Record/CD stores in Toronto

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by Jeff56, Jan 5, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    This is obviously for Toronto residents or people who visit often.

    The main store I go to is Sonic Boom on bloor and bathurst.

    Any other places in the city that are good for used cd's and records?
     
  2. PetSounds

    PetSounds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I'll get some addresses for you, I know of plenty of great record shops, just cant remember the addresses from the top of my head.

    She Said Boom-Good for Records/CDs fair prices, interesting selection of vinyl(John Cale, Beefheart etc)

    Refried Beats-Good for CDs, nice place to find imports on the cheap(early cds etc)

    Deja Vu Discs-Good selection(CDs) fair price for discs, great place for finding early cds. Can order new cds for good prices.

    Ricks Collectables-Good for rare vinyls/"imports", hard on the wallet, there are two Ricks, one has all the good rare stuff, the other is a "discount store" but hey, if buying Layla, Stephen Stills, CSN, New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Doors for $2.50 each is considerd "discount-worthy" im all for it!

    Of course there are many more and I'll have to add some addresses for you, hope this helps
     
  3. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    Vortex on Yonge St north of Eglinton Ave

    Paramusic on Dundas St (just east of Yonge, beside the Imperial Pub)
     
  4. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    AWESOME !

    I like deja vu.. I live in Bowmanville and freguent the Oshawa and Ajax ones all the time.

    But I find the best stuff in the city
     
  5. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Cheap used cd's ?? I wanna find some targets or early pressings.
     
  6. Paul K

    Paul K Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Paramusic I wouldn't recommend at all!
    Plenty of pirate copies of stuff...and their collection of Russian boots was all that was making me and R go there...and that has dried up too...
     
  7. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    Vortex has lots of orig. and Target CD's come and go. Very reasonable in terms of pricing; Bert has been in this business in Toronto since 1981. He wrote the book here when it comes to a good and fair used record, CD and DVD store.

    Paramusic is good for recent stuff and they have lots of DVD's
     
  8. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Thats why I like Sonic Boom. All the used stuff is right at the front sorted by the day it arrived.
     
  9. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I NEVER see smooth cases ANYWHERE
     
  10. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    You have a point; you have to really examine carefully what you are buying but I have purchased some great "real" CD's there at very reasonable prices over the years; you just have to know what you're looking for and not be easily fooled by "pirates" (which they sure do have a lot of!)
     
  11. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    looks like I'll be hitting Vortex :)
     
  12. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    A tradition here since 1981! Say Hi to Bert!
     
  13. Dave D

    Dave D Done!

    Location:
    Milton, Canada
    I wish I could get all my old vinyl back from Bert. He must have loved me.:sigh:
     
  14. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    He got a good chunk o' mine back in the late 80's/early 90's; probably 1000 titles, many which I bought from his store on Dundas Street in the early 80's as replacement "originals" of albums that were ruined when we were kids/teens.

    I was once one of Bert's best customers. I still buy there but nothing like I once did.

    He has made a small fortune from me over the last 27 years for sure!
     
  15. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    I just got to thinking; I wonder how many Toronto members here actually would recognize each other from record stores and shows over the years if we were to actually meet in person.

    Most of the record collecting community here knew or know each other at least by sight for years now...
     
  16. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I'm only 27. Most of the people I see at shows are a lot older than me. I feel like a grasshopper.

    I love talking music with older people. I find people my are or younger don't have the same appreciation for music.
     
  17. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    Using that logic, I feel like an old man!
     
  18. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    There's a number of decent stores on Queen St W. Mainly west of spadina IIRC. Good place to wander if it's not too cold.
     
  19. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    Many of those stores are now gone. We lost a lot of record/CD stores in this city post 2005.

    Second Spin
    Backbeat
    Edwards
    Flash & Crash
    Harmony
    CD Cat
    Sam's
    ...

    It's so damn sad in so many ways...
     
  20. Graham Start

    Graham Start Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I see them at Sonic Boom from time to time. Picked up a Japan-for-USA copy of David Bowie's "Tonight" there with smooth case. Saw one for one of the Cars albums there on Saturday (not much of a fan so I didn't pick it up).
     
  21. Graham Start

    Graham Start Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    You might as well add HMV to that list too. I think it now stands for "Has Mostly Videogames". :sigh:

    The market here is particularly bleak when it comes to vinyl. Sonic Boom is cheap for used LPs, but they don't get much in. Bert at Vortex gets good stuff at good prices, but his shop is tiny, and he just doesn't have the space for a huge selection. Cosmos has a lot of the stuff I like, but they charge dearly for it and much of it is quite disorganized.
     
  22. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    It is sad but there were still a few there (Queen St W) last time I record hunted in Toronto (Aug 08).
     
  23. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    :laugh:I worked for them for 2 months in late 2006 for some extra XMAS $ and although I made the best of it, it was sorat humiliating, boring, the music they played was utter crap and the staff knew next to nothing about "music" compared to me (same with the supervisors/mgmt)

    It was a joke then.

    It is still a joke.

    One good thing: they overpayed me almost every cheque!
     
  24. torcan

    torcan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    If you're looking for 45s at all, try Kop's Kollectibles on Queen St. It's close to the subway and not far from the CITY TV building. They've got over 100,000 45s there (upstairs), many with original picture sleeves; Canadian and US pressings.
     
  25. Graham Start

    Graham Start Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    There's Rotate This, the aforementioned Cosmos (two locations, barely a block apart, one is more focused on jazz and the other leans more toward classic dance music), Kops (east of Spadina - THE place for 45s). There are also a few other trendy places, one of which offers mostly new vinyl, and another that sells DJ equipment, musical instruments and software. These places generally focus on alternative/urban stuff.

    There are also a couple of places on Queen E, east of Pape, that cater more to classic rock. One is called Discovery, but I can't recall the name of the other.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine