Downtown Book & Sound

Wherever in the world I find myself if I see a bookstore I will stop and check it out. When I stumbled upon Downtown Book & Sound a few years ago I quickly fell in love. It's a winner based on it being a great space, friendly but respectful staff and a wonderful selection of new and used books. That is why my family and I keep coming back. Check them out.

I love this small business! I like a small bookstore with nooks and used books as well as new books.
The staff is professional and knowledgeable.
I highly recommend this bookstore!

the owner was so enthusiastic to guide us around
which wroth a five stars!!

I found the perfect book for my husband for Christmas here. Wonderful store with so much to explore!

I love grabbing a new read as often as possible so I'm no stranger to hitting the bookstore, and I have to hand it to this book shop for being one of the best ones I've been to in the world. The staff and owners are very friendly, willing to strike up a conversation on just about anything and are very open minded. Their knowledge on books is almost as vast as their collection and if they don't have it, they will order it, even if it's a very hard to find book. Highly recommend at least a stop here.

Great selection of books, and ownership is really polite & helpful.

Nicely organized sections of books. Wide selection of titles. Friendly and helpful staff.

Great selection of books, was happy to be able to purchase my first copy of a Steinbeck novel from his home town. Pleasantly surprised by the range of foreign language materials, was able to purchase a copy of Fahrenheit 451 in french which I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

I wish I wasn't just visiting so I could make use of their "Blind Date with a Book" concept. They have a range of books wrapped in paper so that you can't identify them, on which is written some relatively vague but interesting details about the book's theme or setting.

One of the best organized used book stores I've been in. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

Went there for the first time looking for manga, they had a decent sized shelf for it, also was lucky to come across Dan he is a great guy. They will also order books for you if they don't have em. Highly recommend it great way to buy novels and help a local business.

Always a great place to shop, from rare to contemporary books, paperback and hardcover. You name it; if you like too read, you go there. ...or for gifts.

Thanks to the owners for having this great store

I love coming to this bookstore: staff are personable, friendly and the array of book options has something for everyone.

Very nice to have such a great bookstore in Salinas. Great selection.

The records and media are housed separately in a building across the street from the bookstore. There are thousands of records and a nice selection. Well worth checking out! Great customer service as well.

Down Town Book & Sound is the go-to place for books and sound recordings anywhere. Trish and Dan offer superior service to the community. Their broad selection of books on every subject is stellar. From Manga books to magazines, DTB&S has what you want; even a complete selection of John Steinbeck books. 10 stars, easily.

nice store … cute dog runs around sometimes and all the workers are friendly and knowledgeable. plenty of airflow/ventilation as they keep back door open so that was appreciated. they’ll order books for you if they don’t have them in stock :) they also have a rewards program that im not sure what you can do with tbh, but it seems like each purchase you get a star that will eventually turn into some sort of redeemable something (?) so it’s like getting a gold star in kindergarten lol kinda cute

i think they stock both new and used books on the same shelves. i usually only buy used books but turns out the book i bought was new which was sort of disappointing, but no one’s fault but my own.

gives me kinda hipster adjacent vibes, the older gentlemen who work there have their quirks and are characters in and of themselves (as you should find in any used bookstore), but are also open and talkative, which is rarer to find in used bookstores further up in the bay.

Awesome bookstore! welcomed the minute i came in! saw the manga selection and was not disappointed! they had titles like demon slayer, Naruto, attack on titan, black butler, and more! i was in search of my hero academia but they sadly didn’t have it yet. besides that a thumbs up for me! ✨👍😋

Always enjoyed this store, but finally got to meet the owners who are the nicest people. Trisha is so welcoming and fun! After playing the ring toss game we had a nice conversation and met Mark, Dan, and Jay who are super nice and funny. There's some cool stuff at this store; jewelry, music, local art, and a ton more.

Nice broad selection of both new and used books. They will even order a specific book for you if it is not on the shelves. Super helpful staff!

The best "hidden" bookstore in the Monterey area. Both new and used books in a beautiful, historic building. The owners are friendly and knowledgeable.