Vienna and its record shops

Episode 12 of the Vinyl Cities series

In a proper Viennese coffeehouse the waiter brings a glass of water with your coffee, and then, without being asked, brings another one. And another. It is the house's way of saying you can stay. Nobody clears your cup to make a point; the newspapers hang on wooden rods by the door for anyone who wants them. When UNESCO added the city's coffeehouse culture to Austria's intangible heritage in 2011, the citation described these as places where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee appears on the bill.

Hold on to that idea, because it's the key to digging here. Vienna's record shops run on the same rules as its cafés. They are small, mostly owned by one person or one family, late to open, early to close and shut on Sunday without exception. And once you're inside, the clock stops. Ask what's good and local and someone will pull a stack for you to listen to. Mention a label and you'll get its history, often from someone who knew the people involved. A record bought in Vienna has usually been played through, talked about, and chosen slowly.

That makes it a city for an unhurried afternoon rather than a long want-list. Come with time, not targets.

How Vienna Learned Two Speeds

For most of the twentieth century, buying records in Vienna meant buying classical music. Gramola opened on the Graben in 1924 selling gramophones and discs and is now regarded as Austria's oldest record shop, still run by the same family. Teuchtler, on Windmühlgasse, opened in 1948, also as a classical specialist, before widening out to everything else. The city's record trade grew up in the shadow of the Musikverein, the Staatsoper and the Vienna Philharmonic, and of the great Decca sessions recorded in town.

The second speed arrived in the 1990s. In 1994 three Viennese musicians started a label called Mego, soon joined by the English-born Peter Rehberg, and set about treating digital noise, glitches and broken code as raw material for something beautiful. The record that carried it round the world was Christian Fennesz's Endless Summer in 2001: guitar run through a laptop until the melodies dissolve into warm static. Around the same time Kruder & Dorfmeister slowed club music to a crawl on The K&D Sessions, and for a few years DJs everywhere used the word "Vienna" to mean a tempo: low, soft, soaked in dub.

Both sounds ask the listener to sit still. It's hard not to hear the coffeehouse in them. Mego folded in 2005 and returned the following year as Editions Mego, which Rehberg ran until his death in 2021. The shops that still carry its catalogue are almost all in one district.

Hours checked in October 2026 from public sources: they can change.

Neubau: Seven Shops, Ten Minutes Apart

The 7th district, just north of the MuseumsQuartier, has the tightest cluster in the city. Start here, and start after lunch: very little in Neubau opens in the morning.

Substance Recordstore (Westbahnstraße 16, U3 Zieglergasse, Mon-Sat 12-6) is the shop every Viennese collector names first. Open since 2001, it carries new and used indie, electronic, free jazz and experimental music, plus books and a mail-order operation that ships across Europe. The trick is to ask what's new from Austria: you'll leave with artists who never surface on international charts.

DAS MARKET (Zieglergasse 40, U3 Zieglergasse, Tue-Fri 1-8, Sat 12-5) is one room of house, techno and disco, picked record by record by a DJ who was playing house in Vienna when it was still new. This is a shop for listening more than flicking. Closing time is what the sign says, in theory; in practice it slides if the conversation is good.

Schallter Audio & Records (Westbahnstraße 13, corner of Bandgasse, U3 Zieglergasse, Mon-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-5) faces Substance from a corner shop with big glass windows. It sells vintage and collectable vinyl and, in the same room, hi-fi and turntable spare parts: the stop to make if a new stylus is on the list too.

Totem Records (Zollergasse 18-20, U3 Neubaugasse, hours vary: check Google Maps or their socials before you go) has been open since 1998 and is the darkest room in the district: black and death metal, 70s rock, soundtracks and industrial. It was founded by Alex Wank, drummer of Pungent Stench, who also releases genre-film scores on his Cineploit label. Bring cash.

SingSing Records (Neustiftgasse 19, U2/U3 Volkstheater, Mon-Fri 10-6:30, Sat 10-6) is pure second-hand: thirty-plus years of trading, boxes of every genre, and a busy collection-buying side that keeps the stock turning over. Budget real time. The 7-inch singles live at the back, and the back is where the finds are.

Moses-Records (Lerchenfelder Straße 33, U2/U3 Volkstheater, Mon-Sat 12-7) calls itself Vienna's biggest vinyl and CD shop and works at two speeds of its own: curated new stock up front, used crates on the floor behind for anyone willing to kneel. The owner also runs the record fair at Längenfeldgasse in the 12th district; dates are on the shop's site.

