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Guitar Stores in San Francisco, CA
San Francisco has 17 guitar stores — including 5 that buy used gear, 6 with lessons, 8 vintage specialists, and 7 with repair shops. Listings are ranked by what players say (rating weighted by review count) and show live open-now hours and who buys used gear, so you can pick a shop and go.
Amoeba Music
4.7 ★★★★★ 4,001 reviews
Indie music lovers' hangout for free live shows & an eclectic stock of new releases & vintage hits.
Guitar Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 1,303 reviews
Chain selling guitars and other musical instruments. Customers can try out the gear.
Real Guitars
4.7 ★★★★★ 156 reviews
Old-school shop provides a wide range of vintage guitars, amps & accessories, with on-site repairs.
Guitar Solo
4.7 ★★★★★ 112 reviews
Veteran store (1974) for guitar aficionados, offering acoustic guitars & their kin, music & strings.
101 Music
4.3 ★★★★☆ 157 reviews
Venue for used records & CDs in a wide range of genres, plus musical instruments & posters.
ROBOTSPEAk
4.9 ★★★★★ 81 reviews
Classic music shop stocking audio gear for the computer-based home & project studio, plus classes.
San Francisco Guitarworks
4.8 ★★★★★ 74 reviews
Mainstay offering guitar sales & repairs of stringed instruments plus on-site workshops & classes.
San Francisco Guitar Tech
5 ★★★★★ 60 reviews
Guitars and basses expertly tuned and repaired by a technician in a garage setting.
Flute World
4.9 ★★★★★ 64 reviews
Welcoming store catering to flute players of all ages and levels with instruments, music, rentals and repairs.
Music Exchange | Piano Store in San Francisco, CA
4.7 ★★★★★ 48 reviews
Music store chain offering new & secondhand pianos, plus rentals, tuning & repairs.
Mission Synths
4.9 ★★★★★ 40 reviews
Analog electronic-music shop selling modular synths, drum machines, effects pedals and sequencers.
Union Music Company
4.5 ★★★★★ 37 reviews
Knowledgeable staff at this shop selling sheet music, brass and wind instruments.
The Music Store
4.5 ★★★★★ 31 reviews
Quirky throwback for new & secondhand CDs, record player needles, vintage vinyls, movies & games.
Balboa Guitars
5 ★★★★★ 18 reviews
Inspire Music Lesson and Music Store
4.9 ★★★★★ 18 reviews
Steve's Guitars of San Francisco
3.8 ★★★★☆ 32 reviews
Ellie and Eva Company
4.5 ★★★★★ 16 reviews
Good to know in San Francisco
8 of the 16 shops with posted hours are open on Sundays.
For a setup or repair work, the shops with a bench here are Guitar Center, Real Guitars, Guitar Solo, San Francisco Guitarworks, and 3 more.
Hunting vintage? Amoeba Music, Guitar Center, Real Guitars, Guitar Solo, and 4 more are the vintage & rare specialists in town — evidence from the shop's own site or player reviews.
Selling or trading gear?
These shops buy or trade used gear — evidence from the shop's own site or player reviews, not a guess. Bring in the one you don't play; store credit usually beats the cash offer, and calling ahead with the make and model saves everyone time.
- Amoeba Music ★★★★★ 4.7 (4,001)
- Guitar Center ★★★★☆ 4.3 (1,303)
- Music Exchange | Piano Store in San Francisco, CA ★★★★★ 4.7 (48)
Getting started?
These stores offer lessons — for kids, adult beginners, and players knocking off rust. There's no wrong first guitar: rent or buy the instrument, get it set up, and book the teacher in one trip.
- Guitar Center ★★★★☆ 4.3 (1,303)
- Mission Synths ★★★★★ 4.9 (40)
- Union Music Company ★★★★★ 4.5 (37)