One Day of Record Shopping in London
Twenty-four hours, one strategy: how to work London without running
One day in London and a want-list in your head: the temptation is to race across the city and finish with nothing. The better strategy is the opposite — pick two areas, focus, and let the Tube do the work. This itinerary lines the best shops up into a sensible route, morning to evening, with no needless zig-zags.
One day, one strategy
The rule is don't scatter. London is big and the shops are spread out: trying to see them all means spending the day on transport. Better to make the centre (Soho) your morning base, then a second area for the afternoon, chosen by what you're after. The Tube links everything in twenty to thirty minutes, but every move is time taken from the racks.
Start early, at opening, and keep lunch light and on the move: on a hunting day, time is the scarce resource, not the records.
The rule is don't scatter. London is big and the shops are spread out: trying to see them all means spending the day on transport. Better to make the centre (Soho) your morning base, then a second area for the afternoon, chosen by what you're after. The Tube links everything in twenty to thirty minutes, but every move is time taken from the racks.
Start early, at opening, and keep lunch light and on the move: on a hunting day, time is the scarce resource, not the records.
Morning: Soho
Begin in the centre, where the density is highest and everything's on foot. Sounds of the Universe (7 Broadwick Street) for curated soul, jazz, funk and electronic; then Berwick Street for Reckless Records (number 30) and Sister Ray (number 75), used and new; and a detour to Poland Street and Phonica (number 51) if club music is your ground. Two or three hours and you've covered the heart of London without a single ride.
If jazz is your thing, add a stop at Ray's Jazz inside Foyles on Charing Cross Road, on Soho's eastern edge.
Begin in the centre, where the density is highest and everything's on foot. Sounds of the Universe (7 Broadwick Street) for curated soul, jazz, funk and electronic; then Berwick Street for Reckless Records (number 30) and Sister Ray (number 75), used and new; and a detour to Poland Street and Phonica (number 51) if club music is your ground. Two or three hours and you've covered the heart of London without a single ride.
If jazz is your thing, add a stop at Ray's Jazz inside Foyles on Charing Cross Road, on Soho's eastern edge.
Afternoon: pick your second area
From Soho, two directions by taste. West to Notting Hill: Honest Jon's (278 Portobello Road) for soul, funk, reggae, jazz and world, in one of the finest areas to walk — ideal if it's also market day. North-east to Islington: Flashback Records (50 Essex Road) for deep, ordered, multi-genre used stock.
If your ground is indie, new releases and events, head east to Rough Trade East (91 Brick Lane), open seven days a week and the heart of a lively area. One afternoon area, chosen well, beats three smash-and-grabs.
From Soho, two directions by taste. West to Notting Hill: Honest Jon's (278 Portobello Road) for soul, funk, reggae, jazz and world, in one of the finest areas to walk — ideal if it's also market day. North-east to Islington: Flashback Records (50 Essex Road) for deep, ordered, multi-genre used stock.
If your ground is indie, new releases and events, head east to Rough Trade East (91 Brick Lane), open seven days a week and the heart of a lively area. One afternoon area, chosen well, beats three smash-and-grabs.
Evening: the last stop
When the shops close, London offers a way to stretch the day: the listening bars. Brilliant Corners, in Dalston, is the reference — good food, a serious system, records played properly — the right place to end by listening rather than buying. It's also a way to let the day's hauls settle and work out what you actually took home.
Check evening hours ahead: listening bars run on booking during peak times.
When the shops close, London offers a way to stretch the day: the listening bars. Brilliant Corners, in Dalston, is the reference — good food, a serious system, records played properly — the right place to end by listening rather than buying. It's also a way to let the day's hauls settle and work out what you actually took home.
Check evening hours ahead: listening bars run on booking during peak times.
Who this page is for
Anyone passing through London with a single day for records, who wants to spend it well. If you'd rather stay central on foot, go to the [Soho guide](/en/guides/london-record-shops/soho/); if it's the weekend, the [weekend and markets guide](/en/guides/london-record-shops/weekend-markets/). For the full map, start with the [London record shops guide](/en/groove/vinyl-cities/02-london/).
Anyone passing through London with a single day for records, who wants to spend it well. If you'd rather stay central on foot, go to the [Soho guide](/en/guides/london-record-shops/soho/); if it's the weekend, the [weekend and markets guide](/en/guides/london-record-shops/weekend-markets/). For the full map, start with the [London record shops guide](/en/groove/vinyl-cities/02-london/).
Morning in Soho (Sounds of the Universe, Berwick Street, Phonica), an afternoon in one chosen second area — Notting Hill, Islington or the east — and an evening in a listening bar. Two areas, not five.
How many record shops can you see in a day in London?
At leisure, five to eight: the four or five in Soho in the morning and two or three in a second area in the afternoon. Wanting more means spending the day on the Tube instead of in the racks.
What's the best one-day record-shopping route in London?
Soho in the morning, because it's concentrated and walkable, then a second area in the afternoon: Notting Hill for soul and world, Islington for used, the east for indie and new. In the evening, a listening bar.
How do you get between London's record shops in a day?
The Tube links the areas in twenty to thirty minutes, but every move is time taken from digging, so limit area changes to one or two. Start at opening to make the most of the best hours.
