Fun fact! I’ve only lived on the Lower Mainland for about 9 months. I moved to Burnaby from the Sunshine Coast to start my education here in BCIT’s Radio Arts program. While I miss my home on the Coast dearly, there are definitely some perks to living in the city. One of my favourite parts is just how many amazing record stores we have!
I’ve been collecting vinyl records, CDs, and basically any other physical media for over 6 years now, and it’s been a total game changer to be able to just hop on a bus and go browse these giant stores filled with the newest releases whenever I want. Before I moved, I had to rely on the sole record store on the Coast. Don’t get me wrong, I love that shop to death, but their stock was fairly limited, and I had to commute over an hour just to check if they had the album I wanted.
Here’s a list of just some of the awesome record shops I’ve visited since moving to the city!
Since the mid 90’s, this independent shop has sold not only records, but cds, cassettes, collectables of all kinds, and even art supplies for graffiti! They’ve moved locations 4 different times, but have sat at 439 West Hastings for over 20 years.
You may even recognize this shop as one of Nardwaur’s regular haunts. He’s hosted some iconic interviews with different celebrities, including Ed Sheeran and Tyler the Creator, at Beat Street!
Red Cat may be my favourite shop on this list. This bright red building is nestled between a consignment shop and a psychic medium at 4386 Main Street. To me, they offer the perfect amount of records. Just enough that I can comfortably browse through them all without getting overwhelmed by mountains of music to sift through.
Red Cat Records – Via their website
The shop was named after Buddy the cat, who “ruled the store” until 2006.
Walk about 10 minutes down the street from Red Cat, and you’ll find yourself at Neptoon Records, Vancouver’s oldest independent record shop. Since opening in 1981, it’s been a local favourite. Along with their huge catalogue of music, Neptoon also sells posters, accessories, and all sorts of other fun things! They’ve hosted events like album listening parties, fundraisers, and even full concerts in the shop.
If the name sounds familiar to you, that’s no surprise. Like Beat Street, Neptoon has been the location of many a Nardwuar interview over the years. Most are held in the store’s basement, so who knows? Next time you’re buying your favourite artists’ new record, they might be right underneath your feet being interviewed by the Human Serviette himself!
Reasons to Live (honourable mention)
I know this is a list of Vancouver-based record stores, but I just couldn’t leave RTL out. Reasons to Live Books & Records lives tucked away just behind the iconic Molly’s Reach in Gibsons, BC. For the first 5 years of my record collecting, I would spend each day crafting elaborate plots to convince my mom to drive me out to Gibsons just so I could flip through their entire collection, just in case I found something I couldn’t live without (no pun intended.)
(@reasonstolivebooks / Instagram)
Even if records aren’t your thing (if so, why are you even reading this article?) they have a huge collection of new and used books, t-shirts, stationery, and even quite a few bumper stickers. The staff are all so sweet, and it’s just such a vibrant slice of community for ‘Coasters and tourists alike.
With online conglomerates like Amazon taking up so much of the physical music industry, it’s more important than ever to show independent record stores some love! Even if you aren’t a local, many of these shops have online stores where you can order directly from them. Check out their websites to learn more!