Soul Brother Records
1 Keswick Road Putney London SW15 2HL www.SoulBrother.com	This is one of the best black music shops in the country with a wealth of rare vinyl. You may have to pay through the nose for some of the harder to find tracks, but lack of bargains is offset by the sheer quality on offer. The staff are friendly and the shop is very well lit. Lots of imports from the states. Highly, highly recommended.	.
	Rating: You would sell your mother, you really would.

	Reckless Records
30 Berwick Street Soho London www.reckless.co.uk	Reckless Records have around 4 shops all within walking distance of each other. Categories are... These guys have a good overall selection although the order of the records is somewhat random and you may have to do some serious digging to find the record you're after. Staff are fairly nonchalant, the boss knows what they've got but the rest of the staff take so long searching on the database that you will go off and search yourself. Good for those of us with time on our hands.	.
	Rating: How much time do you have?

	Select-a-disc
34 Berwick Street Soho London	Mainly an indie haven, this shop has a reasonable selection of jazz, funk and soul reissues (If that's your bag) Best place to buy Sun Ra in central London, funnily enough. Loads of breakbeat compilations. There's plenty of other muso related trinkets behind the counter, which makes this a place to visit if you're in Soho.	.
	Rating: Rating: Q Magazine. Clean crisp, efficient, and soulless.

	Dub Vendor
150 Ladbroke Grove W10 5NE Tel: 020 8969 3375 & 274 Lavender Hill Clapham London SW1 Tel: 020 7223 3757 https://secure.dubvendor.co.uk	The name says it all. This has been a landmark of the Notting Hill Carnival for many a year and has clearly benefited from the exposure. Vinyl is not obviously on display but if you know what you want, ask and they should have a white label of it somewhere in the vaults. I doubt you'll find a better source for reggae, soca, ska, etc . There's so much that's good to say about this shop that I'll stop now. You'll get some strange looks if you go in here dressed in a suit, trust me!	.
	Rating: "It is what it says it is. Jah."

	Grouchos
132 Nethergate Dundee Scotland DD1 4ED Tel: 020 7223 3757 www.grouchos.co.uk	Grouchos sells rare and collectors vinyl singles and albums online from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Clash and The Beatles. All records are lovingly restored, sensibly priced and stock is changed regularly. Grouchos is based in Dundee, Scotland and also sells concert tickets as well as CDs and records from their Nethergate premises.	.
	Chris Shennan

	King Bee
519 Wilbraham Rd Chorlton Manchester Tel: 0161-860-4762	Bargain, upon bargain, upon bargain. The cockney pound goes a long way in Manchester it would seem. This is the only way to explain the invisible exchange rate that accounts for the ridiculous prices for top vinyl in this shop. You end up spending far more than you can afford but come out with an admirable self-contained record collection. Going in with friends can lead to physical violence as you fight over that Marlena Shaw album.	.
	Rating: Bee as in Bargain.

	Rock On
166a, London Rd Bognor Regis West Sussex PO21 1BD Tel: (01243) 820443	This place is run by a cool Irish guy who will go out of his way to help you. No haggling necessary, if you buy more than 5 LPs he will knock a generous amount off the total price. Those scared of cobwebs and spiders should stay well clear. It's hard to browse in this shop purely because there are so many records stuffed into each compartment. Loads of everything pre 1990s with hundreds of cheap gems if you get down on your hands and knees. Don't be put off by the suspect tunes coming out of the shop this is a top place.	.
	Rating: Bognor Regis, who'd have thought it.

	Beatin' Rhythm Records
42 Tib St Northern Quarter Manchester M4 1LA Tel:(0161)834 7783	This shop claims (and probably has) the largest collection of soul 7"s in the country. As well as a fairly unrivalled selection of Northern Soul compilations, they have a class range of doo wop, country and blues. They also sell Motown and Stax t-shirts, Wigan Casino posters, and loads of other stuff for soul geeks. Go with a loaded wallet.	.
	(Thanks Ben)

	Cafe Pop
34-36 Oldham St Manchester Lancashire M1 1JN Tel: (0161) 237 9688	A fairly recent addition to the Northern Quarter's square mile of record shops; this is mainly dusty, second hand vinyl. Its range is slightly more high quality than the average car boot fair, but you still have to wade through a fair bit of shite to find what you want. The owner, however, apparently has a refreshing attitude towards his selling of 'rare' vinyl, and puts almost everything in the cheap racks for a couple of weeks, before eventually pricing them up according to their 'true' market value. The nimble fingered disc ferret can often bag a gem for a mere couple of quid	.
	(Thanks Ben)

	Rounder Records
19 Brighton Square Tel: (01273) 325440	Cracking little shop tucked away in the centre of Brighton. All are catered for; dance flavours, indie, nu jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, and the rest. All the new releases and alright staff.	.

	bangbang
78 Colston street Bristol BS1 5BB Tel: (0117) 922 7377 www.bangbangrecords.com	Bristol based premier house music vinyl specialist stocking promos/white lablels/US/UK/Euro/Mash Ups: soulful,funky,disco,tribal,tech,progressive,breaks,hard house,trance & classic funk/soul/disco plus pro DJ Accesories. Website with daily updates,Audio Clips and label/sleeve images. Fast, Efficient, Friendly Worlwide Mailorder.	.
	Rachel Bryant

Europe & The Rest Of The World

For those globetrotters amongst you, worth a quick mention are..

New York
Generation Records
210 Thompson Street
Greenwich Village
This place has 2 possibly 3 levels. The staff are all goths/rockers but don't be alarmed they couldn't give tuppence for your choice in music,(well mine anyway) and they will eventually turn up to help when you thrust a fistful off dollars their way. The basement deals with soul, jazz and blues on one side, and runs from classic rock'n'roll, through indie, and metal, finally deteriorating into death metal at the most extreme end. The selection of both original vinyl and reissues at ludicrously cheap prices will keep you more than happy. Everything is meticulously labelled so you can dive in straight where you want to be. The ground floor has psychedelic rock and a large selection of gothic fare on both CD and vinyl. I think that they may have an upstairs but once you've covered the first two floors, anything else would be a vulgar superfluity.
An added bonus for the insomniac vinyl monkey is that it is open until 10pm,(at least)

Barcelona
Basically Tallers Street! Click here for more Barcelona record shops
I spent nearly 3 weeks in Barca without discovering Spain's answer to Carnaby Street. Up until that point I had been deeply disappointed in the lack of non-Mall based vinyl emporiums.
Tucked away off the ubiquitous Ramblas this little haven of cool, is the last bastion in the fight against Europop. Every other shop is music related, and every form of music and budget is catered for. There's also a couple of seriously good memorabilia shops with a mountain of tack from the last 50 years.
Bring on the Catalonian Mods!

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