Bywater, and most people who walk in underestimate how long they will stay. The ground level is packed wall to wall with new and used vinyl, CDs, and cassettes, while the second floor holds a deep jazz section and stacks of 45s.
Shoppers often mention that they found the upstairs too late and had to rush. Plan for the whole afternoon, because a quick stop here rarely stays quick.
A Record Shop at 3301 Chartres Street
Down at the far end of Chartres Street, past the French Quarter and well into the Bywater, sits an independent record store that takes its job seriously. Euclid Records New Orleans occupies 3301 Chartres St, a short walk from the river and the railroad tracks that run along this part of town.
The shop sells new and used vinyl, CDs, and cassettes, with a few 8-tracks turning up for anyone who looks hard enough. It also hosts live music performances, which gives the place a second life beyond the bins.
Its listing describes a hot pink storefront, though one longtime shopper noted that the store moved down the block from its original spot, so expect the building itself to look different from older photos.
Visitors from out of town frequently describe the neighborhood as out of the way, and that is part of the appeal. You are not stumbling onto Euclid between souvenir shops.
You are choosing to come here.
That choice pays off in volume. Shoppers regularly call it one of the largest record stores in the city, and the two-story layout backs up the claim.
Before you even reach the counter, the scale of the inventory makes it clear this is a destination for people who like to dig.
Bywater Streets and the Rusty Rainbow Next Door
Right across the street from the shop, an arched pedestrian bridge climbs over the train tracks toward Crescent Park. Locals have nicknamed it the Rusty Rainbow, and one visitor pointed out that the view from the top takes in the New Orleans skyline.
It makes a good bookend to a record run. Buy a stack, cross the bridge, and look back at downtown from the riverfront.
The Bywater rewards that kind of slow wandering, with its painted cottages, corner cafes, and streets that feel lived in rather than staged for visitors.
The setting shapes how people experience Euclid. Shoppers describe the store as old school, and that matches the surroundings.
There is no mall parking deck and no chain-store gloss here, just a neighborhood where people live, work, and walk their dogs past the front door.
Getting there takes a little intention. Several visitors mention that parking can be tough, so allow time to circle a block or two, or consider a rideshare or bike.
One shopper put it simply: if you want to go, you will figure it out.
Once you are inside, the street noise fades fast. The bins take over, and the neighborhood becomes the place you step back into hours later.
Two Floors of Crates Packed Wall to Wall
Count the floors first. Many record stores fit their stock into one room, but Euclid spreads across two full levels, and shoppers repeatedly describe both as packed wall to wall.
The ground floor carries the main run of new and used LPs, organized by genre so you can work through rock, soul, punk, metal, hip-hop, and more without losing your place. Visitors praise that organization often, calling the store well sorted and set up for optimal digging.
It also gets credit for being clean, which matters when you plan to spend hours with your hands in the bins.
Formats go beyond vinyl. CDs and cassettes fill their own racks, and the occasional 8-track sits among them like a small surprise.
One shopper also found jazz magazines, a DVD, and other random goodies tucked into binders and floor boxes.
That floor-level browsing is where time disappears. Boxes on the ground, racks along the walls, and binders of odds and ends all invite one more look.
A visitor admitted that even after hours of flipping, it felt like something had been missed.
The size is the headline promise, and it holds up. You can come with a want list, but the store is built for wandering.
Upstairs Jazz and a Mountain of 45s
Jazz fans, take the stairs early. More than one shopper has reported discovering the upstairs jazz collection near the end of a visit and then hurrying through it, which is a frustrating way to meet one of the best parts of the store.
The second floor holds an extensive jazz section, fitting for a city that shaped the music. One visitor picked up a Pete Fountain record for five dollars, a reminder that local clarinet greats and New Orleans players sit alongside national names in these bins.
Then there are the 45s. Shoppers point to tons of singles upstairs, and one longtime customer suggested the store probably holds the largest collection of 45s in the region.
That claim comes from a visitor rather than an official count, but the sheer number of boxes makes it easy to believe.
Digging through 7-inch singles is its own discipline. The sleeves are thin, the labels tell the story, and the good stuff often hides between dozens of records you have never heard of.
DJs know the drill, and one shopper even recalled spotting DJ Shadow crate digging here.
Bring patience and maybe a list of labels you love. The second floor can absorb an hour without trying.
Punk, Metal, and the Hard-To-Find Stuff
Ask a touring metalhead where to shop in New Orleans and Euclid tends to come up. Visitors traveling through the city single out the punk and metal selection as the strongest they found on their trips.
