Unfortunately this list doesn't cover clubbing and stuff like that, but notice the link :-)

Record hunting hints for other areas include:

1. Canterbury and Environs

I'm finding that quality/existence of record shops is more of a dynamic sort of thing than other types on information that can be stored on the net. Please contact me via email if the information in this database is incorrect or incomplete.

Most of the street directions here are fairly simple, but especially if you're looking for shops advertising in Record Collector or similar, you may wish to purchase a set of London maps, generally called "London A-Z" and available from most newsagents etc.

This list is not intended to be a complete, or even all that well-selected list of shops. It basically lists the shops that I find useful personally (hence very little info on musical styles I'm unfamiliar with, though I would appreciate further information). In fact, if you stretch out and reverse the walking route that sort-of appears throughout the list you basically get a long walk that starts here where I work, and ends at around- about Charing Cross Station (or Piccadilly Circus, one stop on the Bakerloo line) which is where I catch my train home. This is not a random correlation. In other words, this list is presented as one individual's personal biases rather than objective fact. There's a strong orientation towards getting what you want, at the minimum price. Definitely not with the minimum amount of searching. Many of the shops mentioned have huge unorderd bargain sections (e.g. the 2 pound CDs in Mr. CD) which (for me) only have the occasional thing that I want.

There have also been comments as to the sleazy areas that many of these shops are in. I don't really know why this is, someone suggested that it might be cheap rents.

