Record shops are an important part of every community. Music-lovers can find their favorite songs, bond over music with others and discover new artists. Love Bus Records is a place where music connoisseurs can do all of that.

“I was in corporate America,” said Mike McDonald, owner of Love Bus Records, “and I got to a certain point that it wasn’t fulfilling, and I thought, ‘life is short, do something that you care about.’”

McDonald opened Love Bus Records in 2020 as a small shop specializing in vinyl, which has only grown larger since then. Before he started selling records, McDonald built a small community library in front of his house. 

“I had thousands of books that I was not going to read again. So I built this little library out here,” McDonald said.

According to McDonald, when the city saw it, they built nine other libraries like his.

“Then, I looked at my record collection of about 10,000 records and I thought, ‘okay, well, I’m not gonna be able to listen to those in my lifetime again,’” said McDonald. “Most of the proceeds from this go to buying books for all the community libraries.”

Love Bus has music for everyone. From classical to heavy metal, anyone can find something that suits their taste. 

“We have punk rock, heavy metal, classic rock, grunge classical, opera, country, movie soundtracks, classic pop 50s and 60s type of stuff, a lot of 80s, surf music, blues, jazz,” said McDonald, adding that the most popular genres at the shop are “heavy metal, punk rock and 80s.”

McDonald is proud of the personalized service his small shop offers, and the one-on-one attention he can give to customers. 

“People who know about this little shop, they love it and they keep on coming back,” McDonald noted. “What separates me from other stores is I love to talk about music and I celebrate whatever you get because it’s my music or music that I collected.”

In 2024, Love Bus Records was voted “Best Record Shop in San Diego” by The San Diego Reader. 

The name of the shop is based on the old VW Bus owned by McDonald, which used to be used for tours in the area. 

“Because of Covid, I had to shut it down,” said McDonald. “Over Covid, I tried to convert it to all-electric, and that had its own issues, so I’m working on that right now. Once that is back up online, I’ll be doing that again. So I’ll just do little tours, from Leucadia to Carlsbad up to Oceanside, right up on the PCH, the 101.”

In the meantime, McDonald is enthusiastic about the record shop and the connections he makes with every customer who walks in.

“My favorite part is revisiting all the albums I own,” said McDonald. “I have a story with almost every single album I own. I know exactly where I bought it and when I bought it, what I used it for, if it was for going to parties or just sitting back with friends listening to music, or being by myself and listening to music.”