# Best record shops in the world



## Mathias Broucek

Newish here, so apologies if this has been covered I couldn’t see it in a quick search.

What are the truly great record shops?

If I limit myself to three it would be:

Disc Union Tokyo (Shinjuku). Insane, fast changing, cheap second hand stock. Yet clean! And with a customer toilet. “Do I really need Sanderling’s hard-to-find Philharmonia Beethoven cycle? For £5, why not....”

Tower Records. Tokyo. Stuff you didn’t even know existed.... For example, Mravinsky and Leningrad doing DSCH 5 in 1973 but recorded by Japanese rather than Soviet equipment (Altus)

Academy Records. NYC. Amazing stock, decent prices. Surprises. The actual, literal Argentinian premiere of the St John Passion with Erich Kleiber. It’s terrible by objective standards but I get goosebumps whenever i think about this man that stuck two fingers up to both the Nazis and the Italian Fascists and instead took the best of Germany to S America (he later stuck two fingers up to the Commies in E Berlin)

Sadly, nothing wonderful in London, my hometown any more. But some good shops in Paris and Brighton- if they survive COVID

Any other thoughts?


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## wkasimer

Princeton Record Exchange. Enormous stock, mostly very, very cheap. Most of it's not organized, but at those prices, it's worth the hunt.

Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures in Boston. A tiny store, but with an enormous inventory of used CD's and LP's, reasonably priced. Orpheus also has a presence on the Amazon Marketplace, which I highly recommend - they describe condition conservatively and ship very, very quickly.

I think that Academy in NYC has seen better days. Stock is very hit or miss, prices often considerably higher than online vendors.


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## Heck148

wkasimer said:


> Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures in Boston. A tiny store, but with an enormous inventory of used CD's and LP's, reasonably priced. Orpheus also has a presence on the Amazon Marketplace, which I highly recommend - they describe condition conservatively and ship very, very quickly.


Where is that located?? Never been there, must check it out.....I miss the long gone favorites...Tower @Newbury/MA Ave, the Harvard Square shops, etc...


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## wkasimer

Heck148 said:


> Where is that located?? Never been there, must check it out.....I miss the long gone favorites...Tower @Newbury/MA Ave, the Harvard Square shops, etc...


It's in the Back Bay, 362 Commonwealth Avenue, near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue.

I suggest calling first to make sure that they're open - even at the best of times, their hours can be a little irregular.

BTW, if you're in the area, check out Stereo Jack's in Cambridge. Stock is variable, but prices are great. It's also where I bring my culled CD's to sell, and I'll be dumping several hundred in the next month or so, assuming that they re-open.


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## VitellioScarpia

wkasimer said:


> It's in the Back Bay, 362 Commonwealth Avenue, near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue.
> 
> I suggest calling first to make sure that they're open - even at the best of times, their hours can be a little irregular.
> 
> BTW, if you're in the area, check out Stereo Jack's in Cambridge. Stock is variable, but prices are great. It's also where I bring my culled CD's to sell, and I'll be dumping several hundred in the next month or so, assuming that they re-open.


There's another used CD/LP record store called Planet Records at 144 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge. It is a few blocks west of Harvard Square. I am still in mourning for the demise of Tower and HMV in the Square and Back Bay...


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## VitellioScarpia

wkasimer said:


> It's also where I bring my culled CD's to sell, and I'll be dumping several hundred in the next month or so, assuming that they re-open.


Can you share here or via a direct email to me what recordings are you planning to "dump" in the next month? Thanks!


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## Heck148

wkasimer said:


> It's in the Back Bay, 362 Commonwealth Avenue, near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue


That's right near the old Tower store..!!



> BTW, if you're in the area, check out Stereo Jack's in Cambridge. Stock is variable, but prices are great.


Thanks, I think I've been there, but it was a long time
back....


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## Heck148

VitellioScarpia said:


> There's another used CD/LP record store called Planet Records at 144 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge. .....I am still in mourning for the demise of Tower and HMV in the Square and Back Bay...


Thanx, yeh, those were some good stores...


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## wkasimer

VitellioScarpia said:


> There's another used CD/LP record store called Planet Records at 144 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge. It is a few blocks west of Harvard Square.


I stop there now and then, but almost never buy anything - their prices on used CD's are much too high. The used CD market has changed drastically in the past few years, and their prices haven't reflected that.



> I am still in mourning for the demise of Tower and HMV in the Square and Back Bay...


For five years, I lived a few blocks from the Tower store in the Back Bay - and I visited almost daily.

