New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, the cradle of blues, and the spiritual home of American music. Its music stores carry that weight — and they wear it well. The Louisiana Music Factory on Frenchmen Street is as essential to the New Orleans music experience as any club on the strip. Frenchmen Street itself is lined with music-related businesses that serve a community where music isn't a hobby — it's a way of life.
New Orleans music stores specialize in things you won't find anywhere else: traditional jazz instruments, Mardi Gras Indian percussion, second line brass, and the kind of locally-recorded vinyl that tells the real story of American music. Piety Street Recordings offers professional recording services in a city where the session musician culture is unparalleled.
Shopping for music in New Orleans feels different than anywhere else — because music in New Orleans IS different. The city's unique musical culture has shaped American music for over a century, and its music stores are living archives of that history.
Not just listings — the history, the legacy, and why musicians love these places.
Louisiana Music Factory on Frenchmen Street is the most important record store in New Orleans — and one of the most important in America for anyone interested in the music that was born in this city. Specializing in Louisiana music across every genre and era, the Factory carries an extraordinary collection of jazz, blues, zydeco, Cajun, R&B, and funk records that document the full breadth of the state's musical legacy.
The shop hosts regular live performances on Frenchmen Street — a street that has become the authentic alternative to Bourbon Street for music lovers who want to hear real New Orleans music. Walking into Louisiana Music Factory and then stepping out to hear a live brass band on the street is one of the great music experiences available anywhere in America.
The staff's knowledge of Louisiana music history is encyclopedic. Ask them anything — about a particular artist, a session, a label, a neighborhood — and you'll get an answer that illuminates something essential about this city and its music.
Strange Guitarworks in Uptown New Orleans has built a reputation as the most trusted guitar repair shop in the city — no small feat in a place where working musicians depend on their instruments every single night. The shop handles everything from basic setups to complex restorations, and the quality of their work has made them the go-to for New Orleans' professional musician community.
New Orleans is a city where guitars get played hard — outdoor festivals, late-night club sets, second line parades in the heat and humidity. Instruments need more maintenance here than almost anywhere else, and Strange Guitarworks has built its reputation by delivering that maintenance at the highest level.
The shop also carries a curated selection of used and vintage guitars — the kind of carefully vetted inventory that you'd expect from a shop run by people who genuinely love instruments.
Our hand-picked selection of the best music stores in New Orleans — chosen for quality, reputation, and community impact.
From vintage dealers to full-line showrooms — the best guitar shops in New Orleans for every kind of player.
The best shops for rare gear, vintage instruments, and collectible records in New Orleans.
Need a setup, refret, or full restoration? The best repair shops in New Orleans for every instrument.
The best music stores in New Orleans by neighborhood — plan your trip to hit multiple shops in one day.
Every music store listed in New Orleans — use the filters above to narrow by type.
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