25 stores · curated ORBIS register
British record shops keep the crate-digger faith alive on Talbot Road, at a Welsh counter, in Edinburgh's punk racks. Rough Trade West holds vinyl and in-store gigs as an indie music institution on Talbot Road. Spillers Records keeps vinyl and independent music at the counter. Vinyl Villains specializes in punk and post-punk with rare imports in Edinburgh. The sleeve tells half the story; flip the record before paying, read the runout groove, then check the spine for sun.
Old Market, Bristol
A DIY punk and indie label since 2007, Specialist Subject opened its Old Market Street shop in 2017 and stacks thousands of new and used records, CDs and cassettes across punk, hardcore and indie. It also carries zines, books and its own artists' releases and merch.
Best for Punk and indie vinyl
Dundee / United Kingdom
Thirteen Records in Dundee sells a wide range of new and second-hand records.
Best for New and second-hand vinyl
Bruntsfield, Edinburgh
Bruntsfield is an Edinburgh neighbourhood with independent shops, cafés and services around its main streets. It is an area guide, not one merchant, so individual retail doors need separate records.
Best for Boutique shops, artisan cafes, and short-hole golf at Bruntsfield Links
Edinburgh, Scotland
Green House Records is listed in Edinburgh as a music; its official website and supplied OpenStreetMap place record provide the public-door evidence.
Best for Music
Edinburgh, Scotland
Slow Progress Records & Coffee is listed in Edinburgh as a music; its official website and supplied OpenStreetMap place record provide the public-door evidence.
Best for Music
5 Elm Row, Edinburgh
Underground record shop since 1986 — vinyl specialists in punk, indie, post-punk, and rare imports. A Leith Walk institution for music heads.
Best for Vinyl specialists in punk, indie, post-punk, and rare imports
Fore Street, Exeter
A vinyl and CD shop at 98 Fore Street holding over 75,000 items across LPs, 12-inch and 7-inch singles, CDs and music DVDs, many imported. Founded in Taunton in 1995, it moved to Exeter in 2006 and buys collections as well as sourcing hard-to-find records.
Best for Deep vinyl crate-digging and rarities
City Centre
Independent record shop at 34 Dundas Street, Glasgow, near Queen Street Station; buys and sells new and secondhand vinyl and CDs across rock, metal, punk, soul, hip hop, reggae and jazz, with a strong Scottish-artist selection.
Best for Scottish vinyl, new releases and used records
Love Music is an independent record shop at 34 Dundas Street in Glasgow, just beside Queen Street Station. It buys and sells CDs and vinyl LPs seven days a week, stocking new releases alongside secondhand stock, with a particular strength in rock music and a stated bias toward Scottish acts. Sections cover metal, punk, reissues, Americana and country rock, soul, hip hop, reggae, jazz, blues, electronica and dance, soundtracks, world music, audiobooks and comedy.
City Centre
Independent secondhand record shop at 51 Oswald Street, Glasgow, established 1984. Sells used vinyl, CDs and DVDs organized alphabetically by genre, plus mail-order sales online.
Best for Secondhand vinyl across genres
Missing Records has operated in Glasgow since 1984, currently trading from 51 Oswald Street in the city centre. It is an independent secondhand shop dealing in used vinyl, CDs and DVDs across genres, with stock organized alphabetically to aid browsing, including limited-edition box sets and collectible pressings. According to long-time customers, the business has gone through several changes in scale over the decades, at one point operating as many as four or five outlets, before consolidating back down to its current single Glasgow shop.
West End
Mixed Up Records is an independent record shop in Glasgow's West End, buying and selling new and secondhand vinyl since 1997. The Otago Lane shop also stocks CDs and DVDs across genres from jazz to punk.
Best for New and secondhand vinyl, CDs and DVDs across every genre
Tucked into Otago Lane in Glasgow's West End, Mixed Up Records has been buying and selling vinyl since 1997, making it one of the city's longer-running independent record shops. The stock runs wide rather than narrow: new pressings and reissues sit alongside secondhand crates spanning blues and jazz through punk, electronic, hip hop, reggae, soul and world music, plus a rotating stack of CDs and DVDs. The shop also buys collections outright, a service it promotes directly to customers looking to sell or downsize, with staff on hand to talk through what's being offered. Seasonal sales - a summer clearance, a dedicated CD sale, a running "back in stock" shelf - keep the browsing changing without turning the shop into a pure bargain bin, and pre-order and new-release sections track current titles from major and independent labels alike. The physical store at 16-22 Otago Lane keeps regular hours, Monday to Saturday, and ships UK orders with free delivery over £75. For a shop operating in a city with no shortage of record stores, the mix of depth (new releases, pre-orders, reissues) and turnover (secondhand stock bought weekly from local sellers) is what keeps regulars coming back rather than just passing through once.
