When it comes to record shops, London has a mix where you can buy and enjoy vinyl, and it has a booming listening bar scene. Whether you are a seasoned crate-digger hunting for a rare 1960s pressing in Soho or a newcomer looking for the latest indie release in Hackney, this city remains the undisputed global capital for vinyl culture.
From the legendary stalls of Berwick Street, the iconic backdrop of Oasis’s What’s the Story (Morning Glory)?, to the sprawling industrial bins of Rough Trade East in Brick Lane, London’s independent shops are where it's at to find brilliant music, new and old. Discover where to find your next album to take home and spin with our guide to the best vinyl record shops London has to offer, including those you can pause with a glass of wine in.
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The Best Record Shops In London For Drinking And Eating
1. One Eighty One
- Location: 181 Holloway Road, Islington, N7 8LX
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: I love this bar as it has a real neighbourhood gem sort of feel to it. If you're a fan of the classics, you can swing by on Wednesdays for its playback sessions, where beloved albums get played in full. The drinks are affordable, and if you're hungry, they've got some great nibbles like crisp plates that work as a natural accompaniment to a pale ale
It's a two-in-one kind of deal over at One Eighty One in Islington. This neighbourhood bar and record shop on Holloway Road is a record shop and cafe by day, and a listening bar and bottle shop by night. It opened at the end of 2025 with an Islington DJ, Rod ‘Spin Doctor’ Gilmore, at the helm.
He's had over 30 years of experience working in the music industry, putting on parties and club nights with some big names in hip-hop, disco, house, and more. The venue has a serene atmosphere to it, with wooden panelling and archival, framed music prints on the wall. It's a very cool place to enjoy a cocktail accompanied by vintage quadraphonic sound.
One Eighty One is where vinyl and cafe culture come together in Islington.
2. Next Door Records
- Location: 304 Uxbridge Road, W12 7LJ and 182 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7UY
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: I find that Next Door Records reflects the eclectic tastes of its founders. You can flip from a rare Broken Beat 12" to a Contemporary Jazz LP, then stumble into Dub, Reggae, Garage, or Techno. It is a collection designed for both the living room listener and the club DJ
In the heart of West London’s Uxbridge Road and the leafy streets of N16, Next Door Records has shown what a local record store can be. Born out of the 2020 lockdown by three childhood friends (Thom, Louis, and Alfie), it leans into modern third-space culture. It’s a hybrid of a high-end vinyl archive, a natural wine bar, and a grassroots performance space.
With their flagship in Shepherd’s Bush and their expansive second location, Next Door Records Two in Stoke Newington, the trio has built a sanctuary for the music-obsessed. By day, the shops hum with the sound of steaming milk and clicking laptop keys as they serve as neighbourhood workspaces. By night, the atmosphere shifts as the lights dim, the natural wine flows and the space transforms into an intimate venue for DJ sets, live jazz, and creative hangouts.
Next Door Records in Stoke Newington (pictured).
3. Riff Raffs
- Location: 28 George Street, Croydon, CR0 1PB
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: I love the community feel that Riff Raffs has - it's such a special place in Croydon, and it encourages those with varying music tastes to come together. You'll find chances to riff on acoustic guitars, themed quizzes, and always the opportunity to sink an ice-cold pint, should you fancy
In South London on George Street, Riff Raffs has become the definitive sanctuary for Croydon’s alternative crowd. Opened in 2022 in a converted stationery shop, it's an independent cultural hub that single-handedly fills the void left by legendary lost venues like The Black Sheep.
The magic of Riff Raffs lies in its multi-layered identity. On the ground floor, you’ll find a craft beer bar with a permanent turntable. But the real treasure for collectors is downstairs in the basement: Three Piece Sweet, a specialised vinyl and vintage clothing store. Together, they form a work-in-progress masterpiece that evolves with its community, offering everything from drum and bass nights to quizzes and vinyl-only DJ sets.
Riff Raffs is a great place for a pint.
The Best Record Shops In London For Buying Vinyl
1. Rough Trade East
- Location: Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, E1 6QL
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: every time I walk past Rough Trade East, I can't resist going in. I often find they do staple records for your collection at a reasonable price, and I love the selection of books, too. I like how sometimes you'll find handwritten staff recommendations too, which is perfect if you're looking for inspiration
One of the best record shops London has to offer is Rough Trade East, and you'll find it tucked away in the cavernous remains of the Old Truman Brewery. While its older sibling in Notting Hill (which opened in 1976) offers the intimate and charming nostalgia of a 1970s punk haunt, the East London flagship is a sprawling 5,000-square-foot temple to contemporary music culture. It’s light and industrial, featuring high ceilings and long, meticulously curated aisles that can easily swallow an entire Saturday afternoon.
Since opening its doors in 2007, it has become a community hub. Beyond the dizzying array of vinyl, spanning everything from floor-shaking techno to the latest indie darlings, the space boasts a dedicated stage that has hosted everyone from Blur to Little Simz. Thirsty? There's an in-house cafe where you can grab a cup of coffee, just after you've taken some iconic snaps in the black and white photobooth.
Rough Trade East is a Shoreditch institution.
2. Stranger Than Paradise
- Location: 117 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 4RU
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: I feel like walking out of here with a record under your arm feels like a small victory for tactile art in a digital world. Plus, its location inside the market means you can pair your crate-digging with one of the best brunches in E8, making it the ultimate destination for a slow Sunday
Perched inside the creative honeycomb of the Mare Street Market, Stranger Than Paradise takes its name and its ethos from Jim Jarmusch’s 1984 cult classic. Much like the film, the store excels at doing so much with so little. It’s a space that understands that a great record shop isn’t just a retail unit.
