Waco: Vintage Mio Records

Armando Cardoso didn’t open a record store so he could sell records. He opened one so he could give the money away. Vintage Mio Records in Waco stocks over 20,000 new and used albums. But the deeper inventory is the list of nonprofits Cardoso funds with those proceeds.

The store stands at 108 South 6th Street in downtown Waco. Cardoso brings in new sealed vinyl twice a week. The bins run across every genre — blues, country, gospel, R&B, alt-punk, import, and more. He also runs an online shop at vintagemio.com that ships nationwide. Think of it as a record store–sized nonprofit disguised as a music shop. The disguise doesn’t hold up. But nobody minds.

Downtown Waco’s Vinyl Conscience

Cardoso’s giving started with personal loss. He lost family members to cancer. He also married a woman who survived domestic abuse in a prior relationship. Those experiences shaped what Vintage Mio became. His goal is to raise $250,000 for vetted nonprofits — including Make-A-Wish Foundation and children’s hospitals. But Cardoso also gives back to living artists. When a Waco musician sells a record at Vintage Mio, every dollar goes directly to them. Not a commission. All of it. Musicians like Rodney Pyeatt — who spent years on the road with Selena Quintanilla — have shared their stories at the shop. Vintage Mio keeps those stories alive.

For more Waco vinyl, Spin Connection on Franklin Avenue carries vintage LPs, 45s, and 8-tracks across town. But Vintage Mio holds something you won’t find in the bins. It’s a record store with a genuine reason to exist beyond the music itself.