Premium music shops of Baca County: Our Top-20 selection

Very helpful! Got my first guitar here years ago! WILL DICKSON and JAGUAR JAKE are juts ignorant and mad! THE WORLD DOESNT REVOLVE AROUND YOU insignifiCUNTS!!

Closed when it says 24 hours and store is a mess

Love the music they get.

This venue is incredible!! The acoustics, the wall to wall guitars, and the comfortable theater seats. Great place to see local musicians leaving it all on stage. Also able to meet Steve, and he is a genuinely beautiful soul with a passion to share this space and enjoy good music. Our little mountain town is lucky to have this venue, what a gem.

A religious experience. The heartbeat of Carbondale! Steve is a master! Yeeeeehaaaa!

Intimate, beautiful guitar display. Fun nice place to get to know musicians upclose. Byob.

Intimate venue blanketed in an eclectic collection of guitars. Great for solo or small acts to play in, especially warm acoustics.

It’s ok

This place chronically doesn’t pay their musicians who play there. 50% cut of door sales?? No response when folks try to collect their earnings?? Support local music – not this place.

Incredibly helpful and non pretentious. I felt at ease here and wanted to come back instead of feeling pressured to buy something. Great prices on repairs or modifications

Very smart owner.really great advice

Carl is phenomenal. Courteous, knowledgeable, economical – truly a diamond in the rough.
Not enough good things can be said.

Very knowledgeable, nice selection .

Carl has opened a beautiful new shop!

For a small town, this place is amazing. The owner knows so much and has helped me as an artist. Nice instruments for good prices. But this time I only needed some drum sticks, that where less than expected, I may add.

Musical equipment is overpriced amazon deals from Christmas. Owner is a nice guy, but was clearly just trying to sell more expensive items over cheaper arguably better ones. “Handmade” strings snapped within the hour, I have a hard time believing the Ernieball strings would have any problem. Sadly though I listened to the worker who assured me that they were the worst. Overall I recommend just driving to Durango you’d end up saving money and not being treated as if you haven’t been playing guitar correctly your entire life.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Daryl and Matt over at Blue Mesa Music Store. They were able to order us everything that we wanted for our family Christmas presents and matched online pricing! Highly recommend those guys. Shop local! Especially at your local music shop!

Blue Mesa Music is Class Act store!! I have never felt so welcome in store as I did with Blue Mesa. The staff and owner are all gifted musicians whom are passionate with their profession. Blue Mesa is a “come in, kick off your shoes and play a melody or two. My family sat, played a beautiful 12 string (purchased), deep, rich Cajone (purchased), rattle (purchased) and sang (owned) for well over an hour topped off by Amelia singing and playing a song for us. Blue Mesa Music was one the highlights of Summer of 2022 !

Music is a Rx for PTSD . I got my fix here❤️

Great shop with an eclectic collection. Knowledgeable and they encourage you to play everything.

I’m not much of musician but wanted to learn how to play the acoustic guitar, Scott the owner, spent time with me picking out the right one and didn’t rush my decision. They also have lessons there. I will be back.

Great store…phenomenal customer service!

I’ve been here on several occasions and they are always the nicest and most helpful music store around. No one ever talks down to me or seems annoyed With all my questions. So patient. And affordable!

Great place to look for used gear! They have a decent selection of everything especially if you have kids! and the employees are nice. I’ve sold a few thing here and I’ll say they offer the absolute lowest price they can when you don’t take store credit… If you have something to sell and need the cash quick it’s great otherwise you have to be looking to trade for something in the store for it to be worth it.

Great shop! You can expect to pay a little more than average for used fear here, but they are VERY thorough with inspections before they buy. You can trust you will get good gear. Use as a last resort for selling though. They will give you next to nothing for your used gear. They have to make money right. Overall, staff is very friendly and helpful and new gear rolls in pretty consistently which is good and bad news for those of us with incorrigible G.A.S.

UPDATE:
Store owner Jason followed up on his promise to resolve the situation. I stopped by the other day and Jason refunded the purchase in full and made this right. The receipt doesn’t mention needing to have original packaging for returns as Dan originally said, so the return should have been accepted within the 10 days we first returned but because store owner Jason did make this right in the end I am therefore changing my rating from one star to four stars.