1. Oxford Street. Starting from the Tottenham Court Road Subway station, first is the Virgin Store. Open on Sundays (last time I looked) and it has a fairly big selection. Virgin and HMV are rather expensive, often L15.00 for back catalogue, and L12-13 for latest releases. Virgin and HMV have listening posts which allow you to check out a lot of CDs. You can also apparantly ask to listen to any CD, though I haven't tried this myself. Virgin was completely rebuilt recently, and is apparantly the largest record shop in the world. The dinosaur was cute while it lasted too.
2. Behind Virgin runs a short street called Hanway Street, which includes a number of the most interesting 'collectors' record shops such as the multi-story Vinyl Experience. Definitely check upstairs for lifesize dolls of Prince, messages that Elvis left for his cleaning lady, etc. There are several other record shops in this street. I won't list them as it's only a short street, so it's easy to find them all. Some comments have been made about possible overpricing at these 'collectors' stores. Certainly I've seen `butcher cover's priced significantly higher than Record Collector's suggested prices, and other people have commented that the further you get from the centre of London the cheaper the prices for rare stuff.
3. Further along Oxford Street is the first HMV. This used to be the biggest record store in the world apparantly. Perhaps there has been some one-upmanship here. It is big, and has a very good world music section in the basement. HMV apparantly is pretty user-friendly on the phone for overseas purchasers. Phone number is +44-171-730-1234 HMV do a lot of 3 for L20 and similar sales which are often (in my experience) reasonable value. HMV has listening posts. Generally I've been disappointed by the selection of CDs on these listening posts however.
4. Directly across the road from the big HMV is Poland Street. Just down this street on the right hand side is a specialist 'Independent Hip Hop, Drums & Bass, Latin, Brazillian...(etc)' shop called Bongo. I haven't been inside (will do so soon) but it looks interesting.
5. Somewhere on Oxford Street on the same side as Virgin and HMV and between them I think, is Buzz records. They're not on the street, but in the basement of another shop. They have a sign out on the street when they're open. Buzz records is one of the stores that sells CDs at discount rates, as opposed to places like Virgin and HMV, which generally are more expensive. The recent releases they have (a small selection) are usually about L10.00
6. Further up Oxford street is yet another HMV and eventually (up near Marble Arch) another Virgin. Generally if you've seen the first ones, you don't need to see these. Virgin and HMV stores are generally a bit expensive, but they do have wide selections. The HMV claims to be the world's most famous record store, but I don't know why.
7. A bit back from HMV and on the other side is Berwick street. This includes a number of shops including Sister Ray Records. This street is a red-light area, so be careful which doorways you walk into. :-) Sister Ray are also phone friendly, at least they told me they are. +44-171-287-8385. They refuse to play even a snatch of a CD for you to listen to. You are strongly advised not to light any matches in Sister Ray's in case one of the shop assistents' hair catches on fire. Sister Ray is good for techno and Ambient. There are some more specialist shops in the surrounding area, but I don't know them well. Another must see is Mr CD which has a large number of cut-out CDs, as well as recent releases for approx L10.00. Note: The comments I've had back from people about Mr CD have often been from people impressed with this shop.
8. On the other side of the road, but further up towards Oxford street, there's a large black(painted) shop ?Name?. Personally I'm none too impressed by the selection and prices at this shop, but they have a lot of 'fanzines' in the window, and at least it looks good. There is a good NZ/AUS 'Alternative' section in there somewhere.
9. Walking further down Berwick Street you'll pass through one of the naughtiest alleyways in the UK (including Raymond's Review Bar where the strip club scene in The Beatles' film _Magical Mystery Tour_ was filmed). Coming out of that walk across the road (i.e. through the centre of Soho), continue on and you'll find a shop called Cheapo Cheapo Records on your right. The sign-writing is not exactly easy to spot, so look carefully. A must for bargain (promo often) synth-pop. During the day there are often carts outside selling CDs and CD singles for occasionally infeasibly low prices, but I've usually been disappointed by the selection available. STOP PRESS. I finally found some worthwhile things in those outside trays, DD Smash's first album no less. Definitely check out all the floors of Cheapo Cheapo, it's a lot bigger that it looks. More CDs (soul/rap?) downstairs, and various stuff (including second hand/cheap music books) upstairs. Cheapo Cheapo gets my vote for the best price/hit rate ratio. It's rare that I buy nothing there. However, if there's a guy with a beard serving downstairs do not expect service with a smile.
10. Come out, and continue walking downhill. Do NOT let women in doorways tempt you into strip bars, etc. Some of these places are 'clip joints' which may charge you hundreds of pounds for cheap carbonated 'champagne' then get rather aggressive if you can't pay. When you get to the main road, turn right, and walk to Piccadilly Square. Tower Records is very obvious. (Checking out the "Alien War" real-virtual-reality thingy is non-record/CD related but strongly advised). Tower Records is open pretty impressively long hours and has listening posts allowing you to choose between up to 12 CDs each, which is very useful. They also have machines allowing you to look up CDs by title/artist/etc. TR is a good source of CDs from more "serious" Japanese artists such as Sakamoto, Yano, Hosono, etc. They also have a very good selection of back-catalogue (but in print) singles, but the prices are rather high. Good World Music and Jazz departments upstairs. Downstairs there is an 'Australian Import' Section which has AUS imports at prices usually much lower than other shops. Recently they've started a 'Japanese Pop' chart section, which is good, but the latest JPOP CDs are usually priced around 30 pounds.
11. Turn around and walk back the way you came. Keep walking through Leceister Square until you get to Charing Cross Road. Turn left and walk up (actually back towards Tottenham Court Road. Eventually you'll see an alley between two Chinese restaurants where you should be able to see a shop called "Steve's Sounds". Cheap stuff mainly. Walking further up Charing Cross Road the same way you will see many of the larger and more important musical instrument shops. A larger selection of recent releases (again approx L10.00) than the other 'discount' shops.
12. At 56 Dean Street, which runs parallel to Berwick Street (one street across in the direction of Charing Cross Road, maybe), there is a specialist Soundtrack shop called, as far as I can see, 56 Dean Street. Personally, since it's only a small shop, I can't really see the need to go there, the very large shops all have soundtrack sections, many larger than this entire shop. It might (I can't remember here) have soundtracks on vinyl, which the larger shops don't tend to have.
13. There's a classical shop?Name? down the (south?) end of Leicester Square on one of the footpaths (the one furthest 'downhill') leading from the Square to Charing Cross Road. I'm not too familiar with Classical Music. Comments?
14. Going up CC road towards Tottenham Court Road, on your right-hand side is 'Denmark Street' with the highest concentration of Musical Instrument shops I've ever seen. One of these shops is Helter Skelter, which is a specialist music-related book shop. Personally I haven't been overwhelmed with what's there, and you should also check out some of the larger book shops on CC road (such as Books ETC) for music-related books.
15. Don't forget to look over at The Marquee Club and be impressed by its' historic significance, or not as the case may be. The ticket offices on Charing Cross Road are worth checking out. But, be warned. Some appear to be legal 'touts' or 'scalpers' who will sell front row tickets for sold out concerts for highly inflated prices. I'm not sure how these shops work. Most of them are standard ticket offices and sell tickets at face value plus a 'booking fee'. You can also buy tickets at 'Ticketmaster' via telephone (check music magazines) or desks in the larger Tower/HMV/Virgin stores.
16. Going for a song is further up CC road, just before you get to Tottenham Court Road again. Another discount shop. Mostly cheap back catalogue of fairly popular artists. This shop used to be a great source for Roy Harper CDs for some reason.
17. 35 Notting Hill Gate is a long way away, but you can take the tube to Notting Hill Gate station direct from the Tottenham Court Road tube station via the Central Line (intersection of TCR, CCR, and Oxford Street) and look for number 35?Name?. A lot of second hand disks, not always as cheap as they used to be. There is a bookshop around the corner (ask them) which has a fair amount of music bio second hand, as well as about two more CD shops. Some people have commented recently (Jan96) that it's a long way to go for not really all that cheap CDs, but I still consider it worth it. There are also more CD shops down the road toward the Portabello Market (not running Sunday if I remember correctly), though this is a fair walk from Notting Hill Gate, so you may wish to ask directions on how to get there via the tube. While I don't know the shops too well, I've seen some pretty impressive Soul specialist shops down that way.
18. For bootleg CDs, you may wish to visit Camden Town Market on a Sunday Morning. Take the tube (e.g. from Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street, or Leicester Square direct on the Northern line) to Camden Town and follow the signs. That is, you should if bootlegs were legal, but they aren't. So you MUST NOT do this. The Police have been cracking down on Bootlegs a lot recently, so I'd appreciate general info on availability. There are record shops in both parts of the market on both sides of the road. NOTE: Apparantly The Police have actually raided places in Camden Town (apparantly the record fair), and the last time I went bootlegs were completely absent.
19. The road from Camden Town tube station to the Market has several interesting shops. There's one second hand shop owned by the same people (apparantly) as the Notting Hill Gate shops. There's a specialist Rock 'n Roll shop, and a specialist book shop where legend has it Lou Reed turned up once and asked for books on Lou Reed. I don't know the names of any of these shops.
20. Beanos in East Croydon claims to be London's largest second hand shop. They have a lot of promos and memorabilia, but bargains are not too common. This is well away from town, though you can catch trains from Victoria, Charing Cross (may need to change at London Bridge) etc. See their advert in Record Collector for more details.
21. Importantly, upon arrival you SHOULD buy a copy of Record Collector magazine and check the advertisements to see if there are going to be any major record fairs during your time in London. If so, go! Some of them are huge (e.g. P&J fairs) and can have large amounts of stuff usually very difficult to find.
22. There's a second hand open stall on the corner of Goodge Place? Walk up Tottenham Court Road (mentioned previously) from the Charing Cross/ Oxford Street Intersection until just before you get to the Goodge Street tube station (Northern Line). Turn left when you see the 'Tesco' supermarket, and during daytime you should see a big cartload of CDs ahead. The 2 pound specials are worth looking through, I've made some good purchases there.
23. If you cross the road from that stall and head back towards Oxford Street through a walkway/alleyway, there's a specialist (I think) Opera shop just there on your left hand side. I'm not quite sure of the directions here.
24. For Japanese Pop (Jpop) in London, there are only a few sources that I know of. Adanami Shobo has some second hand CDs, mostly (at time of writing) at the shop at 70 Brewer Street (the street you crossed when you walked from Brewer Street down to Cheapo Cheapo in Rupert? Street) Otherwise, Tower Records in Picadilly seem to specialise in a few artists (e.g. YMO and Akiko Yano) for which they sometimes have good selections. The Japan Centre Bookshop also in Picadilly has (had?) some new CDs, as does Nippon Books, near St. Paul's station (Central Line) . Otherwise, Cheapo Cheapo Records and Mr. CD. have been known to have the occasional promo CD on sale.
25. Recommended by Martin Rosen Two very good shops I have found are Fab Music and Fab Music 2

