For some it's nostalgia, for others it's cult: in any case, it's a completely different feeling to operate the needle of the record player than simply pressing play on your smartphone. For all friends of vinyl and good music, we have selected 11 very special record shops. Our tips for collectors, DJs and music fans of all genres - here you'll find rarities, new pressings and everything that goes with them.
Extra tip: From 18 April, just in time for Record Store Day on 20 April, the new Rough Trade Shop will open in Neukölln. The legendary record shop is moving into a former department stores' in the centre of the vibrant Karl-Marx-Straße.
Tip 1: Rough Trade - trendspot in Neukölln
The legendary London record shop Rough Trade Shop is located in the middle of the vibrant Karl-Marx-Straße in Neukölln. Originally specialising in post-punk and alternative rock from the late 1970s and early 1980s, you can now find all genres here, from African and avant-garde to folk, funk, soul, hip hop and jazz, spoken word and comedy and, of course, electro & techno. Listening parties, album release gigs and film evenings make the record shop a trendy meeting place for music fans in Neukölln.
Where: Karl-Marx-Straße 101, Neukölln
When: Monday to Saturday 11am-8pm
Tip 2: POP - The record shop for people with taste
Good records, good people: nowhere else in Berlin does pop stand for pop culture more than in this charming record shop on Yorkstraße. You'll find selected good and well-preserved vinyl records here. Real pop fans support the owner's mission with a small membership fee. This way you become part of a network that continues the discourse on pop culture, including small parties, sessions and exhibitions. Also on Yorck Street is Legacy, a street art shop. At the Legacy Wall in the adjacent Gleisdreieckpark you can see a piece of street art being created almost every day.
Where: Yorckstraße 52, Kreuzberg
When: Monday - Friday 12 pm - 7pm, Saturday 12 pm - 6 pm
Tip 3: Dodo Beach - East Berlin's oldest record shop
Dodo Beach East is considered the oldest record shop in East Berlin. From freshly imported discs, including some harder stories for hardcore and post-rock fans, you can find pretty much all genres here, including hip hop, and world music - and of course numerous second-hand treasures. There is now a shop in Prenzlauer Berg and one in Schöneberg, and of course you can also browse online. There are now over 30,000 discs in the catalogue. You can get tickets for the big and small gigs in our beautiful city through Dodo Tickets. You can also find out who's playing in our event calendar.
Where: Dodo Beach, Vorbergstrasse 8, Schöneberg
When: Monday & Wednesday to Friday, 1 - 7 pm, Saturday 1 - 8 pm, Tuesday and Sunday closed
Tip 4: Ghosttown Records - for punk & reggae fans
If you like punk, reggae - and all its subgenres - you should definitely check out Ghosttown Records. New wave, rocksteady, proto-punk, wave. The small shop with the Western-style lettering offers a good selection of originals and reissues, LPs as well as 7inches. Hey ho, Let's Go!
Wo: Holteistaße 12, Friedrichshain
Wann: Montag bis Freitag, 13 – 19 Uhr, Samstag 13 – 18 Uhr
Tip 5: Soultrade delivers what the name promises
As the name already promises, you will find selected discs from the areas of soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, downbeat, Afro, Brazil, disco, boogie and African music - in fact, everything that is suitable for swinging your hips with your dancing feet. From original rarities to new pressings, you can discover a lot of exciting things here across all soul eras.
Where: Sanderstraße 29, Kreuzberg
When: Monday to Friday, 12pm - 8pm, Saturday 11am - 6pm
Tip 6: Hard Wax keeps the Berlin-Detroit axis high
DJ Hell and others took care of distribution here in the good old days. Even today, the record shop, which opened in Kreuzberg in 1989, is an institution when it comes to clubbing, techno and house in Berlin. Like the legendary Berlin club Tresor, Hard Wax was part of the Berlin-Detroit axis that was responsible for the regular exchange of musicians and techno scene between the two cities in the 90s. New, old and rarities can also be found in the online store, mostly in vinyl form, some of which can be downloaded directly.
Where: Köpenicker Straße 170, Kreuzberg
When: Monday to Saturday 3pm - 8pm
Tip 7: Wowsville Record - record shop for night owls
From New York City straight to Berlin. For five years, Wowsville peddled the finest rock'n'roll records from the premises of a former chocolate shop in the East Village. Since 2006, Wowsville has been the meeting place for fans of rock and rockabilly in Kreuzberg. Over a coffee or a drink you can talk about the latest records and gigs. The bar is open until the early morning. And there's free WiFi too!
Where: Ohlauer Straße 33, Kreuzberg
When: Monday to Thursday 6pm - 1am, Friday & Saturday 6pm - 4am
Tip 8: Coretex Records - home harbour for hardcore & punk
Berlin's home port for hardcore and punk is probably the only shop in the city where you can still find demo tapes on good old music cassettes. But Coretex is not just retro. There is simply a very comprehensive offer here, ranging from music on every conceivable sound carrier to DVDs & Blu-Rays to fanzines & books to clothes, shoes, skateboards, a large band shop for fans and of course their own merchandise. And of course, tickets for the hardest and fastest concerts in town are also available. Not far away is the Bethanien, also known from the Rauchhaus song by Rio Reiser and his band Ton Steine Scherben. Today you can see changing exhibitions here in the art room.
Where: Oranienstraße 3 Kreuzberg
When: Monday to Saturday 11am - 8pm
Tip 9: 33rmp Store - Techno & Rarities
You will probably look in vain for the current bestsellers at 33rmp, but you can discover real rarities here, including one or two previously unrecognised or unknown records. Turkish funk, techno and electronic dance music, but also funk, dub, jazz or indie are on the programme here. You'll also find many clubs and bars on Wrangelstraße. Perfect for a nice evening with good music!
Where: Wrangelstrasse 95, Kreuzberg
When: Wednesday 2pm - 7pm, Thursday and Friday 12pm - 7pm, Saturday 12pm - 6pm
Tip 10: Holy's Hit Records - with rummage boxes
Bargain hunters, this one is for you: At Holy's Hit Records in the basement in the beautiful Bergmannkiez, there are always a few boxes of cheap records starting at 2 euros. New ones are added almost daily. Friends of rock and independent, punk, soul, jazz and blues will find what they are looking for. Various singer-songwriters as well as Krautrock, Alternative, Reggae, HipHop, soundtracks and records from Eastern Europe also line the tables and shelves.
Where: Solmsstraße 33, Kreuzberg
When: Wednesday to Friday 1pm - 7pm, Saturday 1pm - 5pm
Tip 11: HHV Store Berlin makes vinyl fans happy
HHV stands for HipHop Vinyl Store. Since the end of the 90s, the address for imported US hip hop on vinyl. In the meantime, the range has been expanded to include German rap, reggae/dancehall and many other genres. There are also sneakers, streetwear, DJ equipment and everything that makes vinyl fans happy. One highlight is the nine listening stations.
Where: Grünberger Straße 54, Friedrichshain
When: Monday - Saturday, 12 pm - 8 pm