Bought a sax mouthpiece for the saxophonist performing for an event I hosted. The mouthpiece was defective and she was unable to perform meaning the trio could not perform either. We took the mouthpiece back the next day and manager Jason would not accept return of the defective mouthpiece even with the receipt in hand claiming it there was nothing wrong even though the saxophonist is a top performer in the area. We would expect better from a nationwide chain.

I wish this place was cool, but the prices are a little too high, the trade-in value is half of what you’d sell on Craigslist/Facebook, and the staff couldn’t care less. Nice browsing opportunity though.

Edit for owner: thanks for your response, I “understand” now.

I stand by my opinion. Best of luck.

Every time I buy gear here something is wrong with it. Just paid $60.00 for a set of Gibson Deluxe tuners. Installed them and two of the cover fell off. Someone had cut the tabs off all the covers. Really tired of the lack of attention to the functionality of the gear they sell. Will not buy here again!

Was just in the store upgrading my daughters amp not realizing you close at 4pm. Innocently thought you were open till 5 atleast like most places. Besides the miss understanding with hours. You don’t turn off the lights on your customers while they’re about to make a purchase. I come here alot and have always been treated with respect. But turning the lights out on us was a pretty low and rude move. Basically felt like you were all saying FU to us!
If you can play or sing in front of an audience you should atleast have the confidence to make an announcement that you’re about to close ahholes!

Old school traditional music store.. vinyl, cassettes,cds, posters, strings and accessories for guitar, and more.. The shop keep was funny and welcoming.. and yes it was affordable prices, true to the name of the store.. see ya soon brother..

Great place, awesome people.

Hands down the best music store in colorado!

Surprisingly good 45 selection.

Limited selection, average prices

I’ve heard good things about it but I was upstairs at pug Ryan’s bar

Sells broken products. Very expensive.

Terrible customer service. Was out of town for a wedding – asked about return policy and he went on a rant about him being a small business and how he would only give store credit. He was very condescending and unprofessional

Owner is a racist. He harassed my friend for shopping while black , four times AFTER he bought a CD. We went outside and had to show the police his recite.

Great place to shop if you are worried someone is impersonating you. Don’t shop there if you are black, he might call the cops.

I love this place! After dropping my guitar (that I bought elsewhere) Jason took a look at it and gave me an estimate on repair. He was very open and honest about the cost vs value of the guitar and helped me make the decision not to repair it. With zero pressure, he helped me look at other guitars to figure out exactly what I wanted, which helped decrease the sting of my broken guitar. I really wish I had just gone there in the first place! Great experience! I did not buy a guitar today (again there was no pressure for being able to look and not buy today), but I will be back to buy once I spend a little more time deciding on a couple of things from what I learned today after talking with Jason. I’ve also previously taken lessons there and done a recital there (with voice/ukulele) and those were great experiences as well!

Castle Rock Music is a great place for pickers, players and students. Both of my kids take lessons there and I’m very happy with what they’re learning. There was even a great parlor guitar that I had been playing while the kids were in lessons. Eventually, the owner decided it was as awesome as I thought it was and took it home. Luckily, the manager Dave was able to convince the owner that I really wanted it and I now have a new parlor Fathers Day guitar! Thanks for going above and beyond CRM.

I stopped by on Tuesday to ask CRM if they could adjust the action on one of my guitars. The owner had a good look at it and the bow was pretty obvious. He let me know it would maybe be a week to make a series of adjustments and some settle time. I was able to pick it up on Saturday afternoon and I couldn’t be happier. The setup is absolutely flawless. The price was very reasonable and the quality of work that went into my instrument left me feeling like I got a great deal. These guys know what they are doing and we’re very accommodating the whole way through. If you need your guitar setup, don’t hesitate to put your trust in them.

I don’t see why many people are giving this place bad reviews, as I have good experience with it. I take guitar lessons here and the mentors are nice. I do feel a tinge of hostility towards me from the front desk workers, but they do seem approachable. I’ve never gone through a repair before with them, but that’s because I’ve never broken a guitar. If it weren’t from the tiny bit of hostility from the workers I would’ve given this place a five, in my experience and work with them.

