Best Vinyl Shops in Berlin

Hi, going to Berlin for a few weeks this summer, I'm planning to use a day or two for some record shopping, anyone know where to look for some great record shops. thanks

 

Sadly Berlin is one of the most boring German cities when it comes to vinyl, you'll find lots of counterfeits and overpriced run of the mill albums, most of the older shops are not around anymore or have become very average and most of the new ones are just not very good.

The one I'd thoroughly recommend is Holly's Hit Records in Berlin,Kreuzberg Solmsstrasse 33, open 13 to 19. They have a great selection of second hand vinyl for really good prices. Apart from that you might try Kastanien Allee where two shops are located next to each other, the good one is Musik Department (Kastanienallee 41, 10119 Berlin, Mo - Fr 11:00 - 20:00, Sa 11:0) the not so good one Franz Josef Records (Kastanienallee 48). If you want to try the latter please read THIS first:

http://feed-magazin.de/du-kaufst-sowieso-nichts-geh-und-weniger-drogen-nehmen…-franz-josef-berlin-schallplatten-3/

Then there is Pandora's Box that has selected stuff from the 60's and 70's but that is in Steglitz and has unusual opening hours, you should check them first before taking the trip : Pandoras Box Berlin, Stubenrauchstrasse 70, 12161 Berlin, Fon : 030-85275 94

As far as I am concerned these are the ones I'd recommend. Of course there are others... If you are here for the weekend you might try the fleamarket at Mauerpark (every Sunday) but make sure you are there before noon because otherwise it can get really crowded. It has become very hit and miss but sometimes you can find nice vinyl there.

If you want new stuff Dead & Free at Nollendorf Platz is one of the best and oldest stores to visit: Bülowstr. 5, 10783 Berlin. And then there are various Media Markts and Saturns - the two stores at Alexander Platz carry a huge selection of new vinyl, Saturn is directly at Alexanderplatz, the Media Markt at Shopping Center "Alexa" nearby.

 

Thanks Neonbeam, will definitely try the Holys Hit in Kreuzberg!

 

Forgot Wowsville in Ohllauer Str, Kreuzberg. A cafè/ recordstore combined with some good vintage US stuff. In the same street is Heisse Scheiben which is very hit and miss but... it's just across the street

 

If you are into classical and jazz, I very heartily recommend this antique shop in Charlottenburg:

http://www.antiquariat-hartwig.de/uns/index.html

They have good prices AND currently everything is 1/2 price, as they will be closing soon. This place is a real treasure trove. They have literally tens of thousands of classical records. Check out their jazz section too.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot that. A friend goes there a lot of the times but she's heavily into jazz. Never been there!

 

The owner comes across as grumpy on first encounter, but that only lasts for a few minutes. A very nice guy, he often offers me a cup of tea when I'm there. I have found some real treasures there (like original Japanese near mint pressings of some Miles Davis records for 6 €), but there is also a lot of that run-of-the-mill Louis Armstrong reissues... I wish I was more interested in classical, there's really some very good looking stuff there and in very good condition.

If you are there, you will see that to the left of the store there is another store, with a big painting of trumpeter King Oliver in the display. The owner told me it was supposed to be a jazz record shop but the project got cancelled when his assistant left. Now he only uses it as storage room. Too bad, it would have been a great shop.

I have also found some scarce rock and '60s soul records in that shop, but it was like 1 out of 200...

 

1 out of 200 in a shop with 10.000 albums could yield you 50 wonderful records!

 

( ( ( ( ( ((((((( .

I just read this topic, and I'm surprised about the little knowledge about the Berlin record store scene 'Neonbeam' obviously has. Don't get me wrong, I don't wanna criticize 'Neonbeam', but Berlin isn't a small village. With just a little effort you can find plenty of records stores. I fear the weak point will be your wallet and the time of your stay.

Please, if anybody plans, to come to my home town, let me know. I'm not just willing, I really would be delighted, to give you more hints, where decent record stores can be found. Regarding the flea markets, nearly every urban district has at least one, and you can find at the most of 'em records.

 

Haha... "little knowledge"? Feel free to share your knowledge with us If you like being ripped off this city is the place to be. But maybe we just have different expectations

 

I found a cool little store near Holly's Hit called "Pop." I grabbed a couple orange label UK RCA Bowie albums there for under 20€ each.

