Record Shopping Canada/ The U.S.A

Hi guy's

Appologies in Advance if this is in the wrong setion.

I just was just hoping to seek a little advice; I am flying on holidays to Canada on sunday for two weeks and three days. on our trip we hope to make some stops in places. our generl plan is to start in toronto, then head to montreal. down to atlantic city, and finally washington before headint back to toronto for the flight home.

the advice im looking for is as follows. throughout my trip I hope to get in some crate digging/ record shopping as I feel in new countries comes new possibilities of finds or stuf i dont generally see. is there anything in particular (Shops/particular records/pressings or otherwise) I should be keeping an eye out for along the journey? I here thrift stores and good wills are big over in the states so maybe thats a possibility if the vinyl is in good condition?

Another thing is I will be flying home with a very limited space in my bag as it is. would it be worth my while posting any records I have purchased back home to my address and if so what do people reccomend? (I.E specific couriers etc.) Cheers in advance!

 

There are a number of great record stores in Toronto, and in the surrounding area. Ric’s Recollections in Mississauga is top-notch. For sheer volume of stuff, go to Sonic Boom in Toronto. Also highly recommend the Tiny Record Shop, Kops Records, She Said Boom, Rotate This, and Shortstack Records, all of which are in and around Toronto.

Now, the bad news. Sending anything by Canada Post is EXPENSIVE! The more you’re sending, and the farther it goes, the pricier it gets. I’ve not sent huge volumes of vinyl from Toronto, but I did ship a bunch back from LA a number of years ago. After the hassle of that experience, complete with a few hundred dollars in tax, it isn’t something that I’d repeat myself, or at least not the same way. Do your research, and price out the shipping online before you arrive (using ballpark figures) to see what you might be in for, cost wise.

 

What type of genres are you interested in? Some stores in Toronto are better for certain type of stuff than others.

 

Classic Rock would be my main listen Beatles, Bowie, Stones, Queen, Dire straits the list goes on and on soundtracks also

Is it cheaper to send them from the states then would you's reckon? There going to Ireland so not too far East in the grand scheme of things :L

 

Shipping - I'm not sure what the USPS rates are like to the UK but I can tell you the Canadian postal rates to the UK are very high. The cheapest way to do it is with no tracking and via sea. To give you an idea, one record via air (no tracking) to the UK is $20 CAD (£13) a 1kg package would be about double that with no tracking. Ireland won't be cheaper than that.

For classic rock...the shops mentioned by aarsonbet are all good for classic rock. It really depends on how much time you have.

If you have time for only one shop I'd go to Shortstack. Good selection and fair prices. Rotate This is not far from Shortstack, you could walk it but it's minutes via public transport.

Rotate have fair prices and a good selection, though larger than Shortstack I tend to find more stuff I like at Shortstack. Rotate also carry new but they divide their stock between new and old for rock stuff.

Tiny Records is highly curated and they do have a good selection but they tend to be more expensive and being a smaller shop means they do have less used stock as they also carry new. They tend to have themed weeks so worth looking them up on social media like instagram to see what they might be up to when you are in town. It also has the disadvantage being on the other side of town. So it might be out of the way for you. But if you find yourself in Queen St E then it's worth popping in. It's really the only record store at that end of town.

SheSaidBoom is on College and although not that far from Shortstack or Rotate, also not that close if your time is limited. They're a book and record store and they have new and used records. Personally I would give this a miss if you have limited time unless you happen to be in the area.

Also in the area is Neurotica. Neurotica Records 2.0 Not sure how to describe this place but I like it. I don't get there often. A bit further down the road from SheSaidBoom. Walkable.

Also on Queen St W are two locations for Cosmo's They have a lot of rare stuff, especially at their 607A Queen Street West (they have another location about a 10-15 minute walk from Rotate at 652 Queen Street West, their 607A location is further down the road but walkable and Queen St W is a good street to walk down). But they are the most expensive place in town.

If you have only a day I'd go to Shortstack and then Rotate. If you have a bit more time, hit up Comsos as these are all within walking distance of each other.

Also, Kops is on Queen St as well, more of walk but public transport will get you there quickly. I have a personal dislike of this place for many reasons, so I'd find it difficult right now to give you an unbiased opinion lol But I'll give it anyway...they have stuff, pricier than Shortstack and Rotate, not as bad as Cosmos, but condition isn't always great.

I'll ask my friend about Montreal. He goes there often for work and so hits up a lot of the record stores.

 

Wow thank you eddiel for that thorough run down of the record shops; really appreciate it!

Not sure how long we are staying in these places but will definitley hit up one or two you mentioned!

 

@The_Audiophile

One more Toronto one I forgot...volver.to Check his site out. He sells online but you need to pick up at his house. He used to have a store and IMO it was the best store in this city for buying and selling to by far.
Anyway, have a look at his stuff and you can always contact him and pick up when in town.

For Montreal...heard back from my friend...top 3 he would recommend if under time constraints; Beatnik, Aux33 and Cheap Thrills.

He also said that Beatnik has rare items not on display but if you are looking for rarer titles you can ask to see them.x

 

Cheers thanks a lot really appreciate it! looks like all I have to worry about now is shipping

 

It might actually be more cost effective to pay for an excess baggage charge. I'd check your airlines policy.

 

montreal to atlantic city is almost 500 miles I think. are you planning on any stop overs? Saratoga springs, ny is about 4 hours south of montreal with nice shopping and great restauarnts. not so much for record shopping though. I live about 15 minutes away.

 

Never thought of that! I must check and see

Ah yeah I'd say we will be stopping over I'll keep Saratoga in mind!

 

Any recommendations for best jazz record stores in Toronto area?

 

Since you are heading to Atlantic City you must go to Sell Used CDs & DVDs at 1 of Largest Music CD Stores, Record Stores Princeton Record Exchange, most classic rock cds are $2 -5. The level of turnover on vinyl, Cds and Dvds is quite high because they are priced to sell. Anything specific you are looking for? Vinyl is usually VG - NM You could probably skip every store till Prex and still be quite happy with your take. Don't bother with thrifts.

 

@The_Audiophile

Any Luck?

 

A bit late as I only just noticed your post, but Cosmos (West Location https://www.cosmosrecords.ca/ ) would be your best bet. Also try Shortstack as they get decent stuff as well. Cosmos is more expensive but their selection is far more comprehensive. If you don't see it in the bins, ask them just in case as they have stuff in the back as well.

volver.to also has good jazz titles but he only sells via his website with local pick up and he's closing for his annual holidays soon

 

Hi Guy's sorry for the lack of reply;

Essentailly very little record shoping actually got done as we spent so much time on the road moving from A to B i also had very little room to spare in my luggage as it was!!

Thanks anyway for the tips! i got into one or two of the shops in torronto at the end of our journey but nothing caught my eye THAT MUCH i had to buy it