Music Stores
A list of the coolest music shops around.
Most Recent Stores
Wax N Facts
Little Five Points - Atlanta, GA United StatesWax N Facts is the hub of the record collecting/making community in Atlanta. Walking into this dusty shot-gun style record store you become aware that the long-haired college age guy behind the counter is most likely in 3 or 4 bands himself and takes his vinyl very seriously. This is not the...
Holy Cow Records
Pike Place Market - Seattle, WA United StatesReader Suggested: A small, independent vinyl record store in the heart of the Pike Place Market, Seattle. One the the best selections of quality LPs and 45s in the city and reasonably priced. Friendly and knowledgeable service. Also stocks CDs and Video/DVDs. Something for everyone.
Criminal Records
Queen Street West - Toronto, ON United StatesReader Suggested: Criminal Records is probably the most unique music store in Canada. Not only do we stock thousands of new CDs & LPs at exceptionally low prices, we specialize in band merch. and swag. We are exclusive on the merch. side with tons of record labels such as Sub Pop, Arts & Crafts, Asthmatic...
Base
South Beach - Miami Beach, FL United StatesReader Suggested: The store carries lines by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania and other cult labels. They also carry accessory lines by Martin Margiela and other less known labels (Erika Pena, Louis Moralis, King Baby) I find their taste quite stunning. The best part of their store is their taste in music. I find...
Base
South Beach - Miami Beach, FL United StatesReader Suggested: The store carries lines by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania and other cult labels. They also carry accessory lines by Martin Margiela and other less known labels (Erika Pena, Louis Moralis, King Baby) I find their taste quite stunning. The best part of their store is their taste in music. I find...
Good Records
East Village - New York, NY United StatesGood Records pretty well sums its up. There seem two be to approaches to vinyl shops: the records, records everywhere approach that requires patient digging or the filtered, hand-picked approach. Good Records stocks sought after, well taken care...
Other Music
East Village - New York, NY United StatesFrankly we don't have time to sort through the thousands of records released every week and find stuff that we'll like. For our indie/eclectic tastes, Other Music's focused selection as well as their weekly review of new music is...
Recycled Records
Haight - San Francisco, CA United StatesSomething tells us that long after CDs take their place on the shelves of history, vinyl records will be alive and well. Recycled Records has been selling used vinyl since 1977 and today serves as a fascinating resource to collectors and passersby...
101 Music
North Beach - San Francisco, CA United StatesFor those who savor the hunt as much as the feast, 101 Music is the perfect music store. Nearly every square nanometer of the shop's two locations are replete with vinyl records spanning multiple genres. It's up to you to separate the...
101 Music
North Beach - San Francisco, CA United StatesFor those who savor the hunt as much as the feast, 101 Music is the perfect music store. Nearly every square nanometer of the shop's two locations are replete with vinyl records spanning multiple genres. It's up to you to separate the trash from the treasure, but if you do strike gold...
The Bookworks
Lakeview/Wrigleyville - Chicago, IL United StatesIn the shadow of historic Wrigley Fields, The Bookwooks offers other forms of history. Foremost are tens of thousands of books of the used and often rare variety with a focus on, what else, sports. Also around are bins of vinyl records, used CDs...
Ooga Booga
Chinatown - Los Angeles, CA United StatesA raw and humble space, Ooga Booga is a product of the collective creativity of today's young artists and designers. These artists and designers publish zines and graphic novels and comics. They release CDs and DVDs. They design T-shirts and...
AKA Music
Old City - Philadelphia, PA United StatesCall us old fashioned but 117 reviews for a disc at online music shops will not replace the recommendation of one single employee at a good independent record shop. AKA Music is one such place. The store is lined with a wide selection of CDs....
Etherea
East Village - New York, NY United StatesIn Etherea music is mostly independent, electronic and often both. The smallish record shop keeps its allegiances clear with its deep, focused selection. New and used CDs along with some vinyl read like a who's who of indie and electronic...
Earwax
Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY United StatesEarwax is a wake-up song for the record shops that can't manage to recognize that indie rock has been around in one form or another for several score years. Sure they carry the latest underground/local indie buzz bands and the mainstream...
Academy Annex
Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY United StatesNew York City rents don't really allow for those everything-under-the-sun record shops with hundred of thousands of records stacked every which way--and thank God for that. Instead there are shops like Academy Records, a more refined record...
Academy Records & CDs
Flatiron - New York, NY United StatesNew York City rents don't really allow for those everything-under-the-sun record shops with hundred of thousands of records stacked every which way--and thank God for that. Instead there are shops like Academy Records, a more refined record shop making up in depth what it may lack in...
Academy LPs
East Village - New York, NY United StatesNew York City rents don't really allow for those everything-under-the-sun record shops with hundred of thousands of records stacked every which way--and thank God for that. Instead there are shops like Academy Records, a more refined record...
Soundscapes
Little Italy - Toronto, ON CanadaAsk any diehard music fan what kind of music they like and they'll likely respond with some version of "good music." That's the best description of the type of music Soundscapes offers. Pop, rock, punk, electronic, ambient...
Rotate This
West Queen West - Toronto, ON CanadaRotate this. That's an order. In a politically correct world where critisizing anything is anathema, Rotate This is CD/vinyl shopping with an opinion, an opinion apparent as much in the stock as in the staff. What you'll find is an...