The Top 10 Weird Record Store Names
The names of record stores worldwide can be wild. And they can be wild because most of them are independent and don’t need to be vetted by big corporations’ focus groups and marketing execs. It is a similar trend with comic books stores and our dearly departed friends, video rental stores (RIP).
Our ability to discover the record stores out there with weird or funny names is limited, so we decided to check with the worldwide community of collectors in our three main social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We knew right from the very beginning that we were set up for success, and you all took good care in replying to our question with hundreds of record store names.
It’s been tough to stick to just 10 weird record store names given the incredible amount we’ve received and the outstanding creativity of record store owners to name their babies. Whether it’s puns, double meanings or straight up scatological dirty business, we were surprised by the number of record stores unafraid of make an impact in their customers with some of the most unforgettable names ever.
Before we go ahead with our top 10 weird record store names, we don’t want to leave out all the other record stores which didn’t make the cut but that also deserve to be mentioned in this article. Here’s a full list in alphabetical order:
- 4,000 Holes 🇺🇸
- Baby’s On Fire 🇺🇸
- Bananamoon 🇸🇪
- Basement Traxx 🇬🇧
- Biscuits & Vinyl 🇺🇸
- Boo Boo Records 🇺🇸
- Bordello A Parigi 🇳🇱
- Butter Beats 🇦🇺
- Crispin Glover Record Shop 🇳🇴
- Dead Media 🇺🇸
- Delicious Goldfish Records 🇸🇪
- Disc N Dat 🇺🇸
- Disco Duck 🇨🇿
- Evelyn Novacek (read the full story here) 🇳🇱
- Flat, Black And Circular 🇺🇸
- Fresh Garbage Records 🇫🇮
- Groovy Tosti 🇳🇱
- Moldy Toes 🇺🇸
- Monster Robot Party 🇦🇺
- Rasputin 🇺🇸
- Rhubarb Records 🇦🇺
- Sweat Records 🇺🇸
- The Left-Legged Pineapple 🇬🇧
- Tigers & Daggers Records 🇺🇸
- Tone Deaf Records 🇺🇸
- Uncle Tony’s Donut Shoppe 🇺🇸
- Used Kids 🇺🇸
- The Vicious Squirrel 🇬🇧
- Wah Wah Discos 🇪🇸
- Wooden Tooth Records 🇺🇸
To be fair, we made sure that all of the record stores in the Top 10 were mentioned by many different users:
Manic Hedgehog, in Oxford UK – late 80’s – mid 90’s, on Bullingdon Road.
The proprietor was a great guy called Martin Hedgehog (really), to whom I am eternally grateful for turning me on to a lot of dub. Manic Hedgehog was the place to go back then to get all the techno/rave white labels as well as indie stuff.
Little local band Radiohead (then called On a Friday) named their first demo tape after the shop where it was sold. Wonder what happened to them?
The Sound Machine in Reading, UK. Or Raves From The Grave in Frome and Warminster, UK.
There’s a funny record shop in Espoo, Finland called Blue Vinyl Records… where’s the beef? You might ask, my friend. Well, they mainly sell BLACK vinyl records 😵
get a life and check Dischi & Dintorni via Ormea 31 TORINO Turin
Proud to be a frequenter of Criminal Records in ATL. Great place with a great vibe!
Dimple Records in Sacramento,Ca,Usa. Sadly they shut down as of today. 5 stores servicing the Sacramento valley. RIP
Superior, WI has The Vinyl Cave, located inside Globe News, a news stand/comic shop/sports card shop.
Beautiful World Syndicate is on Discogs as philadelphiamusic. I have bought many fine and reasonably priced platters from them, and their service is likewise very good.
Electric Fetus also has a branch store in Duluth, MN.
There was a store in Bradford, UK which originally only sold
2nd hand records called The Wax Museum
Interestingly, all the top 10 stores are located in the US of A.
One I like is Vinyl Solution, but maybe it’s because I like [r1479143]
<3 Delicious Goldfish <3
A few from the UK:
Vinyl Tap – physical store in Huddersfield, England, and also online [https://www.vinyltap.co.uk/]
Pie & Vinyl – store in Southsea, England. A record store and café, where you can buy vinyl and have a pie! [https://pieandvinyl.co.uk/]
The Tangled Parrot – store in Carmarthen, Wales [https://en-gb.facebook.com/tangled.parrot/]
I love each and every one of these names. They’re just so creative and original.
We opened our record shop in 1971 as the first Indie Rock Shop in Melbourne (also in Australia) as ARCHIE & JUGHEADS AMERICAN RECORDS.Would that make the cut in your list today I wonder?
Last year I visited “Jerk Dog Records” in Bradenton,FL (nice little store btw)
Don’t forget “Bad Taste Records” in Reykjavik, Iceland!
There use to be a vinyl resting place in the U.K. also
I thought Electric Buddhas here in Portland, Maine was pretty weird, but Electric Fetus truly takes it a step further. Bravo.
Shout out to Philadelphia, Check out “long in the tooth” and “Beautiful world syndicate”
That’s actually End of an Ear’s original/old location but never fear, Discogs & Vinylogs have pix of the new place :)
Well I’m sorry I missed the call for this, I would have loved to nominate the excellent “Vinylstore Jr” in Canterbury, UK. For all those J Mascis fans out there…