 

"Pop" has weird opening hours at the moment - only Friday and Saturday. But...yeah...that definitely is one of the better shops. At least he doesn't carry the obligatory counterfeits. My friend's "Holly's Hit Records" is just around the corner. And open most of the time.

 

( ( ( ( ( ((((((( .

If you're informed and seriously interested in decent priced second hand vinyl records, there are more shops in Berlin than just the few you've mentioned mate.
I guess this isn't the right forum for commercial advertisements! I've made a serious offer to anybody from foreign countries.

So there's really no reason to be upset! I only wanted to make a support offer for visitors. I thought, that it's taken for granted, that I wouldn't lead visitors / forum members, to so called "rip-off" places!

 

You may want to read my post again, I didn't say the list was complete. Far from it. And if you look at it carefully it is almost 1,5 years old. People change. So do record stores Off the top of my head I would add The Record Store which is now located at Invalidenstrasse and has a great selection of quality vintage vinyl:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRecordStoreBerlin

But I'll stick by that: The Berlin record store scene has gotten boring in the last ten years. But feel free to list you favourite shops. Nothing like discovering a new record store... in your hometown!!!!

 

Well, what shops would you recommend, then? I've only had luck at the big flea market at weekends, just off the Tiergarten S-Bahn stop, but that was a while ago.

 

( ( ( ( ( ((((((( .

OK! Here are my top three of the Berlin record stores, that I visit since years:

1. "Platten Pedro", Tegeler Weg 102, 10589 Berlin (near "Schloss Charlottenburg") - existing since the early '70 with a wide variety of second hand records (albums and 7")
2. "City Music", Kurfürstendamm 207 (Ku'damm Karree), 10719 Berlin (Underground station "Uhlandstrasse", line 1) - this one has been near "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche" but moved two years ago, a tidy, well organized and well equipped store with decent pricing (albums mainly but also some 7")
3. "Voice of Stars", Cauerstrasse 20-21, 10587 Berlin (not so well organized, but an overwhelming lot of 7" records and LPs too. (The owner assists with digging, if you're looking for a certain record) not really cheap, but an awesome number of records, with a wide range of various genres - including jazz.

My favorite Berlin on-line store:

recordsale berlin always reliable in pricing and grading, they also have a shop:
Leila M @ Kino Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 30, 10178 Berlin
​

One of the bigger flea-markets (where you'll definitely will find records):

is at S-Bahn (city train) station "Ost-Bahnhof" (Sundays) - use S5, S7 & S 75 trains
​

Well, if your wallet isn't empty after this tour, you can give me a call. Phone is stated on my web site - contact.​

 

Well....apparently you and I are after different things I need to check out "Voice Of The Stars", thanks for your recommendation. Some comments though:

1. City Music was one of the city's best shops. Until they moved back to Kuhdamm and lost some of their staff. I was there last week and think it is very boring. They ALWAYS had cool second hand vinyl now they only carry standart fare.

2. Platten Pedro: Too hit and miss for me. And too expensive because if I want to pay a premium I can do that on the internet. Which brings me to....

3. Record Sale: In my opinion one of the biggest rip offs on Ebay. The prices simply are ridiculous. Take the highest Popsike price and add 10%.. So...if you've always wanted to spend like 500€ on a Smashing Pumpkins records, this could be your new favourite dealer

But don't believe me, check it out for yourself What I love about record shopping is digging, hunting, making bargains, finding treasures. Which used to be fun in Berlin ten years ago. Paying Popsike prices isn't any fun. And not neccessary if you know where to look

 

I'm sorry, but you must have gotten something wrong. My recommendations weren't made for Berlin residents. I just wanted to give a few hints for Berlin visitors, who only have limited time for record digging.
With your attitude, I wouldn't recommend, to check out "Voice of Stars". The don't sell bargains for cheap-skates, they offer scarce records for serious collectors. Just to preserve you from being "ripped off"!

 

You're too kind, thank you So in your opinion "serious collectors" are the ones that pay tripple or quadruple prices? Everybody else is a "cheap skate"? Then every good dealer I know qualifies as "cheap skate" too. Better than hustling tourists to expensive places

 

Nothing like Germans bickering!

 

( ( ( ( ( ((((((( .

It was my concern, that this discussion would end up like this! Thanks Jerry, for the intervention at this stage!

Of course for you especially and all the other members - "Guten Rutsch" ins neue Jahr (have a Happy New Year) . ​