It certainly has the best selection of new vinyl I find on my jaunt, with the second-hand stock picked expertly to offer up just the best of what is, in truth, a mountain of used discs for sale in the city. It’s the record shop you’ll most likely see listed in a guide book and it deserves its place as, perhaps, the one music store you should visit above all others (as if!). When men of a certain age go misty-eyed about record shopping, they’re likely imagining something like this Amsterdam institution (dating from 1955), that shows no signs of sinking anytime soon. Opening hours: 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday (to 7pm Thursday) noon to 6pm Sunday The tiny basement has a good mix of cheaper discs, including a lot of jazz and soul. There are lots of deals (three for €10), but not many singles.
#Vinyl store near me windows#
The stained-glass windows really add a sense of occasion and the records are pretty fine, too. Slightly further out of the city centre than many of the other stores on this list, this attractive shop is one of those places you spend as much time just soaking in as you do going through the stock – a monument, if you like, to gentler times for the retail trade, when owners cared as much about what their business looked like as what prices they could charge. Opening hours: 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday noon to 6pm Sunday I’m drawn to the huge soundtracks section… The domestic Nederbeat – 60s beat-pop – is another house speciality and is increasing in its collectibility, hence rising prices.
#Vinyl store near me plus#
Jazz is what Record Palace is most famous for, but there’s a good selection of classic material from the 60s, 70s and 80s, plus large import sections from Japan and even India.
While I’m flicking through two floors of well-stocked racks of vinyl, I hear him in conversation with an American and a chap from Japan – both had made a special trip over just to go record shopping. This well-regarded generalist has been trading since 1988, and Jan van Dorsten has an army of customers from around the world. Opening hours: 11am to 6pm Monday to Saturday noon to 5pm Sunday
But Amsterdam had beaten me in the sweetest possible way… After wearily loading my haul into the back of my car (thank god I decided to drive here!) I had to concede defeat – I pride myself on covering a huge amount of crate digging in decent time.
This is a destination that one could imagine coming to visit at least twice a year, if stamina and funds would stand up to it. On departing most of the cities I visit on these trips, I leave satisfied the stock has been pillaged and I’ve unearthed much of what’s on offer.
That said, I came across one of my best-ever bargains here, but I’ll let the narrative lead you to that joyful moment in due course. Being on the continent, the 1970s 45 picture sleeves are much-prized by pop collectors the soul and dance is abundant and the prices for rock are keen – but it’s fair to say most of these dealers know their stuff. I managed 19 stores out of 21 in about 36 hours of uninterrupted shopping (well, I did eat and sleep – briefly) and failed to do the city’s flea markets any significant justice.
#Vinyl store near me how to#
In truth, the challenge you’ll have is how to cover the ground in a couple of days. Everywhere is easy to get around on foot (it is, of course, famously flat) and navigation is relatively straightforward, too, with roads following a simple-to-understand grid fanning out evenly from the Dutch capital’s centre. Not content with the world’s biggest record event just up the road – Utrecht’s Mega jamborees in April and November – plus a decent number of fairs held in Amsterdam itself throughout the year, this is perhaps the perfect choice for a weekend of the passion we share. Throw in the city’s bustling flea markets and you’ve got a unique cocktail for overindulgence! Ignoring the sins of food, flesh and intoxication on offer here in all their many forms, this is certainly a crate digger’s illicit den of temptation – with more than 20 shops, all offering something a little different. You know that feeling that kicks in about 25 minutes after Christmas lunch – the self-satisfied glow and the sense you have over-indulged just a little too much? Swiftly followed, of course, by a billowing sense of exhaustion and the faintest trace of nausea? Well, a weekend of record shopping in Amsterdam feels rather like that. Mark Elliott ’s record-shopping stamina is put to the sternest of tests in Amsterdam – undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest and most varied crate-digging destinations…
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