Singing lessons for our daughter is wonderful. The process is good, prices are acceptable, and the venue is nice.

The shop itself is cute and quaint, but the selection is only very low end. Nothing of value at all. Not even cheap name brand equipment, but just low end non-name brand stuff. No biggie I guess, and I’m sure their selection is ideal for what they’re going for, but you would think at least one Fender or Les Paul would be in there. Haha! Nope. I’m speaking about guitar/bass/amp selection.

Overall, a good place and great for kids or first time people.

It says castle rock band store but it’s more of a Guitar store there’s no other instruments.

One of my students took his trumpet to be repaired there because it wasn’t actually changing notes, no clue what work they charged for, but they somehow missed the giant crack in the lead pipe! Not impressed at all.

I’ve only been there once to get cork grease, quick easy purchase (reason for two stars instead of one).

Went to pick up my boyfriend’s mandaline just now. I don’t appreciate being interrogated through petty attempts of guilt.

“I’m so surprised your nice in person, you left such a scathing review.”

I don’t like you guys. It took 6 months and 3 calls from me before I got any update on this instrument. “We tried to call” … ‘In the last month.’ was conveniently what you left off, and I’m annoyed at the audacity that you couldn’t take a review I didn’t even write and decided to confront me about it like I’m the misinformed idiot.

I wasn’t going to say anything, but maybe next time you’ll learn to shut your mouth and keep some business.

UPDATE: The cost of the repair was $10 and they gave the mandolin back to me in about a week and he did it for free because of my interaction at Castle Rock Music. Every expert I talked to had a suggestion. 3D print the piece for a temporary fix, find a junk mandoline and scavenge, or just give it to someone who knows what they’re doing, etc… Not a single person said the fix was too expensive or hard. And I didn’t get an awkward talking to when I went to pick it up. Amazing.

Don’t waste your time and money. The people that work here are just high school kids who look like they’d rather be anywhere else. I recently bought guitar strings specifically for a classical guitar. I asked the kid for nylon strings and he handed me a pack assuring me that they were the only nylon strings they had. I had my reservations on his assertion as the kid could hardly utter more than a teenage grunt, but I went ahead and got them anyway.

Surprise, surprise, turns out they were all metal strings. When I called to see if I could exchange them someone answered the phone who sounded like he was at least 30. That didn’t matter though since he said I opened the package that there was nothing they could do. Seriously? A brand new set of strings and you can’t take them back or exchange them? How bout you repackage them?

It’s all good though as there is nothing that I need to do at this particular place of business. I can always find another store to give my money to.
Now try hiring some staff that actually care about music and know what they’re talking about.

We are sooo grateful for Glenwood Music!! We were in a 10 day vacation and my daughter didn’t get a Viola Solo turned in before we left Utah. We stopped in and asked if we use a Viola to record her Solo. They graciously set us up in one of their lesson rooms let us record and didn’t charge us!! They were so helpful and we are so Thankful!! They will take care of all your music needs!

Great music store! Staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Prices comparable to any online retailer in the USA. If its not in stock, they’ll get it for you. I also recommend the repair shop. They can fix almost anything regarding music instruments as well.

Beware: This place is going to send me into debt because of how great the service, prices, and products are.

Walked in, asked to see some Yamaha Acoustics, brought into what was essentially a humidor of beautiful Yamaha Acoustics. I said I liked playing the Nirvana Unplugged album a lot when asking for advice. A guitarist working at the shop, Dylan, then showed me an acoustic Yamaha guitar that had a built-in chorus and reverb, no electricity required. Which is what you need to sound more like Nirvana. Great experience. Bought an absolutely beautiful Yamaha FS820 here. I will come back with my next paycheck to buy the magic guitar Dylan showed me. My girlfriend and I had a great time here, awesome place.

Took guitar lessons, glade I did..