    The former is at 93 Ballards Lane, Finchley N3 1XY and Fab Music 2 are at 303 West End Lane, London NW6 1RD.

    I have found both very good, and reasonable for new and second hand cds. New CD singles are sometimes 99p!

26. Beatles fans are strongly recommended to by Lewisohm et al's book on The Beatles' London which tells you about all sorts of Beatle related sites even unto the corner of Goodge Place where Paul was snapped in his Mini.
27. Information about concerts etc can be obtained by checking out the current edition of Time Out (make sure you don't buy the Amsterdam one unless you're planning on going there). There is also concert info in Q magazine etc, but I think Time Out is better. Many concerts in London (personal experience here) seem to sell out fairly quickly, obviously depending on the popularity of the artist.
28. If you are in London for any length of time, Westminster Libraries (and probably other libraries as well) rent CDs. The selection is generally not huge for any particular library, but you can look things up on computers and bus/tube/walk to the library that has what you want. If you are going to be renting a lot of stuff, you can pay for a whole year, rather than (e.g.) 60p per CD, which can turn out a lot cheaper. The librarian may not volunteer this information (I was lucky, another customer told me). Generally the libraries have fairly 'normal' stuff rather than 'rarities'. Some libraries have specialist selections. E.g. the library out in St John's Wood (near Abbey Road Studios and THE pedestrian crossing), has a small selection of Japanese pop.