Southside
A record shop and cafe on Glasgow's Southside stocking new and used vinyl across a broad range of genres. Coffee and cake share the space, and the shop hosts in-store sessions and signings.
Best for Coffee and cake share the space
Some Great Reward opened in March 2018, founded by Olly MacFadden, who grew up in the area and still lives locally. The shop grew out of his own rekindled interest in buying vinyl, turning a personal record-collecting habit into a business combining a record store and cafe on Glasgow's Southside. It takes its name from Depeche Mode's 1984 album 'Some Great Reward,' giving the shop a specific musical reference point rather than a generic name. Originally located on Pollokshaws Road, the shop moved in September 2022 to a new space nearby at The Cooperage, Unit 2, 674 Pollokshaws Road, still in the Southside. The record side stocks new and used vinyl across a broad range of genres, described by the shop's own materials as sourcing 'some of the very best new and rare music around,' while the cafe side serves coffee and cake for customers browsing or settling in. The shop hosts in-store sessions and signings, functioning as a small community music venue as well as a retailer. It has been covered by Glasgow culture press including The Skinny, Skiddle and What's On Glasgow, consistent with its standing as an established, still-operating Southside fixture rather than a recent or transient opening.
East End
Glasgow’s historic weekend market of independent vintage, antiques, records, food and specialist traders.Established 1921.
Best for Vintage, antiques, records, and food from independent traders since 1921
Partick, Glasgow
A shop selling mid-century furniture, lighting, ceramics, fabrics, clothing, records, and locally poured candles. Jill Rodger runs the shop.
Best for Mid-century furniture, lighting, ceramics, records
London / Charing Cross Road
Foyles occupies the former Central Saint Martins building on Charing Cross Road, where the flagship relocated in 2014. Specialist departments cover general reading and language study, while Ray's Jazz adds records to the bookshop. A café and an auditorium occupy upper levels, with the latter hosting the shop's programme of events.
Best for Books, language-learning material and recorded music
Foyles moved its Charing Cross Road flagship into the former Central Saint Martins building in 2014. The new premises gave the bookshop a central atrium and a series of connected mezzanine levels. Three lifts provide an alternative to the staircases linking those levels through the building.
The departments give several reasons to visit beyond looking for a general reading recommendation. Fiction and children's books sit within a much wider range that includes specialist educational material. Ray's Jazz sells recordings on the second level, alongside classical music and sheet music departments. The language section incorporates Grant & Cutler, providing learning material and literature from publishers in many countries.
This is a bookshop where the department matters when planning what to look for. A visitor seeking language study material has a different destination from someone browsing music recordings or a new novel. The upper levels also contain a café and an auditorium used for literary events and other programmes. Those spaces extend a visit beyond the shelves without changing the store's primary role as a bookseller.
Shoreditch (15 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR) / Online
Independent London retailer curating fashion, footwear, homeware, books, records and lifestyle goods, alongside in-house Goodhood collections.
Best for Tight edit of fashion, lifestyle and homeware from Ganni, Carne Bollente, Ari
London / Knightsbridge
Pavilion Road is a Knightsbridge street of independent food shops, boutiques and services, not one merchant. Its official destination page is useful for identifying the individual doors that require separate records.
Best for Artisan food, independent boutiques, hidden mews.
London / Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane
Rough Trade East opened on 20 July 2007 in a former loading bay of the Old Truman Brewery, just off Brick Lane. It is the company's flagship UK store. David Adjaye designed the 5,000 square foot room with a coffee bar, a snug and record crates that wheel away for performances. Vinyl fills the greater part of the floor beside books and merchandise, and the stage hosts live events seven days a week.