Hay todo tipo de instrumentos a precios razonables

Guess you’re not open until 6pm…

Very disrespectful people. I hate spending my money there but it’s the only local music store 🙁

Some nice people working at this store, but unfortunately the guitar tech with the beard is so rude, egotistical, mean, and basically the opposite of customer service, that I would not be able to make any major purchases from this store. I certainly would not let them lay hands on any of my instruments. Fine if you want some strings or picks, but if you ask for a serious recommendation, you will likely be insulted rather than given any useful help. Unfortunately for the owner, guitar techs at any level are hard to fine. If you don’t like your job bro, quit and get a new job, it’s nobody’s fault except your own. Music is a social hobby, so maybe it’s just not for you.

Customer service is absolutely awful. The rudest staff I have ever had to deal with. They are so pompous and rude I am sad I gave them my money. If you aren’t knowledgeable about music DONT GO HERE, the staff is terrible to customers who don’t know music. I would recommend taking your business elsewhere or just shopping online. Not one member of the staff is nice and helpful, worst musical experience ever!

Mr. Jimmy always shows me a good time. Nicest music store in Durango!

Stopped in yesterday to pick up a case and strings for our son’s classical guitar before he moves into the FLC dorms. Great shop, friendly owner/staff and a beautiful store. I’m sure he’ll be back!

I just took my 2005 Martin guitar to Jimmy’s to sell on consignment. He told me a couple of adjustments were needed ( his Guitar Spa Day), tuned it up with new strings – and it sold the next day! I am really happy that a new owner will enjoy those sweet sounds now. Thank you Jim!

Jimmy’s music was very nice store however seemed understaffed.

Cute store pack with tons of things.

Good local music, guitar store

Had my mind set on buying a new piano keyboard and supporting this local music store in Durango and to know that the workers (maybe even the owners) don’t know how to treat their customers is very disappointing. When I walked in I wasn’t greeted, even after a few minutes I wasnt asked how I was doing or IF I NEEDED HELP FINDING ANYTHING. I know what you’re thinking “maybe he was busy” nooooo! Because there was another worker there and no one else was in the store. I wasn’t addressed or anything until I was about to leave. I know I’m an adult and maybe I should have just asked him myself but if I’m gonna spend a few hundred dollars at your store then I’d expect to be treated like it let alone be WELCOMED INTO THE STORE! But my question is why? Did I not looked like a serious buyer? Was it cause I was wearing a mask? Or was it cause I was brown? My questions are valid and justified through the actions of the workers. Sad to know that people are treated differently for whatever reason. Such a bad impression on the community and very disappointing experience.

They did not have what we were looking for.

We get music lessons here. Just couldn’t be happier! If you are looking to learn, this is the place!

Haven’t been in a while because I live so far away, but I have never found another music store on par with this one. Hopefully once I graduate and start making that career moneh I can come back and visit and maybe get another awesome acoustic guitar.

Love Wild Acoustic! The best music shop in CO!

Great music shop

Dave is a great guy. My kids both take lessons here with John Tique. He is the best of the best! Dave always works with us to find books, accessories and good deals on instruments. Shop small, shop local.

The best!!!

Great people makes great places

Great store, good selection and the owner is a super cool dude.

Friendly and knowledgeable service. Great selection of new and vintage guitars/amps. Took my guitar in for a setup and it plays like a dream now.

Every time I visit to purchase strings and gear, David treats me and my son well. We geek out on acoustics and love test driving his rotation of instruments, and Dave never complains. Also have used their service for install of modified gear and have had a great experience!

great place to try and buy, they know their stuff and are super nice and willing to help you find what you’re looking for. they have great recommendations and will let you play whatever for however long. very cheap for repairs and guitar work, much cheaper than other places. got my frets leveled/crowned and it sounds fantastic, however they did kind of gauge/scratch the neck on several frets. sucks, but not a huge deal as it’s not a high end guitar and the price was right ($60). again, sounds great but i would be weary of bringing a higher end model in as they weren’t very careful about taping off the neck to avoid cosmetic damage.

Best shop around!

do not take your guitars here for repair! simple jobs will end up being 2 hours in labor charges. they will take your working guitar and send you home with a non-working guitar. they will mix up the wiring on the pots. they will give you pots too large so your knobs have a huge gap underneath. unbelievably unprofessional and incapable.

EDIT: The business response is not a fair respresentation. First guitar, volume pots wired backwards. Second guitar, repair only lasted the car ride home. Second fix only lasted the next car ride home. Third fix, incorrect tone mapping and too large of pots. Every single trip a problem. Why would I go back?

