Wow! Wow! Â Wow! Â What a great store. Â Wish we had a store like this in SF Bay Area.
You could spend an entire day here looking over their inventory.
The store is clean and well organized.
DVDs, CDs, Vinyl, video games, audiobooks, accessories galore, some action figures, board games, and more. Â My head was happily spinning. Â There is definitely something there for everyone, even "Blast from the Past Rinky."
Reasonable prices too.
Staff was friendly and helpful and kind--they didn't roll their eyes when I asked for the musicals/soundtrack  section.
I limited myself to a couple of DVDs and some CD soundtracks.
I highly recommend Cheap Thrills the next time you are in SLO.
The Good:
This place has everything. The first thing you see walking in is a giant selection of cds, action figures and video games. Go upstairs to a large selection of vinyl or go into the room left of the entrance and check out the huge VHS, DVDs, books, cards and comics. Among these are the accessories that go with all of the above. All in all it's a store for most nerds and collectors.
The Bad:
Weird vibes from staff. A little unorganized. The record selection is usually not good. It is almost like a room of thrift store vinyl. Lots of Herb Albert and Dan Fogelberg :/. But in those rare occasions (you have to get there when the new stock comes in) the good records come in. Everything is a little more pricey than used items should be. The cheapest records are 1.98. The cheapest VHS are 2.98. The only real value are probably used cds which is usually a media I don't buy.
Cheap Thrills Records is officially my favorite business in SLO. For all the years I have visited this beautiful city, I never heard of Cheap Thrills until I looked it up on Yelp!
Although you wouldn't know it by looking at it from the street, its actually a very large store with entire sections of CDs, vinyl, video games, music related accessories, board games, DVDs and graphic novels/comics. Its a mix of new and used products where you can find some real bargains or some rarities if you look hard enough.
The staff was very welcoming and helpful. The store is clean and well-organized. Its easy to lose track of time while you browse here! There's just so much to see if you are into music, movies and games.
Finding everything I like to shop for in one store made Cheap Thrills one of the highlights of my time in SLO. If you are a local or a visitor like myself then I highly recommend checking this place out.
Cheap Thrills rocks. All the LPs are upstairs and will leave you amazed. I found tons of great artists (AC/DC, The Beatles, Beach Boys, KISS) at awesome prices. Staff is extremely helpful and very friendly. Walked out with a Beatles Revolver remastered album and a grin on my face. Great place for vinyl records in SLO.
Review Source:I came here to get some used vinyl records for my collection. Â Upon entry I was asked to give them my bag from my previous purchase, which I didn't like as they were treating me like a criminal.
Once I got to the selection, I had to sort through mountains of garbage records to find anything interesting. Â It was fun to look around, but it was frustrating that the selection was so poor in quality despite the large quantity of records.
I left with a Pat Metheny record for $7, happy with the price but unlikely to return as they didn't have much else that caught my eye.
Pros:
1) A ton of new and used games/cds/records/tapes/VHS/DVDs/random sound systems/old school consoles.
2) Comic books, board/card games, model-making supplies.
3) Warhammer!
4) Staff is surprisingly accommodating compared to other similar shops.
Cons:
1) Everyone else knows about this place too, so occasionally the rare item you're looking for has already been snagged.
Their stock is extensive if somewhat prone to irrational exuberance regarding price points.
Alas, their legendarily irascible, employee-abusing, lease-corroding proprietors render the quality of their offerings moot, at least for this conscientious shopper.
edit:
I'm not  a former employee, just a local who's known many former employees over the years, dating back to the old location above Korb's Trading Post.
And thank you, crazy owner, for validating my statement. Â =)
This place is awesome. Whether you're looking for games, music, movies, comics, anything, old or new, they're sure to have something that will start sucking on those greenbacks in your wallet. I find it very difficult to leave here with the same amount of money that I came in with so let that be a forewarning: be prepared to buy something before you enter. You may wake up tomorrow with a pile of nostalgic entertainment items, a drained bank account, and a weird desire for a tri-tip sandwich.
Review Source:I absolutely love coming here. They have almost everything you can ever imagine! Huge selection of movies (DVD/VHS) collectibles, board games, video games, (from the NES to Wii), video game consoles, (NES, SEGA, PS1/PS2, etc.) computer games, cassettes, CD's.. even vinyl! Want a VCR? A DVD player? A home theater receiver? How about a retro stereo receiver? They got them! They even sell comic books.
