THE MAP
Every vinyl destination inside the greater London footprint. Zoom in to see individual venues.
THE 118 RECORD SHOPS
London runs on record shops the way it runs on pubs.
London is not one scene, it's five, and they share a city. Soho keeps the historic core — Sister Ray, Sounds of the Universe, Reckless, Phonica — a five-block loop that has been the world's dance-music barometer since the late 80s. East London runs the club-facing wing: Kristina Records in Dalston, Rough Trade East on Brick Lane, Love Vinyl in Hoxton. Peckham adds Rye Wax and YAM.
South goes psych and reggae (Casbah in Greenwich, Supertone in Brixton). The north still trades in jazz and second-hand depth (Alan's in Muswell Hill, Flashback in Islington). And it's a listening-bar town too now — Spiritland moved the format from Tokyo to King's Cross a decade ago, and Brilliant Corners in Dalston set the template every new city bar copies. Three active pressing plants close the loop.
THE FIVE ROOMS
51 Poland St. The current gold standard for house, techno and disco — the shop everyone benchmarks against for staff picks.
7 Broadwick St. The Soul Jazz label's shopfront — reggae, jazz, hip-hop, funk, global. Curated the way great magazines used to be.
75 Berwick St. Rock, indie, punk, new releases and second-hand under one roof. The Berwick Street survivor.
Old Truman Brewery. In-stores most weeks, and the wall of new releases that still sets the UK indie chart.
44 Stoke Newington Rd. Dalston's serious counter — leftfield, ambient, techno, jazz — with a resident's-only calibre of picks.