After a recent surgery kept me off the slopes, this guitar store was a godsend. Jonathan let me try out dozens of guitars including the new Bob Weir Bedford model (which plays like a dream). His customer care was spot on.

Comfy couches, Vox and BluesCube amps to play through made for a very relaxed and overall great experience. Normally, I play PRS, but will likely add one of theirs as well after trying them all out.

The most relaxed guitar shop ever. No pressure. Just enjoy being around quality pieces, and fellow guitar enthusiasts, and scope out a nice selection of vinyl. If you’re lucky, there may even be a puppy or two to pet…

Such a gem in Aspen. Shane was super nice, laid back, and knowledgeable. The showroom is comfortable and the guitars are gorgeous. I visited three times, including nearly an hour killing time before a show at the Belly-up. I felt welcomed and I enjoyed the experience so much…I bought a 12-string.

Beautiful guitars! Walking into the store, you see the beautiful guitars and equipment out and ready to play. The staff here was nice and welcoming. Sadly, I’ve bought too many guitars in my life and couldn’t get another for the guitar’s sake. If, in the future, I ever want to buy another (for some reason), this is probably going to be the first place I look. Overall, I absolutely recommend these guitars for their good prices and amazing craftsmanship.

8/10

Great find- been playing guitars for decades and happened to stumble across this store.

Very impressed with the guitars and the showroom.

The store manager was very helpful and explained the brand in detail to my friend who accompanied me. He was knowledgeable, friendly and NOT pushy.

Def felt comfortable inside the store with their couches. Place was well appointed and very clean and tidy!

The guitars seemed well built and had great action and time.

Def considering this brand when I’m ready to increase the guitar herd.

Flip side music is a sweet little guitar oriented music shop, they have more pedals than all the other shops in Denver combined and they are carrying some awesome product lines…. Denver hasn’t had a shop this cool since guitar X closed some years ago… I can totally see myself calling this place home! Check it out!

Nick is the man!

Took my two acoustic guitars into Flipside for some TLC. Dylan helped me out. He is friendly and very knowledgeable. I am pleased with the service and both my guitars are looking and playing pretty spiffy. Good to have shops like this in Denver. Thanks Flipside!

Best service in this category

Cool store, not the friendliest staff. Nice pedal selection.

Very knowledgeable staff and unique instruments

Overly expensive and also lots of homeless people hanging outside on the street near by. It’s a dump.

Good music store

A stringed instrument music store with knowledgable and honest sales people who offer the top brands in musical instruments like Deering Banjos, Taylor and Martin Guitars. They also have a repair shop across the street with experts to fix musical instruments. It is worth going out of your way to visit HB Woodsongs.

Staff was really friendly and helpful. I called and they set me up with lessons and an instrument right away. Reasonable prices. Instruments looked nice.

Go to place in Boulder for all of my acoustic instrument needs. Good people, excellent service, nice atmosphere.

Called long distance for a specific piece of sheet music. While they do not have it in the store, the sales rep named Derek was extremely helpful and courteous. Kudos to him.

Small but nice musical instruments stores. They don’t have a lot of stuff (my only complaint), but you be able to find some accessories and also some high-end acoustic guitars. Salespersons are friendly and they also have a music school in this place.

Very friendly staff, unfortunately way over-priced. You can find some of the exact same items on ebay or Amazon for less than half the price at this store.

This place is awesome. Rob and Jen are so very helpful every time I need something. Great customer service and follow through, quality advice and huge selections. They are hands down the best place to go for any music needs.

I would like to thank spotlight music for their quick response and service for me in purchasing a guitar from them . Was very pleased with the way they shipped it in a timely manner and the way they packaged it. Thank you again and would definitely recommend and purchase from you again!!!!

Great selection for AMAZING prices. The staff genuinely knows what they are talking about and are extremely helpful in every way. On top of that they are locally owned!

nice selection of guitars and equipment ,and associated equipment … of string’s piks & suff!

