Music
11 of Canada's best new record stores
by Mark Teo
September 20, 2013
It's time to try something new—and we're celebrating 11 of Canada's best new record stores.
Like our neighbours to the south, Canada has legendary record stores. We scratch our musical itches at beloved emporiums like Toronto’s Rotate This, Vancouver’s Neptoon, and Calgary’s Recordland, among others. But as vinyl culture—and heck, cassette culture—continues its expansion into the mainstream, we’ve seen a new crop of independents emerge. Some cater to niche genres. Others deliver records along with coffee, clothes, and vintage stuffs. Others, still, sling LPs while offering community spaces to their respective cities. Whatever their role, though, we’re witnessing newer record stores cropping up everywhere—and here are our favourites.
June Records (Toronto)
Photo: Facebook.com
Located on the fringe of Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood, June Records—whose co-owners, Ian Cheung and Dennis Reynolds, took liberal amounts of inspirations from T.O. institution KOPS Records—is indisputably the city’s hardest-hitting newcomer. It doubles as an all-ages venue and art space, all while stocking cheap-priced rock standards, Weird Canada-approved independent releases, zines, and one of the best jazz collections in the city. It’s one of the few places in Toronto with $5 copies of Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town and Ottawa punk cassettes on offer—both are rarities in a town obsessed with overpricing music.
LP’S LPs (Toronto)
Photo: Ryan Bolton
Blink and you’ll miss LP’s LPs, Lorenz Peter’s ode to nerdery of all stripes—it is, after all, located on the ever-changing Ossington Strip, just a block from the ever-popular Pizza Libretto. Books, graphic novels, and vintage ephemera are also paraded, but the boutique focuses on left-field indie rock, psychedelic oddities, and electronic music. The store’s real forte, though, is in its Canadian rarities: It’s where we’d go to find ancient, vintage Ontario avant-garde or long-forgotten Quebec-issued Boby Lapointe LPs.
Grasshopper Records (Toronto)
Photo: Facebook.com
To Toronto’s vinyl-obsessed, Derek “Grasshopper” Madison (who played in a ‘90s indie act of the same name) is a well-known quantity. After all, before Toronto exploded with niche vinyl peddlers, Madison, pictured above, was there: He’d set up shop in Kensington Market on sunny days, hocking pieces of his absurdly deep record collection from milk crates. Now, he has a brick ‘n’ mortar home for his collection, and it’s as diverse as ever: Among the stacks, you’ll find everything from Manowar LPs to Rodney Dangerfield’s long-forgotten hip hop record, Rappin’ Rodney. Located steps from the Dundas-Ossington juncture and its myriad bars, Grasshopper is open late—which is dangerous for collectors who’ve downed a pint too many.
Hammer City (Hamilton)
Photo: Facebook.com
Ontario’s punk rock and hardcore collectors took a major hit when Hits and Misses, Toronto’s only store catering to denim vest set, shuttered. But along with Toxic City Distribution, a brand-new tape, vinyl, and record distro helmed by the minds behind Stuck in the City, there’s yet another repository for punk rock in Southern Ontario: Steeltown’s Hammer City Records. Specializing in punk, hardcore, and metal, the vinyl emporium also stocks reggae, jazz and ska. Of note: Hammer City grew out of Schizophrenic, a hardcore label that’s cut releases by Fucked Up, Hazardous Waste, and local weirdos TV Freaks. We have the impression that the Hammer City fellas know exactly what they’re doing.
Black Buffalo (Halifax)
Photo: Facebook.com
While Taz is Halifax’s most beloved record store (with shout-outs to Agricola St.’s Obsolete and Lost and Found, which had a tiny, but incredible, selection), Black Buffalo is the city’s newest contender. Kevin Beal’s vinyl-forward emporium doesn’t pin itself to a single genre—there’s everything from indie rock to scream available—and is a sure bet to carry loads of local goods. Considering the wonderful Haligonian fare that’s perpetually being produced at places like The Khyber, we consider that a good thing.
Sonorama (Montreal)
Photo: Facebook.com
It’s shocking how good Montreal’s Sonorama, located in the city’s perpetually exploding Mile End ‘hood, is. Bright, beautiful, and diverse, Sonorama grew out of Primitive Records—one of the city’s most beloved vinyl hubs—and has similarly lodged itself in the hearts of Montreal’s music-obsessed masses. Expect to find a mixed bag of releases old and new, but Sonorama has an exceptional eye for all things vintage, whether you’re in the market for a jazz, garage, soul or disco rarity. Or whatever Arbutus is producing.
Beaumont Film and Record (Saskatoon)
Photo: Courtesy of Beaumont Film and Record
The beautiful Beaumont Film and Records has deep roots in Saskatoon’s surprisingly solid music scene—its owner Scott Gowen, plays in the Moas, a beloved local act. Accordingly, their involvement in the arts community had made Beaumont a creative hub, and in its short existence, it’s hosted everything from local book launches to Shotgun Jimmie in-stores. They’ve recently moved to a new downtown location—100-220 3rd Ave. South, for those wondering—and if you’re visiting Saskatchewan, it’s a non-negotiable must-see.
Luke’s Drug Mart (Calgary)
Photo: Facebook.com
While Luke’s Drug Mart won’t challenge Calgary’s vinyl mainstays—Sloth Records on 17th, the cavernous vinyl paradise of Record Land, and Kensington’s Hot Wax, whose overstuffed basement will leave your wallet weeping—this newcomer get massive points for originality. Luke’s is a historic pharmacy updated to modern standards: It’s also a café, serving up delicious Stumptown brew, while carrying cheaper-than-average new vinyl releases. It might be the only place in the world where you can pick up a macchiato, advil, and Deafhaven’s Sunbather—which makes Luke’s a comprehensive Sunday morning solution.
Blueprint (Lethbridge, AB)
Photo: Downtownlethbridge.ca
Blueprint, though not the newest entry on this list, came as a recommendation from the Ketamines’ Paul Lawton, who spent years building Lethbridge’s music scene. And give props to the city: It’s a wonder that the store exists, considering the 90,000-person Southern Alberta city is the smallest on our list. Nonetheless, the town has developed a sterling vinyl culture, thanks, in part, to Lawton’s Mammoth Cave Records, which dispenses some of the music Western Canada has on offer. That label has since packed up and moved to Toronto, but Blueprint still labours to bring quality music to Lethbridge.
Champion Jack’s (Abbotsford, BC)
Photo: Facebook.com
AUX.TV contributor Josiah Hughes notoriously has a love-hate relationship with his hometown of Abbotsford, but he’s clear on one thing: He love-loves Champion Jack’s. While the store deals heavily in vintage clothing—its Facebook page has tricots for miles—it also carries new and used vinyl and cassettes. And if that weren’t enough, it’s emerged as a de facto community hub, even hosting all-ages local bills. It’s the place to be if you want to purchase some suburban pop-punk and catch it live, too.
Zoo Zhop (Vancouver)
Photo: Facebook.com
While Zhoo Zhop isn’t necessarily Vancouver’s newest record store of note—arguably, that distinction belongs to Dandelion at Main and East Broadway—it’s among its most charming. The space is collective-run, housing a solid crop of new and used releases, but it also cemented itself as a music-scene mainstay when it hosted all-ages DIY shows. Those days are no more; as The Georgia Straight notes, it’s the latest cultural space to get shut down (over fire bylaws, no less). Thankfully, its record collection remains.
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