Every origin story needs a specific, almost absurd detail to make it stick, and Hunky Dory Records has one built right into its opening day: August 1, 2020, one of the hottest afternoons of the year in the mountain town of Idyllwild, with temperatures pushing into the high 90s even at 5,400 feet of elevation. Owner Michael Brown had spent twenty years tending bar before the record shop became his full-time work, and the timing was not exactly planned. He and his husband John had been visiting Idyllwild for years, and after picking up weekend shifts at a small local crystal shop and healing center in 2019, the idea of a record store started to take shape. When the stay-at-home orders of the pandemic cost Michael both of his jobs on the same day, he leased a storefront that had previously housed a local chocolatier, and Hunky Dory Records opened its doors within weeks, named after David Bowie’s fourth studio album.
The shop has since outgrown two prior locations. After operating two separate storefronts along the village lane for a stretch of about six months, the owners took the leap in 2024 to consolidate everything into a single larger space in Idyllwild’s Oakwood Village shopping district, at 54425 North Circle Drive, Suite 1. The move gave Hunky Dory Records room to add a dedicated book room alongside its record bins, and to expand its offerings beyond vinyl into new and used clothing, turntables, posters, and skateboards, all inside a shop the owners describe as keeping a relaxed, unhurried vibe rather than the crate-digging intensity of a big-city record store.
Inventory runs the range a working record shop needs to serve both collectors and casual browsers: new vinyl pressings sit alongside used LPs and CDs bought directly from customers, with the shop actively buying collections as well as selling them. The original storefront’s outdoor patio, furnished with bistro tables and chairs, carried over as a place for customers to linger, and the owners have talked about eventually using it as a small performance space for local musicians passing through the mountain community.
Store hours reflect a small-town, owner-run rhythm rather than big-box retail: Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. That schedule has not stopped the shop from building a strong local reputation, reflected in a 4.9-star Yelp rating built from more than a dozen reviews from both Idyllwild residents and weekend visitors passing through the San Jacinto Mountains.
Hunky Dory Records in Idyllwild-Pine Cove is a locally owned, Bowie-album-named vinyl and CD shop in the Oakwood Village district that buys and sells new and used records alongside clothing, turntables, and books, giving mountain-town record collectors and weekend visitors a laid-back, well-reviewed stop in the San Jacinto Mountains.