Best for New vinyl and in-store gigs
Rough Trade opened its first shop in Notting Hill in 1976 and became a place to find new wave records and fanzines. The label of the same name split from the shops in 1982, and the two have run separately since. Rough Trade East was the company's answer to a bad decade for music retail. It opened on Friday 20 July 2007 in the former loading bay of the Old Truman Brewery on Dray Walk, off Brick Lane. Its 5,000 square feet made it the country's biggest music-only specialist store at the time. It replaced the cramped basement shop in Covent Garden, whose staff transferred east. The architect David Adjaye was a customer who had offered his services a decade earlier. He designed the room with old gin palaces in mind. A coffee bar greets the entrance and a cushioned bench runs along one wall under spoked fluorescent lights. Listening posts stand throughout. A snug with tables and sofas serves quizzes and workshops, and record crates on wheels roll aside for in-store performances. Director Stephen Godfroy argued at the opening that the high street had commoditised music. A side-street shop offering knowledgeable recommendation would find its audience, he said. The store remains the flagship of the UK chain. Vinyl takes the greater part of the floor. Books and merchandise fill the rest, and there is a bar and a photobooth. The stage hosts live events seven days a week and has held Sampha, Little Simz and The Hives.
London / Notting Hill
Talbot Road's independent record shop — vinyl, in-store gigs, and the ground zero of British indie music since 1976.
Best for Vinyl records, in-store gigs, indie music institution.
Manchester / United Kingdom
A Northern Quarter record shop on Paton Street stocking new and used vinyl, CDs and DVDs across rock, punk, soul, funk and jazz. Rarities and out-of-print titles sell through its MusicStack and eBay stores, and the shop buys collections for cash on the spot.
Best for Record shop, vinyl, CDs, punk, soul, funk, jazz
Manchester / United Kingdom
Trading on Oldham Street since 1988, Vinyl Exchange is the north-west's largest buyer and seller of rare and second-hand records, CDs and DVDs. Its direct online storefront runs deep with graded stock across everything from krautrock and Detroit techno to reggae 45s and promo-only pressings.
Best for Record-shop, vinyl, second-hand-records, CDs, rare-records
The Headrow, city centre
Trading on The Headrow since 1985, Crash Records has outlasted several waves of high-street record-shop closures by staying close to Leeds' live-music scene. It stocks vinyl across genres and has drawn artist-curated recommendation lists from musicians including Elton John.
Best for Independent vinyl and new releases
Moreton In Marsh / United Kingdom
Established in 1979 on Moreton-in-Marsh High Street, this Cotswold antiques centre gathers around twenty dealers across a warren of furnished units and display cabinets. Shoppers browse everything from Georgian oak and militaria to vinyl records, weighing scales and costume jewellery under one roof.
Best for Antiques, collectables, vintage, furniture
The Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool
Founded in 1971 and long a proving ground for Liverpool's post-punk and indie scenes, Probe Records now trades from a unit inside the Bluecoat arts centre in the city centre. It stocks new and secondhand vinyl across genres and remains a fixture of the city's music heritage, having outlasted several changes of address over five decades.
Best for Vinyl records and Liverpool music heritage
Morgan Arcade, Cardiff
Trading since 1894, Spillers stocks vinyl and CDs across independent genres alongside gig tickets and label merchandise. Staff are known for tracking down obscure releases and championing Welsh and underground artists.
Best for Vinyl and independent music
United Kingdom / Online
Official online store of Trojan Records, the British ska/rocksteady/reggae label founded in 1968 by Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell; sells label vinyl and CD reissues plus Trojan-branded clothing and merchandise.
Best for Reggae and ska clothing, records and official label merchandise
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968 by Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell, built initially on licensing recordings from Jamaican producers before establishing itself as the UK's leading outlet for ska and, later, reggae. It signed and released artists including John Holt, Jimmy Cliff, Bob and Marcia, The Pioneers and Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and scored regular UK chart hits between 1968 and 1972. The label went into serious debt and collapsed commercially by 1975, when it was bought by Marcel Rodd, owner of the budget label Saga Records; ownership has since passed through Sanctuary and Universal and currently sits with BMG. Trojanrecords.com operates as the label's official online store, selling new vinyl and CD reissues from the catalogue, pre-orders of upcoming releases, and Trojan-branded clothing built around 1960s British youth-culture styling and the label's 'helmet' logo, alongside general merchandise.
Curated ORBIS register · official links shown where recorded
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Open city/visitor reference ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit Instagram ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