Black Monk (Neubaugasse 51, U3 Neubaugasse, Mon-Thu 3-7, Fri 3-8, Sat 11-4) has been open since 2013 in a room about as wide as its own front door. Classic rock, krautrock, free jazz and prog, new and used, with grading that regulars describe as honest to the point of fussiness. It opens mid-afternoon, which makes it the natural last stop on a Neubau walk.

Mariahilf, Wieden and Margareten: the Booth, the Punk Shop and the Soul 45s

Head south towards the Naschmarkt and the tone changes: less club music, more second-hand, more stories.

Alt & Neu Records (Windmühlgasse 10, U3 Neubaugasse, Mon-Fri 1-6, Sat 10-1) is how Teuchtler presents itself today, still family-run since 1948. It's the shop where Jesse and Céline squeeze into a listening booth in Before Sunrise, and the booth is still there; plenty of people come in for that alone. Those who stay find classical, Wienerlied, jazz and a shelf of shellac 78s you won't see in many places in Europe. Watch Saturday: it closes at one.

Rave Up Records (Hofmühlgasse 1, U4 Pilgramgasse, Mon-Fri 10-6:30, Sat 10-5) has been independent for more than thirty years: punk, post-punk, alternative, 60s garage and psych, a big used section and two listening stations where nobody hovers. The staff are known for answering emailed want-lists properly, so if you're after a particular title, write before you travel.

Sissysound Record Store (Margaretenstraße 47, U4 Kettenbrückengasse, Tue-Sat 12-6) opened in 2019 in roughly twenty square metres, with around five thousand electronic and club records picked by the owner. It's the smallest shop in this guide and one of the best edited. Nothing on the shelf is filler.

Recordbag Music & Fashion (Margaretenstraße 91, U4 Pilgramgasse, Mon-Thu 10-7, Fri 10-9, Sat 10-6) has paired records with clothes since 2004. Its founder, Sylvia Benedikter, is one of very few women running a record shop in the city. Indie and Britpop, new releases and Record Store Day titles, and late opening on Fridays.

Record Shack (Reinprechtsdorfer Straße 60, U4 Pilgramgasse, Mon-Wed & Fri 12-7, Thu 12-10, Sat 12-5) occupies a former haberdasher's and belongs to the 7-inch: soul, northern soul, funk and reggae, run by a DJ who also presses soul singles on his own label. Thursday's ten o'clock close is about as late as record shopping gets in Vienna.

The Innere Stadt, Landstraße and Further Out

Gramola (Graben 16, U1/U3 Stephansplatz, Mon-Fri 10-6:30, Sat 10-6) is where Vienna's record trade began and where you come for classical music, new and vintage, on vinyl and CD, served by staff who can handle the narrowest request. The historic shop interior is worth the visit on its own. From Neubau it's a fifteen-minute walk.

Vinyl (Babenbergerstraße 3, U2 Museumsquartier, hours vary: check Google Maps or their socials before you go) is a generalist a few steps from the Ring with no website and no social media at all: vinyl and cassettes across the board, and very warm customer reviews. You find it by walking past.

Wiener LP Café (Erdbergstraße 10, U3 Rochusgasse, Mon, Wed, Thu 10-6, Fri 10-7, Sat 10-5, closed Tuesday) opened in 2018 and is this guide's argument in a single room: coffee at the counter, new and used vinyl at the table, and a hi-fi workshop that services turntables and cleans records. Drop off the day's haul for a wash before it goes in your suitcase.

Apartment Acht (Reindorfgasse 44, 15th district, U6 Gumpendorfer Straße, hours vary: check Google Maps or their socials before you go) left Mariahilf and reopened further west on 29 November 2025, in 160 square metres of records, second-hand fashion, art, coffee and listening sessions. The vinyl selection is smaller than in Neubau; you come for the room as much as the racks.

Lenny's Music Store (Heizwerkstraße 8, Liesing, 23rd district) is a different proposition: more than fifty thousand LPs, heavy on metal, rock and Austrian releases, in an industrial estate far from everything else. It opens only Thursday and Friday, 10-6, and the first Saturday of the month, 9-4. Don't fold it into a walk. Make it its own trip, on the right day.

Saturday at the Naschmarkt

The Naschmarkt Flohmarkt is the city's biggest flea market: every Saturday from 6:30am to 3pm on the Linke Wienzeile, right by U4 Kettenbrückengasse, with around four hundred stalls. Records turn up every week among the porcelain, antiques and old coats, usually in boxes with no order at all. Haggle, pay cash, and get there early, because by mid-morning the best crates have been picked over. There's no market on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day or 6 January.

Sissysound, Rave Up and Alt & Neu are a few minutes' walk away. The rest of the morning plans itself.