The other store I miss is Looney Tunes. I thought that they'd eventually reopen, but I don't believe that's ever happened.


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## wkasimer

VitellioScarpia said:


> Can you share here or via a direct email to me what recordings are you planning to "dump" in the next month? Thanks!


There are way too many to list - I'll try to remember to post or message you when I dump them; they usually get put on the shelves within a few days.


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## VitellioScarpia

OK, thanks! I am looking forward to hearing from you.


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## Brahmsianhorn

I’ll always miss the second floor of the NYC Greenwich Village Tower store, and also the outlet store across the street. 

Otherwise Academy was my go-to before Amazon.

There was/is a good store in Berkeley, CA. I can’t recall the name. I still prize the Bohm Philips Years Mozart set I bought there.


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## wkasimer

Brahmsianhorn said:


> I'll always miss the second floor of the NYC Greenwich Village Tower store, and also the outlet store across the street.


The Village Tower was the only place that I could ever find Japanese imports. Still have my Japanese issue of the complete Sibelius Songs with Soederstrom and Krause.


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## apricissimus

wkasimer said:


> The other store I miss is Looney Tunes. I thought that they'd eventually reopen, but I don't believe that's ever happened.


Looney Tunes was my go to spot for jazz and jazz-related CDs. Proximity to Berklee surely helped. They always had a section of CDs selling for a dollar, and I've found some gems in there. I wonder what happened to their inventory when they closed.

I honestly can't remember the last time I went into a real live record store.


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## NLAdriaan

I can say that the store in the Philharmonie in Berlin is very nice, especially if you are looking for BPO recordings

Everywhere else on this side of the Ocean, online took over. Even the best inventory cannot match the endless online market, and at the going prices, running a street-store is not useful. And Spotify replaced the good old listening booth. The treasure trove atmosphere of a good music store where you would take advice from the guru, has been replaced with you guys:tiphat:


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## Oakey

NLAdriaan said:


> I can say that the store in the Philharmonie in Berlin is very nice, especially if you are looking for BPO recordings
> 
> Everywhere else on this side of the Ocean, online took over. Even the best inventory cannot match the endless online market, and at the going prices, running a street-store is not useful. And Spotify replaced the good old listening booth. The treasure trove atmosphere of a good music store where you would take advice from the guru, has been replaced with you guys:tiphat:


That goes for me too (Netherlands/Europe) For classica music it's almost exclusively amazon marketplace for used and JPC for new. No stores carry large classical selections nowadays. In Berlin in addition to the Philharmoniestore which is indeed very nice, there is also Hugendubel in the Friedrichstrasse which have an extensive classical selection.

For pop I only use local vinyl stores for the occasional bootleg as these are banned from selling at discogs, and for the rest discogs and amazon for vinyls. CDs almost exclusively come by mail.

I used to search for record stores when abroad in major cities, but that's no longer relevant. If they still exist the selections are too small and the prices way too high.

But this forum has been really useful, it sure doubled my classical CD collection in 2 years!


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## jegreenwood

wkasimer said:


> The Village Tower was the only place that I could ever find Japanese imports. Still have my Japanese issue of the complete Sibelius Songs with Soederstrom and Krause.


I miss that Tower and the one near Lincoln Center. But most of all, I miss J&R Music World near the Brooklyn Bridge.


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## Helgi

Be sure to visit the 12 tónar record store if you're ever in Reykjavik, it's a real gem


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## Simplicissimus

The three used CD/LP stores in Chicago that I have visited recently (before the stay-at-home order) were 1) very heavy on non-classical music with quite little classical, 2) very heavy on LPs relative to CDs, and 3) way too hip and woke for the likes of me. In Frankfurt am Main I like to shop at Mythos Records, where I feel comfortable and can find interesting and good classical CDs.


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## Heck148

The Chicago and Boston Symphony stores are great, if you're looking for recordings of those orchestras, conductors and musicians....I haven't checked out the NYPO or Philadelphia shops, they're probably good, too.


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## wkasimer

VitellioScarpia said:


> Can you share here or via a direct email to me what recordings are you planning to "dump" in the next month? Thanks!


I dropped off about 700 or so At Stereo Jack's this morning. I expect them to start appearing on the shelves by the weekend.

Be aware that they only allow 4 people in the store at a time. And masks are required.


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## CnC Bartok

I have been racking my brains trying to remember the name of the wonderful classical shop on Cheapside in London. Please, someone help me!!!!

Closed 25+ years ago, alas.....


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## Mathias Broucek

CnC Bartok said:


> I have been racking my brains trying to remember the name of the wonderful classical shop on Cheapside in London. Please, someone help me!!!!
> 
> Closed 25+ years ago, alas.....