I’ve got a Breedlove Stage Pursuit, 7 years old, played nearly an hour every day. Prob needs some setup by July 1 for getting back on-platform at Timberline Church. Do you have a tech available (a number of guitar stores – including Guitar Center – say they don’t have one anymore) who could do the work? Would love not to have to drive up to Cheyenne or down to Denver. Thanks.

The atmosphere is friendly, and this is clearly not a corporate chain establishment. Unfortunately, they no longer carry Taylor guitars.
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These people are the biggest rip-off artists in the world.
Selling defective guitars and equipment. ..
These are all factory seconds, and cheap cheap cheap Chinese knock offs…

I came to Spotlight to pick out a starter violin as an adult learner. When I Arrived, the crew seemed friendly enough, but were completely unknowledgeable (about anything other than guitars) and not of much help. I probably shouldn’t have bought a violin at this point, but I needed one to begin lessons so I went for it. I was told that the store has a 7 day return policy, so I figured it was all good. I happily bought my violin and went home and had my first lesson. In the short time I began to figure out more of what I was doing, I decided I needed a larger violin to fit me. I took it back to the store before my seven days were up and was told, “This is a commissioned instrument. We can’t return or exchange it.”

NOBODY EVER TOLD ME IT WAS COMMISSIONED NOR DID IT HAVE ANY TAGS OR MARKINGS THAT WOULD SUGGEST SO.

Also, when I bought it, the fine tuning pegs were put on backwards and upside down and it was not strung my anyone who knew what they were doing. You’d think as such “professionals” they would inspect the instruments they put on the floor. After all of this, they never offered any consolation for my waste of a $250 violin plus the money I spent at a real music store to fix it. I guess I should have just known it was commissioned through magic or something. Don’t waste your time. If you want to deal with professionals, head to Boomers Music Company, Music Go Round, or hell, even Guitar Center. Literally anywhere. A pawn shop maybe?

Thanks, Spotlight, for your fantastic customer service.

Really frustrating! Customer service is non-existant!

Great food and amazing people

Great place. Burgers and steaks are always good.

We rodeo a few times a year in Kim and always make the 30 mile drive over for Saturday night dinner. We always look forward to the great food, the fun, the excellent service and value!!

It’s OK as I know it has been so much better but the bartender/ cook/server had know clue as to multi task as she burnt a few hamburgers and some French fries and hamburger buns…
I’m hoping that it was just a terrible day for the young lady.
Like I said I’ve always had a great experience…
They do an amazing job at grilling starks on Friday and Saturday nights….!

Steaks (Ribeye) was definitely worth the trip. The owner come by and chatted for a bit and enjoys what he’s doing.

Very nice people & good home cooking. Off the beaten path

Total joke, save you $ and time. Best part about it is watching it in the rearview mirror

Great selection of books, instruments, and gear. Incredibly helpful sales staff. Just a feel good place

Awesome high quality stringed instruments. Lots of great guitars, banjos, mandolins PLUS a wide variety of folk instruments including hammer dulcimers. Friendly and knowledgeable staff coupled with numerous teachers complete the package….THE folks to go to in the Denver area when you are in need of reasonably priced high quality stringed instruments.

Brought my old Eastman in for a set up, and they did an amazing job. Knowledgeable staff, interesting selection of instruments and sheet music. In the lively south pearl st neighborhood.

Cool store with quality guitars and friendly employees.

This is a Great place for musical needs, instruments(Guitars,Ukeleles, Banjos) as well as Harmonicas are just some of the instruments that you will find. They offer services such as instrument repair, and lessons as well! Variety of books included.
This Music Store has been opened since 1962! Definitely one of Denver’s Gems! Lots of history about this place! Swallow Hill was located right across the street! (Back In The Day! The 60’s, 70’s and I believe the 80’s as well!)
With restaurants and breweries surrounding it’s location it makes for a wonderful attraction to visit!
Check it out!

Exciting to have a local non chain (read “Guitar Center”) acoustic musical instrument store in the hood. Experts in not only guitars, but dulcimers and mandolins too! Experienced in their craft, and repairs.

Worst service ever! Don’t go to this place for guitar help. Go for frustration and disappointment. They’re really good at providing that.

Terrible service and advice.

I miss Harry. He was polite to his customers.