Tip: When you place an online order, you have the option of having it shipped to you or picking it…read moreup at the store. I have been following Pop Music on Instagram for a while. I'm not sure whether this business followed me first, but I am a fan of local record stores. This one is on Broadview Avenue, just south of Gerrard Street East. This store sells records (the kids these days call 'em vinyl) and t-shirts. I like both, but it would take a special purchase for me to visit this store. That moment happened. I saw this business recently go through fixing its flooring. I was finally going to see and step foot on it! To make a long story shorter, Pet Shop Boys (PSB) sent out an e-mail stating that it has re-released its Discography album that covers all singles between 1985 through 1991, inclusive. This release is special because the two records are transparent blue in colour. Fans could order this album out of the UK. I recently ordered Literally, PSB's yearly book about the duo's reflections and experiences. That book shipped from London and I still ended up with a dented book corner on a hard book cover. I had little faith having a two-record album shipped safely from London to the greater Toronto area. I dismissed ordering it. I was late to the party (the usual) when I saw Pop Music's IG post stating that it had limited copies of this PSB album. I checked its online site and all copies were gone. However, I could sign up to get notified when the album was back in stock. I signed up. A few days later, I got word that the album was available for purchase. I was elated. I immediately ordered the album and paid online. I chose to pick it up at the store, as I was due to revisit Chinatown east. Last Saturday, after fetching groceries, I headed down to Chinatown. I found a tight parking spot on Broadview, across from this store. It took me a bit of time to squeeze my car into this spot by carefully parallel parking without annoying vehicles and streetcars passing by. I did it. I paid for twenty minutes of parking. I felt that it was enough time to browse and fetch my order, and perhaps hit a bakery. I paid through the Green P app. I jaywalked and entered the store. It had a good crowd of eight customers. A female staffer perhaps thirty feet away from me made the deliberate effort to say hi to me and establish friendly eye contact. I reciprocated. I loved being here already. I was in front of graphic t-shirts of bands and artists. I was thrilled to see Depeche Mode's Violator t-shirt screaming my name. It's one of my favourite DM records, with Enjoy the Silence being my favourite song on it. Sizes ranged between small and XXL. I was happy and got one in my size. It was great browsing. The assortment of music genres, all in record form, was impressive. I loved seeing a Prince cap. It was his heavenly birthday when I was in this store. I also liked seeing David Bowie socks and a lot more. I waited in line. When it was my turn, I showed my order number on my phone and broke the ice with the nice woman with this comment: "I'm here to pick up an online order. I then saw this t-shirt, so I'm buying it, too." She smiled and then laughed. She found my order in the system and went to fetch my PSB album. I learned ordering online that I was signed up for reward points. You get a point for every $1 spent. You get a discount off your future purchase depending on how many points you have. What was cool was that my album dropped in price by $5 after I had made my purchase online. She was going to honour that price by giving me $5 off my t-shirt. Yay! I earned reward points on my t-shirt. I paid with a credit card. I tapped and was good. She asked if I needed a bag. I declined, as I was parked across the street, and was fine carrying my precious limited edition album with my t-shirt. I wished her a great day and happily left with my goodies. I have this PSB album on CD. It's nice that I have the translucent blue vinyl edition, too. I played both records at home. The quality was excellent. The blue vinyl is cheerful and striking. I had a chat with the person behind the Pop Vinyl IG account later that evening. They were playing this album in the store. It shows how passionate they are about music and their products. I also like that they interact with their customers. I love my Violator t-shirt. It's comfy and perfect. I bought two items from a duo and band that were popular at roughly the same time. Both British. Both into synthesizers. Both having music endure over the decades. They are awesome, as is this store and the fine records and merchandise that it offers. I'm a fan. I'll be back for more. (198)

Slam Dunk the store rocks. Great new vinyl us the coolest T's this side of the UK and other awesome…read moremerch. Stellar staff. Coming back for more..

I love a good music store. Such stores are few and far between, mainly due to a shift in how we…read morelisten to music. We are more into streaming it than physically owning a copy in some form, be it digitally as music files, or on a CD or record. Frankly, I've adopted both methods. I stream music wherever I have a wifi connection. However, at home, my music collection is a combination of digital files from my years being an iPod fan (the best device to go on a road trip and bring your own music without thinking about data charges), and playing albums on my record or CD player. I was recently in Leslieville, waiting for a pizza order. It would take thirty minutes for the pizza to bake. You can't rush a good thing. I decided to take a stroll around the area. I found In the Groove. I was first elated to see a music store full of records (vinyl to those who like that hip term), CDs, cassettes, and more. My heart sank when I saw that this store was closing for good. Wait a minute, though. A man walked out of the store. Is it really closed? I stood in front of the store and read every posted sign. The closing date was January 31st, 2023. It was February. I looked at the other sign that said that the closing sale was held over. Yes! I still had mixed emotions. It's always sad to see a music store close. I went in to check it out. I am the type that I can spend hours in a music store, looking at everything and ending up buying some good albums to add to my collection. I only had fifteen minutes before I had to leave and fetch dinner. It was the best fifteen minutes and I made it count. A man behind the counter said hi to me. We would later trade first names. I got Sheldon's business card, who is the owner of this fine business for 25 years. He lives in Richmond Hill. We both talked about how it does take a bit of time to get to Leslieville from York region. I found two albums that caught my attention. The first was Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. It's a classic. It was my first cassette tape purchase in my life. I still have it. I want to return and get the record version. There were two copies of the album in the store. What I settled for instead was Peter Cetera's Solitude Solitaire. I have always enjoyed listening to his music, either with Chicago or his solo work. I oddly did not own anything by him until I decided to get this album. The downside was that I did not come prepared with cash. Sheldon said that he had disconnected his payment machine the prior month and only accepts cash. He let me know that there was an ATM machine down the road. He asked how much the album in my hand was. It was going for $8. He was generous to offer it for $5 if I had cash. If you know me, it is rare that I have cash on hand. I had a $5 and a twoonie. So rare. He didn't want the latter. He was fine with $5. I got a $5 album from a generous man. He saw that love for music that we both shared. His kind gesture meant a lot. Besides being a music lover, Sheldon is a professional photographer. He told me that he has loved what he has done over the years. The pandemic caused him to lose a ton of money having his store closed. Although he originally had the end of January as his closing date, he is playing it by ear and will decided at the end of this month whether he is done for good. I need to drop again by before it shutters for good. I am hoping that his store is still around a bit longer. It's a gem, with 45 and 78 RPM records that I still need to explore. Part of me wishes that I had found this store sooner. However, I'm glad that I did recently. I met a nice man behind the business who sold me an album than now has more meaning than meets the eye. (45)

