Music shopping in Europe
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12 Tónar
A very cool place to hang out is 12 Tónar, responsible for launching some of Iceland’s favourite new bands. In the three-floor shop you can listen to CDs, drink coffee and maybe catch a live performance on Friday afternoons.
reviewed
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Dr Vinyl
Not just a music shop, you can also check out what's happening in the nightclub scene at Dr Vinyl.
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Pushkinskaya 10
This legendary locale is a required stop for anyone who is interested in the contemporary art and music scene in St Petersburg. The former apartment block – affectionately called by its former street address – contains studio and gallery space, as well as the cool music clubs Fish Fabrique and Experimental Sound Gallery (GEZ-21) and an assortment of other shops. It offers a unique opportunity to hang out with local musicians and artists, who are always eager to talk about their work. The story of Pushkinskaya 10 goes back to 1988, when a group of artists/squatters took over the condemned apartment block. The decrepit building became ‘underground central’, as artists a…
reviewed
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Rihardos
Who knew there were so many different kinds of bouzouki? Rihardos, one of Greece's biggest purveyors of traditional instruments, has a huge array of Greek instruments, as well as Western brand-name guitars and Chinese knock-offs that sound just as sweet for half the price. The friendly old owner, Rihardos, and his English-speaking son, Joseph, explain everything about the hundreds of unusual instruments. To get there, take Bus 31 from Egnatia east to the Faliro stop (five to 10 minutes).
Continue across the intersection with Paraskeopoulos, turn left and Rihardos is facing you.
reviewed
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Vopo Records
Punk, metal and hardcore fans could spend hours rifling through the selection of CDs and vinyl here, although if you’re into electronica, German hip-hop or plain old rock and roll, you also stand a good chance of digging up some choice finds. Prices are moderate and the try-before-you-buy policy is a welcome asset. It also sells the ubiquitous black T-shirts of many bands, and concert tickets.
reviewed
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Teuchtler
This is where you might just find that LP you’ve been searching the world for. Founded in 1948 and now run by the third generation of the family, this truly amazing record shop is a Vienna institution. The walls are lined with shelves of tightly packed vinyl – around 500,000 according to the owners’ best guess. They buy and exchange records and CDs, including rare and deleted titles.
reviewed
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Spillers Records
The world's oldest record shop, founded in 1894 (when it sold wax phonograph cylinders), Spillers stocks a large range of CDs and vinyl, prides itself on catering to the nonmainstream end of the market (it's especially good on punk), and promotes local talent through in-store gigs.
reviewed
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Capriccio
Pick up the score for Mozart’s Don Giovanni or Dvořák’s New World Symphony at this eclectic sheet-music shop, and hum away to yourself at the in-store café (or try it out on the in-store piano). Or you might enjoy some country music favourites – how about learning ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ in Czech?
reviewed
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Casa Beethoven
This isn’t any old sheet-music shop. In business since 1880 and with an air more of a museum than of a store, Casa Beethoven’s customers have included Montserrat Caballé, Josep Carreras and Plácido Domingo. It keeps up with the times, however, and you’re as likely to find music by Metallica as by Mozart. On Saturdays small concerts are sometimes held.
reviewed
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Bazar
There’s a vast selection of second-hand CDs, LPs and videos to browse through here at Bazar, representing a wide range of genres. Czech and Western pop jostle with jazz, blues, heavy metal, country and world music, though with most CDs costing around 300Kč to 400Kč this place is not exactly what you’d call a bargain basement.
reviewed
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Kailas
Principally a music shop, Kailas has an impressive selection of contemporary and classical music from around the world, which covers all genres; the specialities seem to be classical, jazz, indie-Russian and ‘ethnic’ music. Oddly enough, the store also has an ‘Eastern department’, which sells incense, jewellery and clothing from the exotic East.
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Pet Sounds Records
No cute puppies here, just kick-ass music. Please your ears with everything from indie and alt-rock to pop, techno, rock and kitsch Latin pop. Pick up cult art books, concert tickets and flyers, or simply pick the staff’s brains over espresso at the tiny in-house bar. For late-night tunes, hit sister venue Pet Sounds Bar across the street.
