1007 episodes of Amoeba’s What’s In My Bag?, 2007 to present, every picker and every record, indexed.
Since 2007, Amoeba has handed guests a bag, let them loose in the store, and filmed them talking through whatever they carried out. Musicians, mostly; also filmmakers, comedians, athletes and writers. The format hasn’t changed.
The complete catalogue of every record anyone has ever pulled out of the bag. Each sleeve links back to the picker who reached for it — and to everyone else who reached for the same record.
Browse 5300+ records →Musicians, filmmakers, athletes, comedians, novelists and DJs — 968 of them, each given one bag and forty minutes to talk about the records they pulled off the shelves.
Browse 968 pickers →
No editorial, no algorithm. Just a ranked count of which sleeves show up most often when the cameras roll. The shape of the canon is steep — one record well clear of the field, then a long tail the room agrees on but doesn't fight for.
See the full canon →
James Blake goes record shopping at Amoeba Hollywood in this "What's In My Bag?" episode. The English producer, songwriter & musician talks about Arthur Russell's honest lyrics and complex music-making, how Arca continues to surprise him with her production, and wishing he had collaborated with Ryui…
“Spirit of Eden is probably one of my favorite records ever, but I have that on vinyl, so I went and got Laughing Stock which I don't have, but is also incredibly beautiful. I just don't know this record as well and I would like to get to know it better.”Watch this moment
Amoeba Music opened in 1990 in a converted bowling alley on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Three former Rasputin Music employees wanted a store that took every format seriously: new, used, vinyl, CD, cassette, the bargain bin and the rare-records glass case, all in one room.
The What's In My Bag? series began at the Hollywood store in 2007 and has run ever since. 1007 episodes. This is the archive.
The largest of the three. Where most What's In My Bag? episodes were filmed.
The original. A converted bowling alley two blocks from campus.
Built inside an old bowling alley on Haight Street, west of Ashbury.
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