In The Groove is officially closed Liquidation July 2024. All records will be recycled hand to…read morehand.

Among my top three used book stores in Toronto. Fun collection of books, cds, cassettes, vinyl. It…read moreis not insanely big but it has a great collection. And the staff is amazing. I keep getting my Wodehouse from there every week. And the prices are so much better than most places. That includes new music tshirts. Highly recommended.

Eclectic mix of vinyl and books. Good selection and fun to browse. Prices are very reasonable.read more

What a great little store with friendly staff and a good selection of more current music and…read moreartist. If you are in Toronto and are looking for current radio hits then the selection at this cute shop is for you. As a person that prefers music from the 80s and 70s the selection was limited but that didn't stop me from finding a couple of gems. The albums appear to be predominantly new with a smallish section of used discs. Prices seem fair and I would definitely visit again.

Great record store with a nice selection of new and used vinyl. They also had CDs. What makes this…read moreplace stand out is the amazing friendly staff. I felt very welcomed and we chatted a bit about music. Being in town alone this was welcome and made me feel good about being in Toronto. I bought a couple of records and left a happy vinyl collector

If you live anywhere in the GTA and you want the best selection of metal vinyl records in the city,…read morelook no further than Futhatk records. Klaus has everything from metal blade records to the small under ground labels like maggot stomp,me saco un ojo, 20 buck spin and everything inbetween

Kops was so great in looking thru my old vinyls and gave me a very fair price for the ones I had…read more Great service and very friendly. I will recommend them to all my friends and I've post a great review on my FB page also. Thanks Kops for making this a great experience.

Attended the Yungblud signing for Idols, and Kops Danforth had the event running incredibly…read moresmoothly! The staff was friendly and kept the line moving, kept attendees updated with Dom's late arrival, and ensured everyone was able to get their albums signed. Thank you for a great event, for keeping everyone safe and informed, and for the smooth in and out of the small venue. Well done, Kops! I will definitely visit again.

Toronto institution A go to for cities DJ's…read moreBought my 1200 here (90s) Yonge St sucks HARD these days, so it's a good move to a cooler area; Spadina, Kensington

I thought I was buying two new LPs but instead it was used. Wrote to inquire about it but owner did…read morenot reply. Cannot trust the online purchase.

This is a great place to find old (and some new) DVD, Blu-ray, CD, records. DVDs are 3 for $10 and…read moreBlu-ray are 3 for $15. Have the store is dedicated to records. Everything looks in good condition. They also have some old record players and VHS TO DVD transfer service.

This place is kindof a mess…read more The records aren't well organized at all. Everything starting with the same letter is all jumbled together. So if you're looking for Bowie, his records will be scattered throughout the "B" section. That's okay I guess if you've got all day to browse, but the records are also packed in super tight. So browsing, usually a pleasure, becomes a real chore. Another bummer, there is little to no current music here.

Great place with tons of treasures. I spent over an hour here and could have spent even more time…read more One of the best reasons to go to Toronto. I found a complete original Zartan and a few other things. Wish I had bit the bullet and brought the 77 Godzilla home with me.

There's a really interesting array of comic books, collected editions, vintage toys, and many other…read morecool things. However, I go to browse the LPs, of which there are many, and - most importantly - well selected during the buying process so you're NOT flipping through the same tired stock that you see in so many other used record stores. Oh yeah... the prices are completely reasonable too. Highly recommended!

Stumbled upon this bookstore on a walk while visiting the city. Such a cool bookstore with a little…read morebit of everything. The employee was nice and gave you space but was happy to answer any questions. Two cats hangout there and they definitely added to the experience. Found a book and a couple of prints to take home. Great place to browse and visit!

Fantastic experience today at Acadia Books, resulting in the addition of four books to my library…read more Acadia falls into the used book category the sacrifices anal retentive organization for the joy of search and discovery. It may take you some time to find what you are looking for, but when you find it it you will be overjoyed and won't blanche at the price. They also have a separate section upstairs, which was even more disorganized but had some very unique items. The woman working at the shop was lovely, and she helpfully referred me to other bookstores in the city. The type of shop that demands repeat visits. The neighborhood has a Haight-Asbury vibe to it; nothing dangerous, but a bit well-lived in. Leave your Tesla at home and take mass transit.