Farringdon Records. Gone, like so many others. There was a lovely Jewish guy that ran the classical department. He would remember what you bought months ago and ask about it. And great deletion bargains!


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## CnC Bartok

^^^^^ You, Sir, are my hero! Of course, Farringdon Records. Spent hours there, could have spent more!!!! 

Thank you, Pane Broučku!


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## regnaDkciN

Forty years ago, Seattle had the Fifth Avenue Record Shop, which was a great place to look for classical because they were one of the few places on the west coast that stocked the European imports of labels, like EMI, whose U.S pressings were of substandard quality, as well as LPs you simply could not find domestically.

Unfortunately, that was then, this is now. When asked "where are the best record shops in the world," I can only respond with the line from _Rent_: "Somewhere else. Not here." Before COVID-19 shut down nonessential retail, the only recommendation I could give would be Silver Platters in SoDo, but only because that's the only store in the area with a decent classical section. Otherwise...I guess it's downloads from PrestoMusic.


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## Mathias Broucek

Conclusion: few places have good classical record or CD stores any more

Implication: when lockdown is over, hit Tokyo.....


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## The Wolf

https://www.talkclassical.com/49623-record-stores-physical-format.html?highlight=


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## Matthewv789

Brahmsianhorn said:


> There was/is a good store in Berkeley, CA. I can't recall the name. I still prize the Bohm Philips Years Mozart set I bought there.


The Musical Offering


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## Rogerx

Are there any left, good ones that is?


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## Kreisler jr

The two greatest ones I have been to probably do not exist anymore, certainly not in their former glory. It was the "old" Saturn in Cologne that in the 1980s claimed to have the largest selection in Europe or even the world and the separate classical? (not sure if it was an entirely different building?) Tower records in downtown San Francisco.


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## SixFootScowl

Dearborn Music, Dearborn, Michigan.


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## Rogerx

Kreisler jr said:


> The two greatest ones I have been to probably do not exist anymore, certainly not in their former glory. It was the "old" Saturn in Cologne that in the 1980s claimed to have the largest selection in Europe or even the world and the separate classical? (not sure if it was an entirely different building?)_ Tower records in downtown San Francisco._


I was there a long time ago, bought a CD I already had but with a different cover. 
Still in cellophane, I'll try upload a picture later.


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## arpeggio

All the great record stores in the Washington, DC area have closed down.


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## Ganz Allein

In the Atlanta area, I love the Decatur location of Half Price Books. It's not a crazy huge selection, but their stock seems to rotate pretty well, so I almost always find something new every time I go. I don't know where they get their stuff, but there's always a pretty big selection of Naxos discs still in the shrink wrap, usually priced around $4-$5 each. They also decrement the prices pretty regularly to keep the stock moving, so often if you see something that's too expensive, it'll be reduced in a few weeks... if it doesn't sell first! I went to the Marietta HPB once, which had a tiny classical selection that was mostly made up of "50 most relaxing classical masterpieces" - type stuff. Don't know if that one time was a fluke, but Decatur seems to be where it's at classical-wise.

The Book Nook locations in Decatur and Lilburn are also nice, but a bit frustrating. They both have a pretty large selection, but their pricing is all over the place, and they really overprice multi-disc sets. It seems that they never reduce the prices either - I know of several sets that I've been interested in buying, but have been sitting on the shelf for the 4 years I've lived here!


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## Brahmsianhorn

My favorite store in Texas - Recycled Books and Records in Denton


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## Rogerx

Brahmsianhorn said:


> My favorite store in Texas - Recycled Books and Records in Denton


Now there's a place where I like to spend a week or two .


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## Kreisler jr

Some great pictures and I am glad to see that these kind of stores still exist, if they are recent pictures, of course...


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## SixFootScowl

Kreisler jr said:


> Some great pictures and I am glad to see that these kind of stores still exist, if they are recent pictures, of course...


I was at Dearborn Music last month. It is very much like in the pictures. If only I had taken a fish-eye lens and covered the whole store.


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## golfer72

I remember taking the train to NYC (about an hour ride) and going to Tower up by Lincoln Center back in the 80's and 90's. I was like a kid in a candy store. Those days appear to be over. Better world back then


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## Szilgyo

The Saturn in Cologne was a real musical heaven. I have been there only once around 2005, but spent almost 3 hours there without any real connection to the outside world.


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## Rogerx

Szilgyo said:


> The Saturn in Cologne was a real musical heaven. I have been there only once around 2005, but spent almost 3 hours there without any real connection to the outside world.