One shopper on a long weekend crossed several hard-to-find metal and punk records and cassettes off a want list, all in good condition. Another stopped in for lunch and a dig and left with a huge box of records, joking about walking out with more debt than when they arrived.
Cassettes deserve a mention here. Heavy and underground music has long lived on tape, and Euclid stocks enough of them that shoppers call them out specifically.
For collectors who chase demo-era releases or small-label pressings, that matters.
The used bins play a big role. New pressings are easy to track down online, but crusty original copies and odd reissues show up through trade-ins, so the stock shifts over time.
Regulars talk about spending days in the new arrivals section, which suggests the shelves turn over often enough to justify return trips.
Not into loud guitars? The same depth runs through other genres too.
Punk and metal just happen to be where traveling diggers keep leaving happiest.
Staff Who Talk Records All Day
Friendliness comes up constantly when people describe Euclid, and the details make it believable. One shopper said the cashier handed over a free record along with a few music recommendations, which is the kind of gesture that turns a first visit into a habit.
Visitors describe the staff as knowledgeable and genuinely invested in music. A regular called the team a cornucopia of knowledge, with recommendations and stories for nearly any band you could name.
That depth helps in a store this size, where knowing which bin to start with can save you an hour.
Several shoppers noted that staff made browsing feel welcoming rather than overwhelming. In a two-story space crammed with stock, that guidance counts for something, especially for casual listeners who may not know a first pressing from a reissue.
The store also buys collections, and here experiences vary. One seller felt that a deal for an entire lot changed once the staff picked the best items and left the rest.
If you plan to sell, clarify up front whether an offer covers everything or only selected pieces.
For buyers, though, the counter is a resource. Ask questions.
The answers usually come with a story attached.
Prices, Markdown Bins, and Five-Dollar Finds
Five dollars bought one visitor a Pete Fountain LP, and that kind of find sums up how many people talk about pricing at Euclid. Shoppers describe the prices as fair and reasonable, with some calling them the best in the city.
The markdown bins help. A longtime customer mentioned the mighty markdown bins as a multi-day project on their own, along with the 45s and new arrivals.
Bargain sections like these reward people who are willing to flip through every sleeve rather than skim the front of each row.
That said, the danger is volume rather than cost. One shopper put it best: the hard part is narrowing things down without spending a fortune.
Fair prices add up quickly when the bins keep handing you one more record you did not know you wanted.
A practical approach is to set a budget before walking in, start with the markdown and used sections, and save new pressings for last. Keep a running pile and edit it before checkout.
Beyond music, the store carries memorabilia, T-shirts, and similar extras. Those are easy to grab on the way out, so factor them into the plan if a shop shirt is on your list.
Live Shows, Meetups, and a Shrimp Tattoo
Somewhere in New Orleans, a customer walks around with the Euclid shrimp logo tattooed on their skin. That says plenty about the loyalty this shop inspires.
Euclid hosts live music performances inside the store, so the space doubles as a small venue on show nights. Hearing a band surrounded by crates is a different experience from a club, closer and more casual, and it fits a city where music turns up in unexpected rooms.
The store also opens its doors to groups. A new vinyl meetup recently gathered here, and organizers described the staff as excellent hosts.
Several members had never visited before, and two drove in from the Northshore, which shows how far the store’s pull extends across the region.
A listening booth gets mentions too, giving shoppers a chance to test a used record before committing. For older pressings with unknown histories, that is a smart feature.
The atmosphere suits serious collectors chasing specific pressings, but it works just as well for casual listeners who want a soundtrack souvenir from their trip. Visitors use words like funky, eclectic, and full of character, and one summed it up by saying the place looks, sounds, and smells like a record store should.
Planning the Afternoon and Why It Lingers
Daily hours make the planning easy. Euclid Records New Orleans opens every day of the week from 11 AM to 6 PM, so a weekday visit works just as well as a Saturday.
You can call ahead at 504-947-4348 or check euclidrecordsneworleans.com for events and updates.
Give yourself more time than seems reasonable. Many shoppers say they could spend an entire day digging, and those who budgeted an hour often left wishing they had more.
Arriving near opening leaves room for both floors, the markdown bins, and a walk over the Rusty Rainbow afterward.
Parking is the one recurring hassle, so leave a little buffer for finding a spot. Bring a sturdy bag or be ready to carry a box if the day goes the way it often does.
Visitors tend to describe Euclid as a store they want to return to every time they are in town, and that pattern makes sense. Inventory shifts, new arrivals land, and the upstairs 45s never really run out.
Picture the end of the day: a stack under your arm, the bridge rising across Chartres, and the sense that the bins still had more to give. That is the right note to leave on.