The best music stores in LA

If you can pluck it, strum it or hammer it, you'll probably find it at this Santa Monica institution. McCabe's has been specializing in mostly acoustic and folk instruments since 1958, from guitars and banjos to bouzoukis and ouds. By day, it's a revered guitar shop and lesson location, but on weekend nights it doubles as an intimate performance space.

This stalwart music shop has resided in its Westwood space since 1947, serving the likes of Neil Young and Dolly Parton in the process. There's a heavy folk influence here, with a niche selection of dobros and banjos alongside a typical assortment of acoustic and electric guitars and basses. In addition, the shop runs a repair service and a full-blown music academy, with everything from hourly lessons to group classes.

Pick up a guitar, bass, keyboard or drum set at this Lincoln Heights music shop, alongside amps and effects pedals. As the name implies, the inventory here is largely vintage, particularly a handsome supply of old microphones. The shop also offers repairs on stringed instruments, as well as everything from tube amps to combo organs.

While this Hollywood music emporium is known more for its music collection, Amoeba also sells all sorts of turntables. More importantly, it's maybe the best one-stop-shop for any aspiring turntablist to build up his or her arsenal of tunes. The variety of CDs and records, both new and used, is awesome, the prices are fair and the staff knows its onions.

This Hollywood shop has been keeping the beat since 1959 as a go-to repair and equipment shop for drummers. You'll find all sorts of snares, sticks and cymbals, as well as electronic kits for apartment dwellers and gongs for, well, inconsiderate apartment dwellers. Additionally, the store sells all sorts of racks, stands and accessories that you just couldn't find in a general music shop.

Nearly every inch of this Santa Monica shop is covered in stringed instruments and accessories. You'll mostly see electric guitars here, alongside acoustic guitars and basses—plus some slightly esoteric instruments, from cigar box guitars to baby sitars. In addition, the store offers repairs, lessons and custom pedalboards.

Part coffee shop, music school and ukulele store, U-Space resides within Little Tokyo's Japanese American Cultural Community Center. In addition to repair service and restoration, the space has all sizes and colors of ukuleles for sale, all of which come with a "free service for life" plan.

Bedrock is a utopia for Eastside musicians, with recording and rehearsal spaces—as well as pinball parlor Pins and Needles—all housed in a single, colorful building. But Bedrock also doubles as a one-stop gear destination; its small retail shop, Muffin Man Music, is geared mostly toward last-minute recording and rehearsal needs and stays open until midnight. Plus, you can rent PA systems, drums, amps and keyboards, as well as get your gear patched up from the in-house electronics and guitar repair.

The future of music is analog judging by this Highland Park shop's supply. Sure, you'll find modern effects pedals and keyboards here—as well as in-house guitar and equipment repair—but Future Music's differentiator is its stock of pre-1983 equipment (that's pre-MIDI revolution). Make sure to swing by on the second Sunday of each month for the musical instrument swap meet.