I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam this spring and will of course be visiting the local record shops, including Concerto and Record Friend, where I've had great luck on prior trips. For used rock vinyl, what other cities or even neighborhoods beyond central Amsterdam have a good concentration of stores? I'll be in Rotterdam because I've never been there, and I'll miss the Utrecht record fair, but all suggestions appreciated!
Utrecht has some nice stores with a good selection of second hand stuff: Plato and Dig It, which are also located fairly closed to each other. Leiden has a couple of good second hand stores as does Deventer. Check out this website for more info. Have fun in our fair country!
Hi Marc, First of all I should say I'm not really aware of the most recent developments in NL, but there's a few places I know of that may be of interest to you. CAVEAT: Many stores have ceased to exist lately and many websites are not reliable at all these days. There's a chain called Velvet that has a couple of small stores in several larger cities around NL. My personal favourites are Waaghals in Arnhem and Nijmegen, as well as Sounds in the southern city of Venlo. The latter IMO being the most interesting store for used vinyl, apart from Concerto in A'dam. In Amsterdam itself the only other stores I know of currently, that may be of interest are Record Mania and City Records. Cheers and good hunting! Sq.
Some years ago I used to visit Demonfuzz Records and Plaatboef in Rotterdam. Close to each other, both at Nieuwe Binnenweg at numbers 86 and 81a. I don't know what you're looking for, but it may be interesting for you. I still treasure a NM first UK pressing of XTC's English Settlement for €10.
Arguably the greatest hidden Dutch treasure of used vinyl albums and singles is Didi records in Heerlen. It's far away from Amsterdam, but it's worth the trip if you wanna explore the beautiful old city called Maastricht that's fairly nearby too, and the surrounding areas of South Limburg are equally wonderful. Check out the store's website: DIDI Recordshop, muziek en striphal Heerlen | Vinyl, singles, CD's, DVD's, strips And facebook for some nice pictures and impressions: Didi Muziek- en Striphal I found great stuff here like a true double RL Led Zep II, some rare Springsteen stuff, and often saw multiple copies of practically any popular album of any popular artist (in the Netherlands).
If you want to visit my hometown Tilburg (90 minutes from Amsterdam and 45 minutes from Rotterdam if going by train) these two are very recommended : Sounds: Welkom bij Soundstilburg.nl Diggers: Home - Diggers Recordstore Cheers Luc
In Delft, there are several shops, but I liked "Sounds" best as per vintage/reissue ratio. Welkom bij Sounds Delft
Make sure you hit Rotterdam by March 5, in time for the Record And CD Fair: Eventgoose Or go to Den Bosch in April for the Record Fair (used to be the one in Utrecht I think): ARC Record Planet - The Worlds Biggest Record Fairs
Finally went there again today after almost two years of covid madness and I can safely say that it's still an amazing store! I browsed for over two hours and saw a US mono Pet Sounds, a 2014 mono Rubber Soul, a dozen different Sgt. Peppers and Dark Sides of the Moon, and many more amazing records. Actually went home with an album I'd been searching over 5 years for; an original 1962 mono pressing of Roy Orbison's Crying, great stuff!
Last time I was in Rotterdam (Nov. 2019), I found some very good stuff in the Velvet Music outlet there. It's 2 stories and is worth a visit. Also strong for Dutch releases if you have interest.
Far of the beaten tracks in a small village called Wagenberg is a place: Kay's Oddyssey. Great used records, some racks of specials/collectibles (first pressings and what not), some audiophile stuff. Great place to dig. Only the records though, the gear which is stacked up is not my cup of thee. It is near Breda which is a nice town as well, but nothing like Utrecht, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Maastricht.
The beautiful city of Leyden (in the middle of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague) has two great stores: - Velvet - Plato
