New Melbourne record shops

[proftournesol]

I found this article that lists a new record shop boon in hipster heaven,

Quote

Vinyl Destination

Why are so many record shops opening on this one Melbourne street?

Something special is happening on Johnston Street in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Abbotsford. Over the past two years, eight new record stores have opened on or near the thoroughfare. The three suburbs now host 13 vinyl shops between them, packing everything from jazz to punk; bluegrass to techno.

Unlike some of their predecessors in the area, none of these shops were opened on the cheap. Most have well-equipped listening stations, spotless display racks, and in some cases, outrageously pricey machines for cleaning and/or straightening old records. It’s clear: these newcomers are confident they’ll be around for many years to come. 

2016

vinyl.
The four mates behind vinyl. spent two years trading online and running pop-ups. This year they decided the time was right to go permanent and opened this rustic brick-and-stone shop on Nicholson Street, 150 metres from Johnston. None of them expect to make any money – all still work day jobs and run the shop for the love of tunes. The shelves are crammed with some 1600 titles, encompassing indie, jazz, punk and more. Look out for the gigs held in-store.

276 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy

Dutch Vinyl
The prices are reasonable, but this is about as luxe as record shopping gets. Owners Tam Patton and Mark Reuten designed the shop’s handsome timber racks themselves, including the handy slide-out drawers. In them you’ll find a huge variety of genres, from surf rock and heavy metal, to soul and industrial techno. 

Prior to going on sale, every record is cleaned using a Clear Audio Sonic machine (which employs vibration, not harmful friction) then slipped into a top-of-the-line Blake sleeve. 

269 Johnston Street, Abbotsford

Skydiver
The warm, plywood-clad Skydiver was the first of two dance-focused stores to open this year. Co-owner Mark Free is responsible for the Daydreams parties and Everyday Coffee, just up the road. 

For this store he partnered with Mike Wale, aka Orca; and Tom Moore, one half of Otologic and a member of Animals Dancing. Together they maintain a small, rapidly rotating selection of house, techno, Italo, disco and Balearic. If you have a warped record, they’ll fix it with their fancy Japanese-made record straightener. 

167 Johnston Street, Fitzroy

Hub 301
If you still need convincing that vinyl is really back for good, look no further than Hub 301. Owner Greg Molinaro ran Rhythm & Soul in Prahran for 15 years, but got out when mp3s and file sharing ruined the market. 

After an eight-year break, he’s back with three dedicated listening stations; several racks of brand-new house, techno, disco and soul; and the occasional dubstep or drum’n’bass gem. And the service? He knows his stuff as well as anyone in this town. 

301 Johnston Street, Abbotsford

Strangeworld Records
It’s too perfect. A record store that specialises in punk, owned by a guy called Richie Ramone. He may not be the former drummer of The Ramones (we don’t think so, anyway), but he does stock an impressive range of new and second-hand rock, metal, pop, folk, indie, hip-hop and more on vinyl, cassette and CD. 

11 John Street, Fitzroy

2015

Plug Seven Records
Like vinyl., Plug Seven started life as a pop-up and lived on thanks to its customers. Owner Ari Roze works hard for his people, though. He maintains a stock of nearly 10,000 records with the help of regular overseas trips. He’s fond of jazz, hip-hop, Afro and soul, but there’s plenty of rock, blues, disco and Latin in the mix. Roze’s 5000-strong collection of 7-inches might be the city’s most comprehensive, too. Some date back to the ’50s. 

313A Smith Street, Fitzroy

Vinyl Space
Unlike most of the owners on this list, Mick Smajdor didn’t have a long history selling records. And yet, it was obvious to him the market was ready for more players. His shop mostly trades in second-hand pressings of hip-hop, Afro, soundtrack and decent pop. Expect to find some Bowie, Zappa, Dylan and Springsteen. Pick up a CD, book or cassette while you’re there. 

119A Johnston Street, Collingwood

Vinyl Revival
Graham Kennedy and Victor Milazzi are experts in music systems, with more than 40 years of experience between them. They’ve filled Vinyl Revival with European hi-fi equipment and a few thousand pressings of major pop and rock albums. Stop in here to find high-end turntables from Project, Rega, Music Hall and Thorens, plus amps, speakers, headphones and radios.

