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So I find myself ever-so-briefly in London for work. If the opportunity arises are there any record shops I should prioritize peaking into?
 
CroutonBoy said:
So I find myself ever-so-briefly in London for work. If the opportunity arises are there any record shops I should prioritize peaking into?
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I'm a bit out of the game on this, so my recommendations aren't current. There are a bunch of good shops in and around Soho, and one of the Rough Trades is worth a look. Depending on when you are visiting, there may be a record fair on at Shoreditch market, and there is a Flashback Records close to that that's good.
 
CroutonBoy said:
So I find myself ever-so-briefly in London for work. If the opportunity arises are there any record shops I should prioritize peaking into?
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Lots of good shops around Hackney. Kinda depends on what you’re looking for though (used/new/genres, etc)
 
CroutonBoy said:
So I find myself ever-so-briefly in London for work. If the opportunity arises are there any record shops I should prioritize peaking into?
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Yeah, there's quite a few in a short walking distance in Soho. Sister Ray and Reckless cover most styles, both new and used. Sounds of the Universe specialises a bit more in Soul, Funk, Jazz, both new and used. Phonica is more of an EDM specialist, mainly new if I remember rightly and IF Music is a quirky one that you have to buzz for entry to and also specialises more towards the jazzy end of thing, pricey but has lots of rare pieces. I haven't been but I think there's still a Third Man shop there now also.
Camden has a few rock/punk specialists I think but not really my scene so I couldn't vouch for them.
If you're more in the City/Shoreditch area, Rough Trade East is pretty varied and I think there are a few other little ones towards Hackney.
I stumbled on this by pure chance last week on Discogs that lists loads I wasn't even aware of too and splits them up by parts of the city you're in. Good luck and have fun in the best city in the world.
 
Mr Moore said:
Yeah, there's quite a few in a short walking distance in Soho. Sister Ray and Reckless cover most styles, both new and used. Sounds of the Universe specialises a bit more in Soul, Funk, Jazz, both new and used. Phonica is more of an EDM specialist, mainly new if I remember rightly and IF Music is a quirky one that you have to buzz for entry to and also specialises more towards the jazzy end of thing, pricey but has lots of rare pieces. I haven't been but I think there's still a Third Man shop there now also.
Camden has a few rock/punk specialists I think but not really my scene so I couldn't vouch for them.
If you're more in the City/Shoreditch area, Rough Trade East is pretty varied and I think there are a few other little ones towards Hackney.
I stumbled on this by pure chance last week on Discogs that lists loads I wasn't even aware of too and splits them up by parts of the city you're in. Good luck and have fun in the best city in the world.
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@Mr Moore has covered this perfectly.

Yes, there is a Third Man shop. Its small but stocks a decent amount of their records, but it's mainly merch.

Depending on where @CroutonBoy is visiting, I would also add Yoyo Records to the list. Its a relatively recent (within the past year or so) discovery for my and bit of a pain to get to but my god they stock some fantastic records. So much stuff goes in and out of that shop, to the point where they will often strip an entire wall and restock as a theme (ie all OG Blue Note, Brazilian rarities, Soul, etc).

On a side note, is IF Music still there as a physical shop? I know they closed during the pandemic but not sure if they reopened. I literally work 5mins away from Soho so I really need to pop over and check. That place was a real (expensive) Aladdin's cave!
 
Selaws said:
@Mr Moore has covered this perfectly.

Yes, there is a Third Man shop. Its small but stocks a decent amount of their records, but it's mainly merch.

Depending on where @CroutonBoy is visiting, I would also add Yoyo Records to the list. Its a relatively recent (within the past year or so) discovery for my and bit of a pain to get to but my god they stock some fantastic records. So much stuff goes in and out of that shop, to the point where they will often strip an entire wall and restock as a theme (ie all OG Blue Note, Brazilian rarities, Soul, etc).

On a side note, is IF Music still there as a physical shop? I know they closed during the pandemic but not sure if they reopened. I literally work 5mins away from Soho so I really need to pop over and check. That place was a real (expensive) Aladdin's cave!
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Yoyo is really awesome. Big fan of it. There are quite a few shops within walking distance there too. BBE has a shop if you like their JJazz stuff. Stranger Than Paradise was pretty cool for new records, not much used though. There's also some shop that sells lots of japanese vinyl I think but was closed the day I was in Hackney. Wanna say it's called World of Echo or something? Yoyo was my favorite though.

The Third Man store was very underwhelming IMO. And most of the places in Soho were very expensive compared to shops in the US. Sounds of the Universe is pretty cool though.
 
Selaws said:
On a side note, is IF Music still there as a physical shop? I know they closed during the pandemic but not sure if they reopened.
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Good question and I have no idea. I worked in Soho for 20 years and our offices moved to Old Street at the start of 2020 so I haven't had much chance to go back with it being closed down for a big portion of that time.
 
MikeH said:
And most of the places in Soho were very expensive compared to shops in the US. Sounds of the Universe is pretty cool though.
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Honestly everywhere in the UK is typically more expensive than shops in the US. Especially when it comes to original pressings from the US (which I guess makes sense but is still infuriating.

Mr Moore said:
Good question and I have no idea. I worked in Soho for 20 years and our offices moved to Old Street at the start of 2020 so I haven't had much chance to go back with it being closed down for a big portion of that time.
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I will have a look next time I head over!
 
Selaws said:
Honestly everywhere in the UK is typically more expensive than shops in the US. Especially when it comes to original pressings from the US (which I guess makes sense but is still infuriating.


I will have a look next time I head over!
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Yea—was just surprised that a lot of EU/UK pressings were more expensive than they are imported in the US (talking about new stuff). Used seemed fair enough to me in a lot of cases!
 
Selaws said:
@Mr Moore has covered this perfectly.

Yes, there is a Third Man shop. Its small but stocks a decent amount of their records, but it's mainly merch.

Depending on where @CroutonBoy is visiting, I would also add Yoyo Records to the list. Its a relatively recent (within the past year or so) discovery for my and bit of a pain to get to but my god they stock some fantastic records. So much stuff goes in and out of that shop, to the point where they will often strip an entire wall and restock as a theme (ie all OG Blue Note, Brazilian rarities, Soul, etc).

On a side note, is IF Music still there as a physical shop? I know they closed during the pandemic but not sure if they reopened. I literally work 5mins away from Soho so I really need to pop over and check. That place was a real (expensive) Aladdin's cave!
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Thank you @Selaws , @Mr Moore , and @MikeH! This is all amazing stuff. To be honest my biggest interest in visiting UK shops is music from the 90s that wasn't pressed in the US because CD's so dominated at the time, but I love virtually everything and expect to find quite a lot of fun stuff in London that the picked over shops in the NYC/NJ area won't have.

Alas, I had to fly back to NY Thursday evening and barely made it out of the Blackfriars area where I was staying (stupid job, ruining my plans). But I will absolutely pocket this for my trip over, hopefully soonish!
 
MikeH said:
Yea—was just surprised that a lot of EU/UK pressings were more expensive than they are imported in the US (talking about new stuff). Used seemed fair enough to me in a lot of cases!
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The problem that I find with used records here in the UK is that people seem to look at the median Discogs value and just slap that figure on it even if it's in poor condition. When actually using Discogs I almost always find that the UK listings are above the median, despite condition. Maybe its just for the sort of jazz that im looking for, but certainly seems the case.
 
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