Where to buy Recordings in the U.K.

[richardfinegold]

The wife and I will be on your side of the pond in a few days. Will be in Bath, Cotswolds, York, Edinburgh, and London. Are there any good shops for new/used CDS/Vinyl for Classical Music that i should see? On this side of the pond they are drying up pretty fast.

[Thropplenoggin]

The wife and I will be on your side of the pond in a few days. Will be in Bath, Cotswolds, York, Edinburgh, and London. Are there any good shops for new/used CDS/Vinyl for Classical Music that i should see? On this side of the pond they are drying up pretty fast.

You've certainly picked a picturesque itinerary for the British Isles. Be sure to visit Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds with the beautiful River Windrush and all those lovely bridges.

HMV on Oxford Street, London impressed me when I was last there in April. I don't know the other cities well enough to know of independent shops.

[MrGongGong]

in London I would check out


Harold Moores Records
2 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7HQ


Gramex
25 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RJ

[salymap]

Apart from HMV in Oxford Street, I would suggest looking round the Soho, Charing Cross Road area of London.
There must be some of the little shops left and Soho had some wonderful open fronted shops with LPs, CDs etc. If you have time, of course. Enjoy your visit.

[Resurrection Man]

Careful. There are two HMV shops in Oxford Street. One (nearest Marble Arch IIRC) has the classical upstairs shoe-horned in and not very good IMO. The other branch is closer to Tottenham Court Road and the classical department downstairs in its own quiet little oasis.

I second a visit to Harold Moores as it is very close to the HMV shop. There is also the Green Dragon pub very close by.

[mangerton]

In Edinburgh, go here.

Quite central, behind the castle, and very close to the Usher Hall, Edinburgh's main concert hall.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Bath Compact Discs: http://www.bathcds.btinternet.co.uk/
Banks Music, York: http://www.musicroom.com/york

... "drying up fast" here, too, sadly: Banks is a shadow of its former self, but still one of the more reliable stores in the UK.

For used CDs & vinyl, a trip to any of the Oxfam Bookshops often yields fine results (and in a worthy cause, too) - in the High Streets of all the places you'll visit, I imagine.

Hope you enjoy your trip and find casesful of goodies.

[amateur51]

Careful. There are two HMV shops in Oxford Street. One (nearest Marble Arch IIRC) has the classical upstairs shoe-horned in and not very good IMO. The other branch is closer to Tottenham Court Road and the classical department downstairs in its own quiet little oasis.

I second a visit to Harold Moores as it is very close to the HMV shop. There is also the Green Dragon pub very close by.

Sadly the HMV nearer to Marble Arch is a thing of the past

If you are driving, I'd suggest that a detour to Bishop's Castle to visit Yarborough House would be worth your while. They have a café plus a huge stock of second-hand CDs and LPs as well as second-hand books of all types.

http://www.yarboroughhouse.com/lpsandcds.html

Bishops Castle is delightful small town and the drive will take you through some wonderful countryside at a special time of the year

Happy hunting!

[umslopogaas]

Neither of these are in the towns you mention, but England isnt very big and both would be accessible in under an hour by train from London.

Ben's Collectors Records, Tunsgate, Guildford (Ben Darnton)

Fine Records, George Street, Hove (Julian Pelling and Ian Wallace)

Both shops do secondhand CDs and sometimes secondhand vinyl, though supplies of the latter are drying up over here too. Ben concentrates more on pop and jazz, but he does have classical discs too. Fine Records concentrate mainly on classical discs. Both carry my recommendation, they've both had a lot of my money over the years!

In Bath, there is Bath Compact Discs, 27 Broad Street, tel 01225 464766. I've never dealt with them, but they advertise in Gramophone magazine. I'm not clear from the advert if they do any secondhand discs.

In London, try Gramex, 25 Lower Marsh Street (just behind Waterloo Station).

[An_Inspector_Calls]

It's not on your itinerary but well worth a visit:

http://www.yarboroughhouse.com/lpsandcds.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop's_Castle

http://www.visitsouthshropshire.co.uk/bishops-castle.php

Bishops Castle is a treat: a small village in Shropshire that boasts two breweries!

[umslopogaas]

Oxfam and other charity shops are always worth a look, but a couple of words of caution. Oxfam used to be a great source of bargains in secondhand LPs, but they eventually realised they were selling much too cheap and employed someone specially to value all their stock. As a result, prices shot up, and, in my view, they became very bad value. Also, check carefully for quality, I've seen some real worn-out rubbish in charity shops.

[Ferretfancy]

Careful. There are two HMV shops in Oxford Street. One (nearest Marble Arch IIRC) has the classical upstairs shoe-horned in and not very good IMO. The other branch is closer to Tottenham Court Road and the classical department downstairs in its own quiet little oasis.

I second a visit to Harold Moores as it is very close to the HMV shop. There is also the Green Dragon pub very close by.

I'm sorry Resurrection Man, but the HMV at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street closed more than a year ago. I haven't visited it yet, but I'm told that Foyles have a surprisingly good selection including second hand.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

: Banks is a shadow of its former self, but still one of the more reliable stores in the UK. .

Since being taken over by the Dark Side (Music Sales), Banks has indeed gone downhill, but the upstairs section still provides good service with knowledgeable staff.

[David-G]

In Edinburgh, go here.
Quite central, behind the castle, and very close to the Usher Hall, Edinburgh's main concert hall.

I would like to second Mangerton's recommendation for McAlister Matheson in Edinburgh. Of the record shops in the UK that I know, this is the best. The shop has a good stock and is very well run.

[Resurrection Man]

I'm sorry Resurrection Man, but the HMV at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street closed more than a year ago. I haven't visited it yet, but I'm told that Foyles have a surprisingly good selection including second hand.

Ah, long time since I ventured down that end. Not to worry though as it wasn't my preferred HMV !