27 record stores you have to shop at before you die

Passports at the ready…

Buzzfeed have compiled a list of the world’s top independent record stores that set to raise an eyebrow or two amongst vinyl fans.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lost Angeles’ vast Amoeba Records comes out on top – for sheer size (24,000 square feet) and variety/quality of stock alone, this pantheon to all things sticky black plastic is a worthy winner. Jeez, they even have an amazing selection of cassettes.

American record stores take 5 of the top 10 placings, with a notable entry at number 7 for The Thing in Brooklyn, quite rightly heralded as a “crate diggers dream”. Other top 10 entries feature stores in Iceland, Japan, Germany and South Africa.

UK record shops don’t fare quite so well, with Rough Trade East ranking highest, at number 16, with Manchester’s Piccadilly Records – the subject of our recent film – listed at number 24.

Read the list in full here

Aquarius Records in San Francisco, California

Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas

Mabu Vinyl in Capetown, South Africa

Amoeba Music in Los Angeles, California