POP & HISS

Pop & Hiss is located at 215 Forest Ave in Pacific Grove and stocks CDs and cassettes. The shop combines a record store with a cocktail bar and hosts live music events, creating a venue where music lovers can browse, drink, and enjoy performances. The store actively buys pre-owned vinyl, cassettes, and CDs from customers looking to sell their collections.

The shop offers a unique experience by blending retail with entertainment and hospitality. Regular events keep the space dynamic and engage the local music community. Whether you're hunting for specific titles, selling your music collection, or looking for a place to enjoy drinks and live performances, Pop & Hiss provides a full-service destination on Forest Avenue.

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Interview with POP & HISS

POP & HISS combines three things — a record shop, a cocktail bar, and a live music venue — inside one Pacific Grove space. That's a specific bet. What was the vision behind putting those together, and what does the space actually feel like on a good night?

Nightlife options are very important in Pacific Grove where most businesses close around 7PM. Everyone is welcome. You can expect to see a melting pot of folks from all over in the record store and bar.

Pacific Grove is a very specific corner of the Monterey Peninsula — the Butterfly Sanctuary, the walk to the coast, the small-town feel that stands apart from Monterey and Carmel. For someone visiting the shop, what else on Forest Ave or in PG is worth their afternoon?

We're lucky to live in a coastal environment that gives us a list of options to sulk into. We're also fortunate to be in an area with multiple record stores like Vinyl Revolution which is just up the street from us. There is also Recycled Records which is just minutes driving distance from us on Lighthouse Ave. We have views and tunes!

Between Pacific Grove locals, the Monterey/Carmel tourist crowd, the Pebble Beach visitors, and the Monterey Bay music scene, you catch a wide range. Who actually walks into POP & HISS, and how has that shaped what you stock?

A benefit to having multiple record stores in town is that we can really curate the selection to our liking but also be mindful of others not so familiar. Sharing new music is universal and that's an advantage we have. We're music nerds and glad to pass tunes around.

On the buying side: you actively take used vinyl, cassettes and CDs. What genres are you actually looking for right now, and what do you tend to pass on?

We buy everything except for classical and opera. We love those genres but unfortunately there isn't a high demand at the moment, nor do we have the space to stock it

What quietly turns out to be worth more at POP & HISS than sellers expect — a record they'd almost throw in the free pile that you're always glad to see?

We're just as surprised as the sellers sometimes. For example Ken Nordine's album Colors. Hold on to that.

Cassettes and CDs alongside vinyl — which of those actually move at POP & HISS, and which are you keeping out of loyalty more than commerce?

Currently in 2026 CDs have become very popular for trendy reasons but also because they are a much more affordable nostalgic medium.

For someone visiting the Monterey Peninsula and trying to actually connect with the music scene beyond the tourist stops — beyond POP & HISS, where would you send them?

Pop and Hiss seems to be the place to catch the scene but there's also been places like the PG Meeting house and occasionally Recycled Records puts on local shows. We can only hope more local venues are on the come up in the near future. Music scenes are more important now than ever.

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Last updated: 2026-09-29

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