Have you ever been in Berlin's KDW, dear lord heaven that CD / Lo section. 
( Talking about the 90ties from last century )


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## Kreisler jr

Saturn/Cologne at its best in the 80s/90s was closer a whole KDW dedicated to music, not one section. KDW and its music section was great and maybe hardly surpassed for a Department Store but the original Saturn was almost a whole department store dedicated to records and Hifi.


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## CnC Bartok

I reckon the shops I (mis)spent most time/ money in would have been the following. All are now gone, sadly.

Farringdon Records, Cheapside, London. Strangley, I never warmed to Harold Moore's, good stuff, but oddly claustrophobic...
Blackwells Music in Holywell Street, Oxford
Supraphon on Jungmannova, Prague

And one I would be delighted if someone else remembered it. Transitions in Walton on Thames. It was there opposite Beale's (ish) for a few years back on the late 1980s. Lovely chap running it, used to let me know of any upcoming releases, so I got the ones I wanted very quickly. He was a proper enthusiast. Much missed.


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## Mark Dee

In the small market town where I live, we had a branch of St. Martins (which I think headquartered in Leicester) - two floors with pop CD's and vinyl downstairs, specialist music (classical, jazz, world music) upstairs. It was open from around 1988-1995 (if my murky memory serves me correct).

Oh for the days of going in to order something and the assistant would get out one of the huge catalogue books to find the recording's details so you could place the order. Put down a deposit and turn up a week later to pay the balance and collect the latest addition(s) to the collection!


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## Rogerx

In the city where I use to live we had about 6 as in big once, even one from Virgin, almost al closed.


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## 89Koechel

Once there was also, Berkshire Record Outlet, in Pittsfield, MA - really fine ... and Princeton Record Exchange (as Kasimer mentioned) is still alive and well, hopefully. This year, sometime, Lawrence Jones of Polyphony ([email protected]) will finish-out his long tenure of providing classical LPs, open-reels, Schwann catalogs, etc., with an auction or two. I'm sure he'll have MANY valuable items, and most of them will probably be listed, for around $4, apiece.


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## Heck148

wkasimer said:


> Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures in Boston. A tiny store, but with an enormous inventory of used CD's and LP's, reasonably priced. Orpheus also has a presence on the Amazon Marketplace, which I highly recommend - they describe condition conservatively and ship very, very quickly.


Where is Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures??*** I sort of gave up on Boston when Tower [Newbury/MassAve] closed, and Tower and HMV in Harvard Square shutdown...I used to love Tower/Newbury - I was doing a lot of work for Berklee School and Boston Conservatory - Tower was right there!! 

***PS - I just looked it up - Orpheus Performing Arts Treasures is only a block or so away from the old Tower/Newbury....on Commonwealth


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## wkasimer

89Koechel said:


> Once there was also, Berkshire Record Outlet, in Pittsfield, MA.


BRO still exists, but they're now strictly mail order.


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## Heck148

BRO moved their operations office to Albany, didn't they?? They used to be in Stockbridge, MA, right near the Housatonic River (of Charles Ives fame)


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## wkasimer

Heck148 said:


> BRO moved their operations office to Albany, didn't they?? They used to be in Stockbridge, MA, right near the Housatonic River (of Charles Ives fame)


Correct on all counts. They briefly relocated their retail storefront to another site in western Massachusetts, but shut it down when they moved their warehouse to Albany.


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## vincula

Helgi said:


> Be sure to visit the 12 tónar record store if you're ever in Reykjavik, it's a real gem


What a great place on Earth this is! I found a complete case with Vagn Holmboe by chance and sat chatting for an hour or so. A very cold February, I remember, even for locals.

Regards,

Vincula


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## Pmartel63

My 'goto' for most classical issues is Prestomusic.com in the UK, absolutely superb service 
A new one will be 'Musical Offerinng' in Greece, they got me the Sanderling/Shostakovich Symphonies box set
Some advice with ordering from them
If you see something you like copy the link and email them they will respond with 48hrs
Give them your details and they will ask you to pay via PayPal, expect about 3 weeks delivery based on your location
Archambault in Montreal is also good and Amazon comes last for certain things


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## Rogerx

For the Archiv customers

Be Back Soon!
Thank you for visiting our store. Our team is working on system upgrades to better serve you, our amazing customers. This work requires that we temporarily take our website offline, but we will be back soon. Our first priority is to open orders. If you have questions about the status of your order, please contact us at: ArkivMusic & Jazz Email: [email protected]


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