Laughing Sam’s Discs

Laughing Sam's Discs landed in Natchitoches after Mike moved north from Kenner following Hurricane Ida. The shop buys whole collections, looks closely at condition, and tries to keep pricing fair for both sellers and new collectors.

The result is a Louisiana record shop with tourist-town foot traffic, college energy from NSU, and a real interest in helping people understand what they are holding before a price gets attached to it.

Interview with Laughing Sam’s Discs

What's the story behind Laughing Sam's in Natchitoches, and what would a regular say you're known for?

I started my store in Kenner La. In 2021. I was previously in the restaurant industry for 30 years. After the pandemic, I had had enough of corporate silliness, so decided to open up a store. A month exactly from the date I opened, hurricane Ida destroyed my shop. I decided to move up north away from a bulk of hurricanes. Not to mention, cost of living shot up down south. I checked out Natchitoches, and felt it would be a good fit.

You buy collections outright — the good, the bad and the ugly as one lot. Why take the whole thing rather than cherry-pick the winners?

Most people want to get rid of everything. Older folks especially are tired of lugging them around and just want to make space. So I look at whats sellable, what could be a $1 record or thrift store donation. Depending on what I think I can get for the good titles, I’ll make an offer.

You've named a few artists that just don't sell — Streisand, Ray Conniff, Johnny Mathis. What's the pattern with records people assume are valuable but the market's moved past?

People tend to forget that records were everywhere back in the day. Before the mid 60’s, records were more of an adult medium. Adult oriented records were the rage. With the explosion of the Beatles, record companies discovered a new market: teenagers. So out of the millions of records pressed for the teen market, the ones that are in good shape is where the value is. So if you have Beatles or Elvis record, condition is everything. If it has writing on the sleeve or if the record is beat to hell, it has no value, to me anyway. Also, I couldn’t in good conscience rip someone off by attempting to put a price on it.

Natchitoches is a small historic Louisiana town — who comes through, and how's the local record world?

It’s a tourist town. Christmas is a big deal here, Steel Magnolias and meat pies as well. It has a college here, NSU, which is an excellent college, especially their music and theater departments. One of the deciding factors of moving here is because of NSU. Record stores and colleges are symbiotic to me. So, I have the Taylor Swift crowd, the tourists and starting to get some audiophiles coming in.

What's the most valuable or surprising collection you've bought whole?

About a year ago I bought 7,000 records from a hip hop DJ that unfortunately passes away. He was from L.A. California and had basically the history of hip hop. Very rare titles that were promo only. From Tupac and Biggie original pressing to test pressings of Prince and other artists. It was everything you wanted to know about hip hop.

You look for VG+ or better and it takes a while to go through a stack — should sellers clean anything first, and what condition problems hurt value most?

Sellers don’t need to have their records spotless. I clean every record that goes out on the floor. I do some restoration on jackets if it will make a good difference. I’m on my third record cleaning machine! But a part of offering a service as a record shop is to make the process of purchasing records an easy and fun experience.

When you're going through many LPs to land on a fair price, how do you weigh title against condition against how fast it'll sell?

Some titles will be in the shop for awhile. Some titles just have to wait for the right person. I do sell some online, however there are collectors that are less than honest and will try the ol switcheroo and send a pic of their copy that’s beat and say it’s the one I sent to them. It’s a hassle and unfortunately, prohibitive for me to really focus on that.

Past the LPs, do 45s and 78s ever make the cut when you take a collection, or is it an album game for you?

I have some dedicated 45 and 78 collectors. It’s a dying demographic, literally. When I do get collections of 45’s and 78’s, I make calls to the collectors to come check them out. It’s a different ball game from LPs, especially for 78’s. It’s fun and you meet a lot of interesting people. I usually tell folks “you’ll either fit right in here or you’ll feel better about yourself.”

A big reason why I wanted to do this is to help young collectors not get screwed over like I did when I started collecting. Pricing should be fair and product should the best quality. I also like to educate people not only about records, but about playback. Equipment is important. I know Crosley is frowned upon, but if that’s all that a person can afford, it’s all good. But to help get someone a great playback system for not a lot of money, makes this silly business fun.

FAQ

When is the best time to call or visit Laughing Sam's Discs?

The shop is open 11 AM-6 PM Wednesday through Saturday and 12 PM-4 PM Sunday. You can call or stop by during those hours if you want Mike to look at a collection.

Does Laughing Sam's Discs buy whole collections?

Yes. Mike usually buys collections outright as one lot, then sorts what is sellable, what may become a $1 record, and what may be better as a donation.

Last updated: 2026-08-18

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