Best Record Store winner

By Haya Panjwani | Photo courtesy of Cactus Music

Best Record Store Cactus Music

As one of the most historic music stores in the city, Cactus Music brings all types of music lovers together and even fosters generations of community through records, live performances and a tight-knit store staff.

Cactus Music was founded by American record producer Harold “Pappy” Daily, and has been a part of Houston for over 45 years. While the original store was located near West Alabama and South Shepherd, Cactus Music now resides in Montrose.

Some employees have been working with the store for 20 or more years, which helps foster a sense of community in the store that makes Cactus Music stand out amongst other record stores in the city.

“We generally think of our stores as the conduit for people of music,” said store owner Quinn Bishop. “It’s not just us selling music to people that are coming in to buy packaged goods and recorded media, it is a meeting place for people to congregate that are talent buyers and agents and writers, and you know, journalists, publicists, club owners and musicians.”

Bishop has been with the store for many years now, so he’s seen people come into the store as children, and then those same people grow up to be sound technicians or producers later in life. grandparents shopping with their grandchildren, bringing them here,” Bishop said.

He added, “Because now, there’s this vinyl resurgence, which really is a lot of millennial and even younger, record buyers, and I think that older music buyers that are vinyl fans, or even CD fans love it, that their grandchildren have an interest in it and, through in-store performances, we would see, I mean, I can remember, children like little children that read our in stores that have grown up and are now you know, that we were a part of their musical experience.”

Cactus Music has won many awards, from being the critics’ choice record store for Houston, to now being the record store of choice for UH Cougars. Nevertheless, Bishop says that every award is just as meaningful to them as the last.

“We never take (awards) lightly because we’ve been honored with an award from time to time, but you know, that there, it’s always special. It is always appreciated, and it’s always a reminder that we are getting through and making a difference in people that love to people that love music in our city,” Bishop said. “Having a retail store is a constant game of adjustments and figuring out how to amend what you’re doing to fit the times, and that is one of the biggest messages that we are doing the right thing and we’re so grateful.”