405 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Older record shops near Johnston Street

Dixons Recycled
414 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

The Searchers Records & Books
93 Smith Street, Fitzroy

Poison City Records
400 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Northside Records
236 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Polyester Records
387 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

 

[Mat-with-one-t]

I live up the street.  This is Hipsterville, but in a great way, along with gentrification (present company excepted) and arguably the home of Australian live music.  Stacks of musicians live around the area, RRR and PBS are nearby.  Bloody great!  Thus, all the record shops are responding to the local market. Yay.

[proftournesol]

Long live hipsters

[Mat-with-one-t]

Beards improve room acoustics 

[Ian McP]

excellent guide https://digginmelbourne.com/

and a no. 86 short tram ride away

Records Etcetera 557 High St Thornbury

Thornbury Records 591 High St

another new shop, Vinyl on High, opposite the Croxton Park hotel, High St Thornbury

Multi Sonics: vinyl, 2ndh hifi, some real gems, "mid fi" radiograms plus more

https://www.facebook.com/multisonics/

cnr High and Bell Sts Preston

regards Ian

[proftournesol]

any new 'south of the yarra' record shops?

[keyse1]

2 hours ago, Ian McP said:

excellent guide https://digginmelbourne.com/

and a no. 86 short tram ride away

Records Etcetera 557 High St Thornbury

Thornbury Records 591 High St

another new shop, Vinyl on High, opposite the Croxton Park hotel, High St Thornbury

Multi Sonics: vinyl, 2ndh hifi, some real gems, "mid fi" radiograms plus more

https://www.facebook.com/multisonics/

cnr High and Bell Sts Preston

regards Ian

Next time I'm in Melbourne will be off to multisonics

[Demondes]

2 hours ago, proftournesol said:

any new 'south of the yarra' record shops?

Ha does anything good happen south the Yarra?

[t_mike]

3 hours ago, proftournesol said:

any new 'south of the yarra' record shops?

 

 

http://www.flamingo.com.au/

 

Well, it is south. 

 

15 minutes ago, Demondes said:

Ha does anything good happen south the Yarra?

 

Anyone for a game of tag?

 

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by t_mike

[proftournesol]

21 minutes ago, Demondes said:

Ha does anything good happen south the Yarra?

Greville Records

Quality Records

Licorice Pie et al

[Ian McP]

South of the Yarra and still giving the finger to ever encroaching gentrification and monoculture, resolutely flying the freak flag:

viva Greville Records!

[Ian McP]

https://digginmelbourne.com/2016/11/21/new-store-listing-and-whispers-on-diggin-melbourne/

 

< If you didn’t already know, there is a full afternoon’s worth of diggin’ to be had in the outer-inner-North these days. If you’ve spent the morning tearing up Brunswick St /Smith St / Johnston St, why not cross over Alexandra Pde and take on the Goldmine Stores on Nicholson St and St Georges Rd – then hit High St, Northcote for Rathdowne Records, Thornbury Records, Records Etc, The Music Jungle and of course High on Vinyl. From there it’s a quick trip across to Sydney Rd, stopping off at Multisonics, Muscle Shoals or maybe Lost & Found Market for a dig. Once you’re on Sydney Rd, you have Round and Round Records, Round Again Records and Record Paradise all at your disposal. And by no means are they the only spots to get your fix. Check Stereophonics on Nicholson St, Carlton North,  and a notable mention to The Aquarium in Northcote who have a slim but tasteful selection of jazz, hip hop and electronica amidst their vintage clothing store. >

 

If you're at a loss to fill in a hour or so in the CBD, a smart new shop recently opened by Pat, ex Basement Discs, he's always wanted his own shop, and pretty cool it is too!

 

ROCKSTEADY RECORDS
Level 1, Mitchell House
358 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
0438 833 979 | pat@rocksteadyrecords.com.au
rocksteadyrecords.com.au
< Lots of new and secondhand vinyl. Local independent releases. Reggae, funk, soul, rock, jazz, hip hop, indie, new wave etc. Turntables and books too. >

 

regards Ian

[Demondes]

5 hours ago, Ian McP said:

South of the Yarra and still giving the finger to ever encroaching gentrification and monoculture, resolutely flying the freak flag:

viva Greville Records!

Just joking, love Greville Records.

 

There is a lot of vinyl in that shop, new and used