Since I was about 7, my immediate thought upon waking up on a Saturday, or arriving in any new town or city is to go and find the nearest Record Shop. One of the nice side effects of the “Vinyl Revival” is that more Record Shops seem to be opening again, and generally speaking the ones that survived have had a bit of a new lease of life and feel a lot less dusty and desperate than they did 10 years ago. I’ve visited loads of fantastic shops recently and we’re spoilt for choice in the North West – but I’ve also visited some really bizarre and frustrating ones further afield which make me understand why people would rather shop online if that’s all they get to experience. I don’t wanna harm anyone’s business – and I know some people prefer the really grim and grotty side of crate digging, so I won’t name names (apart from Sister Ray) but you might recognise some of these.

1. The shop which is absolutely rammed with stock, so much so that some of it is piled vertically, preventing access to other stuff behind on shelves so it’s impossible to look » Continue Reading.