S: Toronto Record Stores

there were a couple of Brotzmann and a decent jazz selection.

HMV in yonge street. its on the upper floor. saw several bailey's but its a bit pricey.

but also there's a really good one (can't rememeber the street now but sean will tell ya, its among a load of restaurants) but there's loads of nice vinyl. if you want to get some Sun ra and BYG reissues its grand. or flamenco.

But compared to London, Toronto has nothing much in terms of ''new experimental music''. so its the interweb or Journey records, which is fine.

and that's very pricey actually (i had a nice exchange rate so that's why i said 'a bit').

julio's right about Around Again on Baldwin, it is really great for used stuff & they stock well chosen reissues - saw some really cool looking Sun Ra stuff last time I was there. very nice folks who run it too. And get a greasy vegetarian spring roll from the little Chinese bakery just down the street.

also try Kop's on Queen W just east of university. May have some good left-field jazz stuff from time to time, also really great hiphop, reggae and afrobeat stuff.

and Discovery's on Queen E is sometimes good too, but all used. Probably wouldn't have much in the way of new experimantal stuff.

Backbeat on Yonge between Davisville and Yonge has some neat stuff too, and you could try Vortex north of Eglinton while you're in that neighbourhood.

Cosmos on Queen W, just east of Bathurst has Tokyo prices (lots of vinyl going for $200 and up!), but has some pretty amazing stuff - their Brazilian & Latin Jazz section is mindblowing, but so expensive it's more like going to a museum than shopping for me. He does have a decent Boxing Day sale though.

No at all what you're after but the most unique record store experience in Toronto has got to be Play De Record, a little hole in the wall on Yonge Street specializing in hiphop, reggae, house...It is the DJ shop in toronto. You have to walk through a bizarre little convenience store specializing in knives and porn videos, and then it's mayhem in the back - especially fun on Thursday afternoon when they rack the week's shipment of new 12 inches.

Fritz- if you want some Bossa nova why don't you try some Brazilian websites. I met a guy from toronto through another music list. he's been buying loads of bossa nova on the cheap since brazil's economy isn't doing well. he gave me a couple of sites and I'll try them out since I want to start a bossa nova collection myself.

HMV is expensive, but at least it doesn't scare me off.

''There are a few stores I use. The best selection and prices are most often at FNAC Brasil [http://www.fnac.com.br - I've used FNAC France(the original) and FNAC España too], but their shipping can be harsh.''

''The one
I use most often now is Som Livre ( http://www.somlivre.com ). Fairly
decent selection, OK prices, great low-cost, same-day shipping (if items
are in), and delivery up here (Canada/USA) via FedEx usually in 5 days.
If you specifically want to see the box I ordered, search for Nara
Leão, and if it's in, it _should_ be the first item that comes up.''

just checked that site and it seems to be in portuguese. I don't like ordering through the web which is why i haven't done anything (besides i've bought a pile of stuff since I've come back) but I'll probably have a go in the future.

Kim - no problem & have no fear! Nice folks at both those places too.

We should all probably do an ILM record meet or something...a tour of the coolest places downtown followed by a celebration beer, if we still have money left.

A record shop/pub crawl sounds like the most dangerous idea in the world, therefore I love it.

my wife and i are going to be in toronto thurs through sunday morning. any updates to this thread would be much appreciated.

also, anything worth seeing whilst we're there? i already saw ellen allien will be there...

Given that this million year old thread is probably outdated by now, I shall ask: what are some of the better record stores in the city (preferably, but not necessarily limited to, the downtown area)? I'm particularly looking for (used or new) vinyl.

Will be in town a week from now with a few hours dedicated to shopping and dining and whatnot, so looking to make the most of that time.