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Walton’s
These traditional music specialists sell CDs, instruments, sheet music for Irish harp, flute and fiddle, and song books featuring tunes by Irish music greats, including the Wolfe Tones, the Fureys and the Dubliners. You can also take two-hour crash courses in the bodhrán (Irish drums) or tin whistle at its music school. God bless the staff.
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Buscemi Dischi
We all go to Milan in search of a Jazzie B presents School Days CD, don’t we? This is probably the only place in Milan to find it. Or get the classical desk’s witheringly spot-on appraisal of the el-cheapo recording of Arvo Pärt you thought might make diverting hotel listening. It’s been here since 1965, and downloads or no, it’s here to stay.
reviewed
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Radio City Discos
In these days of music megastores and internet downloads, it’s nice to find small, specialist music shops still going strong. True to Malasaña’s roots, Radio City’s small collection of CDs and vinyl spans the 1970s, roots, funk, rock and occasional pop, with a small section devoted to Brazil’s Tropicalismo.
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Mr Dead & Mrs Free
With a pedigree going back to 1983, this little place is a veritable institution on Berlin’s music scene. Techno types should look elsewhere, though, for here the focus is clearly on rock, pop, country, indie, alternative, even jazz, soul and blues – much of it on import from the UK and US. Both vinyl and CDs are available.
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Affleck's Palace
Rag-trade wholesalers have given way to independent retailers stocking all manner of hip urban wear, retro fashions and other left-of-centre threads. At the heart of it all is Affleck's Palace, a four-storey warehouse full of outlets that Manchester's teenage Goths and the rest of the gloomerati have turned into a social day out.
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Titanik
The chain store Titanik has a great selection of CDs and DVDs – the only drawback is that they are all behind glass and if your Russian isn’t good it’s very hard to tell what things are just by reading the spines. There are outlets all over the city, including this one on the Petrograd Side.
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Titanik
The chain store Titanik has a great selection of CDs and DVDs – the only drawback is that they are all behind glass and if your Russian isn’t good it’s very hard to tell what things are just by reading the spines. There are outlets all over the city, including one on the Petrograd Side.
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Vivaldi Store
Can't get the sounds of Vivaldi out of your mind? If you need a CD of music related to Venice, pop by here. Cristiano Nalesso specialises in all things Venetian, ranging from the Renaissance through to baroque and including recordings by some of the better baroque groups that perform in Venice, notably Rondó Veneziano.
reviewed
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Record Hunter
It’s places like this that make St Eriksgatan one of Stockholm’s best streets for…well, record hunting. It has a heaving sale rack in the basement, a decent selection of dirt-cheap retro vinyl, secondhand DVDs and a kids’ music section. Best of all, you can pick up tickets to major music gigs.
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Bontonland
Supposedly the biggest music megastore in the Czech Republic, with pretty much everything including Western chart music, classical, jazz, dance and heavy metal, as well as an extensive collection of Czech pop. It also sells videos and DVDs, iPods and accessories, and has a large PlayStation arena and internet café.
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Scratch Records
A small but choice selection of soul, funk, electro, R&B, jazz and soundtracks on vinyl and CD – much of it hard-to-find imports and re-issues – forms the core of Scratch Records. The in-the-know staff will be only too happy to help you source a new favourite. Even the discount bin holds the occasional treasure.
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Underground Solush’n
A paradise for searchers of new and secondhand vinyl, this place has thousands of records – techno, house, jungle, hip-hop, R&B, funk, soul and 45s – plus a (smaller) selection of CDs, T-shirts, videos, books and merchandise. It’s also a good place to find out what’s happening on the local music/clubbing scene.
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Discostars
Both the disco generation and the ‘disco sucks’ generation will enjoy this repository of the music of yesteryear. If the names Olivia Newton-John, Engelbert Humperdinck, Paul Young, Celia Cruz, Candy Dulfer, Buddy Holly, Yves Montand, Doris Day or Roy Rogers mean anything to you, you’ll find lots more to like.
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