Record/CD stores in Toronto

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

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  1. Robber Soul

    Robber Soul Forum Resident

    It's too bad. I always liked dealing with Jeff.
     
  2. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    I will be there in the spring when I am working in the area.

    Thanks
     
  3. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    Yes, Don is a heck of a nice guy. I haven't been there in a few years, but he always gave good money for used CDs.

    He'll turn down a title, if he knows it won't sell. Can't blame him for that.
     
  4. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I always loved record hunting in Toronto. I used to try to get up there twice a year when there were record shows and such. But, with the current USA $ exchange rate and the cost of hotels now, it's just too damn expensive, a real bummer!
     
  5. celticbob

    celticbob Forum Resident

    Cool.
    Hopefully i'll get back there this summer.
     
  6. BigDave

    BigDave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    So I will be spending a couple more weeks in Toronto (I was actually there a lot last year, but never really looked for music). I fly in on a Monday and leave on a Thursday afternoon and really can only go places after work, so beyond 5-6pm. I am right in the area by of Mississauga (where my hotel is) and Brampton (where I work out of). The points are both off of Mississauga Road.

    I don't care about vinyl (nothing against it, I just only have CDs), so I am looking for the best place for used CDs.

    Already have some ideas from the thread, but with my specifics in mind, what would you guys suggest.

    Thanks.
     
  7. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Vortex on Yonge just north of Eglinton has a wide selection of CDs along with reasonable prices. I would give it my #1 rating.

    Queen St. W. between University Ave. to a little west of Bathurst is good too and as a previous poster stated, is a neat place to wander. There's a new store on McCaul, I think, just north of Queen whose name starts with an A (I can't remember the name). Good selection and a sizable mumber of SACDs.

    I almost forgot, Sonic Boom on Bloor, just east of Bathurst has a huge selection. Worth a visit for sure.
     
  8. BigDave

    BigDave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Cool, thanks :righton:
     
  9. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Just snagged a Disque Americ Rubber Soul from Votex !!!!

    Thanks guys for telling me about this place... What a great first visit :)
     
  10. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    What condition was it in? How much was it? Tell us! Tell us!
     
  11. Wizard

    Wizard Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I started going to Vortex when they were on Dundas in the early 80's. Even back then they were by far the best damn used record store in TO. I built my collection from that store.
     
  12. Robertazimmerman

    Robertazimmerman Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Was Record Peddler the store in the old MUCH Music building on Queen East? Wood floors? I spent lots of cash there as well.

    R
     
  13. Jeff56

    Jeff56 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    The CD was MINT !!!! catalog number C2 46440

    matrix is "Ea41 <011> C246440 made by Disque Americ Canada"

    Not a SCRATCH !
     
  14. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    CD? Oh. Thought you'd bought a record. :)
     
  15. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    If I remember correctly, Record Peddler was on Yonge St. 2 or 3 blocks south of Bloor.They were phasing out most of the vinyl by the time I discovered them. I think there was a mexican restaurant nearby, which you had to walk down some stairs to.

    THe place I remember fondly was the record store up near Bloor on Younge called "The Greatest Record Store On Earth", or something like that. They had an autopraph of Leonard Cohen's on display there statinig "this place is the greatest".

    Anyone remember that funny guy who owned "Just For The Record" at 372 Yonge St? I wonder what he's up to know?
     
  16. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    I remember one at Yonge & Bloor called Incredible Ripoff Records. It was slightly south of Bloor, on the west side of Yonge and you had to go up some stairs. I only ever bought one CD there, I think.

    When I found Record Peddler (1989), it was across the street from Maple Leaf Gardens. They had a magical cabinet on the wall full of import Metal CDs. :) (Record Peddler did; Not Maple Leaf Gardens.)
     
  17. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    I believe Record Peddler started on the south side of King St. East in the 1970s, but I can't remember if it was west of Church, between Church and Jarvis (opposite the real church) or east of Jarvis. Later it was on Yonge as described by "fortherecord" just above. I think it was somewhere else too, but I can't remember where, or when.

    EDIT: Across from Maple Leaf Gardens, as "erniebert" says!

    The guy who ran it later worked in a shop on Queen St. West near the Much Music building in the early 1990s. I recall buying Grobschnitt's Rockpommel's Land CD there.
     
  18. Jim Pattison

    Jim Pattison Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kitchener ON
    As far as I remember, the Record Peddler started out on Queen East just east of Church. That's where they were located when I started going there in the late 70s and early 80s. They moved a number of times over the years - first to Yonge Street, then to Carlton across from Maple Leaf Gardens, and finally to Queen West. I'm pretty sure that the Yonge Street location was the one where Records on Wheels had been for many years - a store where I bought many of my first CDs.

    I think that the shop on Queen West near the Much Music Building that John54 mentions was the CD Bar. I bought a lot of discs there, too. Unfortunately, they later moved to Yonge Street right beside HMV. They didn't last long - it was too easy for potential customers to do some comparison shopping at HMV, or at Sam's a little further up the street.
     
  19. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    Yeah, they moved to Yonge near Wellesley after Carlton Street.

    The employees were all d!cks. :)
     
  20. Lilainjil

    Lilainjil Forum Resident

    I remember the Record Peddler being on Queen East back in the late 70s/early 80s. Yes wooden floors. This Ain't The Rosedale Library was across the hall in the same building. Not sure if that was the old CITY-TV building or not.
     
  21. Graham Start

    Graham Start Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    As I recall, Peddler was...

    First Queen St East (early 80s? It had just moved from there when I first went)
    Then Carlton St, across from Maple Leaf Gardens
    Then Yonge St, near Wellesley (90s, also I think this is where Records On Wheels used to be a few years prior)
    Then Queen West, where it was a shadow of its former self, until it closed sometime around 2000.

    The store near Much Music was probably the first incarnation of the CD Bar. A GREAT store, back before the internet, they would gladly do custom orders, which none of the other shops were all that interested in if they were capable at all. You could order just about anything from the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and the US. Problem is that by the time the owner got the winning formula, he was so far in debt that he couldn't climb out.
     
  22. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    You do know that it's quite a haul to downtown Toronto from there especially between 5 an 7 in the evening...
     
  23. BigDave

    BigDave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Yeah, it was my hope that there was something closer to my immediate area.

    A quick Mapquest showed that Vortex might be around 30 minutes away under ideal conditions. It does seem to be open till 10 however. We will see. I am sure at least one of the nights in the next two weeks I will be able to attempt to make my way there.
     
  24. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    It was a really great shop. I used to go in there every week and got to know the guys running it. They were really helpful and went out of their way to help you out. It was one of those places where you could go in and actually talk to them about music and they even instigated the conversation at times which was nice.

    Eddie
     
  25. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Hey Big Dave

    If you can't make it to Toronto head down to lakeshore to this place: http://www.ricrec.com/.

    Him and his wife used to run the shop. Nice people and you can always chat about music.

    Eddie
     
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