Here's my comprehensive run down

It's probably worth going to any of the following:

Rotate This: New and used, general selection.
Sonic Boom (half NEW!): New and used (it'll vary depending on whether you go to their all vinyl store in Kensington Market, or the original big store in Honest Ed's), general selection.
Play De Record: Mostly new, best for electronic and hip hop, etc.
Dragonfly Records (NEW!): Mostly used, general selection (better for hip hop, soul, etc)
Soundscapes: Only new. While certainly the best store for CDs, its relatively newly introduced vinyl selection is still fledgling a bit. General seleciton.
Vortex Records: 99% Used. Not too sure about their vinyl, but they're famous for their CDs. Mostly Rock/pop/etc. with a little soul/rnb. Not downtown.
Cosmos Records: Only Used. General selection (this also varies depending on what of the two locations you visit). Best for hip hop, soul, rnb, jazz, disco, etc. Overpriced!!
June Records (NEW!). New and used (I think, mostly new, though?). For whatever reason, this place really rubs me the wrong way, but that's probably just me. General selection.
Kops Records: New and used, general selection.

And these are used bookstore that also sell records.
Circus: Only used, generalish selection. Kind of out of the way.
She Said Boom: Only Used. OKish General Selction. Two locations.
Pandemonium: Only Used. Decent general selection. Overpriced (sometimes stupidly so). Not downtown.

Wow...thanks for this! Sonic Boom I know but haven't visited in a few years, and never knew about the all vinyl store in Kensington. Will have to seek that out.

There is also Grasshopper Records which has weird, good used stock, run by a collector, not a place for a bargain but lots of interesting stuff

I was in Sonic Boom today (main store), and I find their vinyl typically overpriced--which I guess means it isn't overpriced, just typical. But I won't spend $15-25 for a record: no way, no how. But I did miraculously come away with something cheap and in perfect shape: a DeKroo Brothers compilation, some Australian version of the Everly Brothers circa 1961 I'd never heard of.

$15-25 is a lot for a (new) record, but I suppose vinyl is still currently languishing in the "specialty item" classification. If I don't get that indignant about it, I suppose it is because I mostly missed the era where a new record could routinely be purchased for much, much cheaper.

xxpost: Whoops! Grasshopper is what I mean by Dragonfly.

I thought you might've! They guy who runs it is a sweetheart too

They're site was quite endearing, with Whitney Houston days (on the anniversary of her death) and things like that advertised. I'll definitely check that one out if its convenient. Thanks!

One thing ed.b missed is the one that's been around the longest: Around Again on Baldwin St. I wrote a bit about it on another thread. Same location and same owner since the mid-'70s.

co-sign on Around Again, lovely people run it and people forget about it, so you can find some gems. You could make a nice afternoon with an AGO visit, then walk up to Baldwin and check out Around Again, grab a ramen lunch at Kinton or walk over to Kensington Market for a taco... while in Kensington, go to Sonic Boom's huge vinyl-only annex (maybe after a nice pint at Thirsty and Miserable? why not?) and then it's easy walk from there up to College street for Soundscapes and June, or down to Queen for Cosmos and Rotate This, etc.

Time was tight, so all I did was wind up at the original Sonic Boom location again. A worthwhile trip, though--snagged a new copy of Big Star's Third plus used copies of U2's Boy and The Kings' The Kings Are Here (how appropriate!). Had my eye on lots more, of course, but I still have half a month to go with no paycheque, alas.

At any rate, I'm thinking I'm gonna make a point of visiting a different one of each of the stores listed in this thread per Toronto visit.

Hey whenever you go to Kops records make sure you go upstairs, they have a huge selection of 7" singles!

Vortex is closing at the end of the year, due to the owner's retirement (at least it's not bankruptcy or because whatever gross condo development will inevitably take over that block). It was the first real record store I ever frequented (not including mall hmv/music worlds), and is somewhere I've consistently shopped for the last thirteen years. It was bound to happen, as the owner must be in his seventies (actually, last monday I went there and thought: "will vortex be around for another 5 years? Or another year?) but kind of figured someone would buy the business? Anyways, sad news.

Very sad, though the last time I went (earlier this year), it felt like I was doing them a favour. And I still couldn't bring myself to buy something — I bought a book of poetry at BMV next door instead.

Whenever I've gone in the last while it has usually been at least somewhat busy, with a relatively healthy turnover of stock. In any case, I've probably bought a good 15-20 or so things from them this year (granted, they also have had lots of sales to clear stuff - including clearance sales for the rest of this month).