The curation here is surgical. You won't find aisles of filler; instead, the racks are a tightly edited selection of independent gems, high-quality reissues, and soundtracks that would make Jarmusch himself nod in approval. Amidst the industrial chic of the market, surrounded by florists, bakeries, and open-fire kitchens, Stranger Than Paradise stands out with its neon sign beckoning you in above the door.
You'll find Stranger Than Paradise in Mare Street Market.
3. Idle Moments
- Location: 86 Columbia Road, Hackney, E2 7QB
- Price: ££-£££
- Why I recommend: the connection to Brilliant Corners ensures that every piece of gear on the floor, from the turntables to the amplifiers, has been tested in a real-world audiophile environment, so you’re getting expert advice from people who actually live and breathe high-fidelity sound
Named after Grant Green’s timeless jazz masterpiece, Idle Moments is a manifesto for the slow life. Located on the iconic Columbia Road, this space is the retail distillation of the Brilliant Corners philosophy, the Dalston institution that pioneered London’s listening bar revolution. Here, the holy trinity of audiophile culture, high-end hi-fi, natural wine, and rare vinyl, comes together in a room that feels like an East London apartment.
The records are curated with a surgical focus on quality over quantity, featuring a heavy rotation of spiritual jazz, Ethiopian soul, and ambient textures. Most notably, it serves as the London home for Vinyl Delivery Service (VDS), a Tokyo-based specialist that imports pristine Japanese pressings you simply won’t find elsewhere in the UK. While you browse the racks for a rare Mulatu Astatke reissue, you can shop for a vintage Bozak mixer or pick up a bottle of Jean-Marc Dreyer skin-contact wine.
The team at Idle Moments are very good at 'vibe matching' wine with records.
4. Sister Ray
- Location: 75 Berwick Street, Soho, W1F 8TG
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: as a founding force behind Record Store Day, Sister Ray is the shop that helped save the format for the rest of us. From rare soul 7-inches to the heaviest new rock releases, its racks represent the diverse music that has defined Soho for decades
When it comes to record shops in London, Soho, there are a few that are on everybody's lips. Named after the sprawling avant-garde epic by Lou Reed and company, Sister Ray is the undisputed survivor of London’s Golden Mile of vinyl. While its neighbours have largely faded into the digital ether, this Berwick Street icon has stood its ground since 1989, evolving from a Camden market stall into a cornerstone of British music retail. It is a shop with a chequered history and an iron-clad reputation, famously flanking the right-hand side of the street on the cover of Oasis’s '(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?'.
Sister Ray is adored by vinyl collectors.
5. Third Man Records
- Location: 1 Marshall Street, Carnaby, Soho, W1F 9BA
- Price: ££-£££
- Why I recommend: while other shops focus on the archive, Third Man Records focuses on the process. Descending into The Blue Basement, the shop's intimate, subterranean venue, is like joining a secret society; the acoustics are studio-grade, and the atmosphere is electric, whether you're catching a surprise set from an acclaimed artist or a rising indie poet
Third Man Records London is an eccentric, technicoloured store and live music venue. Located on Marshall Street, this is the first international outpost of Jack White’s Nashville-born empire, and it feels like a fever dream of a mid-century inventor. Clad in the label’s signature bolt of lightning yellow and deep black, the store is a masterclass in tactile nostalgia, personally designed by White himself.
Across two levels, Third Man Records is all about high-fidelity audio. You’ll find the Literarium, a token-operated lucky dip machine for books, and a refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph recording booth where you can cut your own two-minute message or song directly to a six-inch phonograph disc. Downstairs, there's a guitar set up with heaps of pedals for you to play around with, and the sea blue space also operates as a stage for gigs.
This Soho location is its first in the UK.
6. Phonica
- Location: 51 Poland Street, Soho, W1F 7ND
- Price: ££
- Why I recommend: you might find a rare Afro-beat reissue sitting alongside a brutalist Berlin techno 12-inch or a soulful Chicago house cut. It’s a multifaceted ecosystem that includes multiple in-house labels, a legendary in-store event series, and a deep-rooted connection to the Vinyl Factory
While Berwick Street holds the history of Soho’s rock and soul, Poland Street is home to its electronic pulse. Established in 2003 by Simon Rigg, Heidi, and Tom Relleen, Phonica Records was born at a time when vinyl was supposedly dying out. Instead of playing it safe, Phonica doubled down, becoming the UK’s premier destination for house, techno, and the avant-garde.
It quickly built a reputation as the DJ’s record shop, a place where international heavyweights. from Four Tet and Floating Points to Peggy Gou, come to find the white labels and imports that define global dancefloors.
Phonica is popular with dance producers.
7. Out On The Floor Records
- Location: 10 Inverness Street, Camden, NW1 7HJ
- Price: £-££
- Why I recommend: the real reason to visit is their Vinyl Bargain section. In a city where vinyl prices are skyrocketing, Out on the Floor keeps the culture accessible. Their 'no record over £6' rule is a gift to the community, proving their mantra that music is for everyone
Out on the Floor Records is a survivor of the old Camden, and it’s a packed-to-the-rafters basement of musical history that mirrors the eclectic and elastic nature of the market outside. While the racks cover everything from the frostbitten riffs of Black Metal to the slick grooves of Rare Groove, the shop is world-renowned for one thing above all else: Reggae.
Under the stewardship of owner Jake, the shop has become a global Mecca for sound system operators. Whether it’s the weekend of the Notting Hill Carnival or a rainy Tuesday morning, you’ll find selectors from Japan to Italy digging through an unparalleled collection of Ska, Rocksteady, and Roots. The shop even runs its own heavyweight label, Tuff Scout, releasing tracks from legends like Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Big Youth.
Out On The Floor is a subterranean sanctuary.