Recommended Itineraries

A Neubau afternoon. Substance, Schallter, DAS MARKET, SingSing, Moses and Totem all sit within ten minutes' walk of one another, with Black Monk as the closer once it has opened. Begin after lunch.

A Saturday morning. The flea market at seven, breakfast in a coffeehouse, then Sissysound and Rave Up, and Alt & Neu before it shuts at one. Spend the afternoon in Neubau.

The long walk. From Substance to Gramola through the MuseumsQuartier and across the Ring: fifteen minutes between the city's electronic heart and its classical one, with a coffee stop somewhere in between.

Practicalities

Sunday is closed. Every shop in this guide shuts on Sunday; Austrian retail rules keep almost all shops closed, and record shops are no exception. Check Monday too: DAS MARKET and Sissysound are closed, while Wiener LP Café takes Tuesday off instead.

Late starts, early finishes. Noon, one, sometimes three in the afternoon. Almost nothing stays open past seven, with two exceptions: Recordbag on Friday and Record Shack on Thursday.

Getting around. One Wiener Linien ticket covers the U-Bahn, trams and buses; a 24-hour pass pays for itself if you're covering several areas, and it's cheaper bought in the WienMobil app. The U3 serves Neubau (Zieglergasse, Neubaugasse) and runs on to Wiener LP Café (Rochusgasse); the U4 serves the Naschmarkt and Margareten (Kettenbrückengasse, Pilgramgasse).

From the airport. From Schwechat the CAT gets you to the centre in about a quarter of an hour; the S7 S-Bahn takes a little longer and costs the same as a city ticket.

Cash. Cards work almost everywhere, but you'll need cash at the flea market, and it helps in the smallest shops.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy vinyl in Vienna? Start in Neubau, the 7th district: Substance Recordstore, DAS MARKET, SingSing Records, Moses-Records and Black Monk are all within ten minutes' walk of each other. For second-hand and soul, head south to Mariahilf and Margareten (Alt & Neu, Rave Up, Record Shack); for classical, go to Gramola on the Graben.

Where can I buy classical records in Vienna? Gramola, at Graben 16, opened in 1924 and is regarded as Austria's oldest record shop; it is the city's classical specialist. Alt & Neu Records on Windmühlgasse also has a deep classical section, including shellac 78s.

Does the record shop from Before Sunrise still exist? Yes. It's Teuchtler, at Windmühlgasse 10, which now trades as Alt & Neu Records. Family-run since 1948, it opens Monday to Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-1pm.

Are Vienna's record shops open on Sunday? No. Shops in Austria close on Sundays, and none of the shops in this guide open. Saturday is the best day to dig, because the Naschmarkt flea market runs as well.

Is there a flea market for records in Vienna? The Naschmarkt Flohmarkt runs every Saturday from 6:30am to 3pm by U4 Kettenbrückengasse, with about four hundred stalls and records every week. Moses-Records also runs a periodic record fair at Längenfeldgasse; dates are on the shop's website.

Where can I buy electronic and house records in Vienna? Substance Recordstore and DAS MARKET in Neubau, and Sissysound Record Store in Wieden, which specialises in electronic and club music. Substance also stocks Editions Mego, the experimental label born in the city.

A Record to Hunt for in Vienna

THE RECORD TO HUNT

Fennesz

Endless Summer

Mego · MEGO 035v · 2001

FIND IT ON

🇬🇧 eBay UK 🇺🇸 eBay US

Affiliate link — no extra cost to you. The grail is the original 2001 Mego vinyl: catalogue MEGO 035v, with the "v" at the end.

Endless Summer is the record that put Vienna on the map of electronic music, and the one that best matches the city's pace: music that comes apart slowly and wants to be heard start to finish, sitting down.

Identifying it comes down to one letter. The original 2001 CD is catalogue MEGO 035; the vinyl, released the same month, is MEGO 035v. When the label came back as Editions Mego, the album returned on CD as eMEGO 035, with a new mix and two extra tracks. That's a different record, so if you want the original, look for the "v" on the spine and on the label.

In town, ask at Substance and DAS MARKET, the two shops closest to the world the record came from. The Vienna entry in The Grail Hunt has the identification details and links to search for a copy.

The Vienna chapter of The Grail Hunt: Europe goes further: seventeen shops and three records to hunt, including the classical grail recorded in the city, with the details you need to recognise a first pressing at the rack.

The Vinyl Cities series continues. Subscribe to the Groov-illa newsletter so you don't miss the next episode.

If you live in Vienna and have corrections, tips or a shop that deserves a mention, write to hello@groovilla.com. We update the guide regularly.