Whether you're a comic book nerd, a card nerd, a video game nerd, an anime nerd, or even a cartoon animation nerd (that's me!), they cater to all masses of nerds!
Not a nerd? Don't worry! They have a non-nerd section just for you!
Friendly staff. Awesome environment. GREAT prices!! LOVE coming here!
There's a reason why this place has been around since 1971!
Huge selection of vinyl, CDs, tapes (if you want them), movies, gaming equipment, games, and all the stuff that goes with it! This place has a great system of mixing used with new so you know you are going to get the very best deal on what you want. It's GREAT! Sometimes they may not have the newest release of some obsure band but if I request it they will get it in for me.
The only thing that I wish they would upgrade to is a better quality listening station for their newer albums because the one they have is a little sad looking.
UPDATE:
They really bugged me when I tried to sell some records. Some of the stuff I sold was more valuable than I knew at the time and they gave me, like $.50 an album. Total bummer. Also when I checked out their Wii gaming materials, it was cheaper to go with gamestop. If they want to have everything in stock and actually sell merchandise they should price it lower.
I've been going to Cheap Thrills since 1971(yikes!) when they were in the upstairs store downtown next to Beno's. Throughout the years, I've bought untold LPs, 45's, 8 Track tapes, cassettes, DATs, Laserdiscs and CDs from Cheap Thrills.
Went there today for the first time in a while and walked out with a handful of gems. The store is huge and has everything entertainment wise under the sun. Schedule a couple of hours to wade through everything.
A couple of things that keep me from coming more frequently...
1. All of their CDs, whether new or used, are in plastic anti theft cases, so it's not easy to check out the contents and condition of the disc. Also, the plastic case not only makes it inconvenient to preview on a CD player, it also covers up track information.
2. Since the 70's, they have placed a sticker on the back of the item (once cassettes, now CDs) with the date and price. Not only is this time consuming, it's unnecessary. The receipt should suffice.
Even though I frequent Boo Boo's 10-1 over Cheap Thrills, I love the fact that SLO has two healthy record stores. I have to start spending more time at Cheap Thrills.
Now if they would only reopen their old store in Santa Maria....
its awesome to find LP's and hard to find CDs along with the newest stuff all in one store; not to mention that the swag you can get for your favorite band is available! Â visiting from hawaii, where we only have chain stores and just one store like this, i find this place to be awesome. Â the guys who work here also know what they have and where to find it and if they dont have it in the store they're able to help you find what you're looking for.
Review Source:This is a great place to buy records if you are more into the older rock stuff that everybody already owns. There is a small indie and punk section, though I have found quite a few great things when I visit. I didn't even really have time to finish looking through the rock section as it seemed to go on and on. The comic book and action figure collection is really big as well, though I really don't know how to rate that since it isn't my thing.
Review Source:Wow, I was going to say some good stuff about this spot until reading others negative reviews! As a victim of A-Hole bosses ad co-workers, it pissed me off to hear how Cheap Thrills treats their employees. I wil still say, though-that i've found more goodies at better prices here than Boo Boo's
Review Source:Cheap Thrills has always been one of those places that I must stop by during a trip to San Luis Obispo. Â It has a wide range of used CDs and video games downstairs, although the amount of heat in the upstairs section always makes me wonder whether some of those vinyl records are sustaining damage due to poor ventilation. Â Still, it's worth a peak if you're looking for that one thing. Â It also stocks local artists.
Review Source:When you can find both the single LP for "American Jesus" by Bad Religion and the one-shot Elseworld "Batman: Houdini" in the same store, you know you are somewhere magical.
The comic book selection is ridiculously good, as is their vinyl selection. The games are overpriced like crazy, but the real draw of the store is its great selection of indie comic books and records.
A great, great shop.
I used to live across the street in the Red House (in fact I am THE reason the Red House is around, ask anyone there if they know every story of the pictures in the closet or what happened in the flood of 95.)
blowing half my financial aid and later my paycheck on musical delights across the street was a religion for the Red House. We would pour over the stacks for CASH we didnt have or Pat would drool and eventually give in and buy the lighted Eddie head Iron Maiden box set.
It lost a bit of charm in the move to the old goodwill and then back, but this is an institution and a reason why wherehouse  went out of business.
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