This is a bit of a sprawl of a shop on the lower floor of the Mall, near to M&S. I like it a lot,…read morehowever, because of their magazine range - it is extensive for UK magazines and periodicals. It does get very busy, so be prepared to pick your way round people. I think this is partly because there is a back exit out to the car park so people use it as a walkthrough. It also has the usual books, plus toys, games and a few CDs and DVDs at the back.

This is a good sized store with a wide range of products…read more They sell a good selection of DVD's and CD's, and quite have good offers on cheap DVD's. There is a brilliant selection of books, although unless on offer these can quite often be found cheaper else where. There is some gorgeous stationary ranges for both adults and children, loads of cards, giftwrap, magazines, sweets, printer consumables etc. Pretty much anything you might need stationary wise could probably be found in here with friendly and helpful staff if you need them.

This Wh Smiths is on the ground floor of the Mall. It is a…read moreone of their large stores and all on one level At the weekend it can get vey busy though and there are long queues at the check out. Its stocks a wide range of Dvds, Magazine, Games and many of the promotional Hardback best sellars at very good discountsIt does not have a huge stock of just easy read paperbacks unless they are on the recent published list. I find Waterstone has a lot better stock.

It is cheaper to buy DVDs in here than it is to rent them - £4.99 each or four for a tenner. The…read morebox sets are about £15 each. You can tell this is a shop for boys as the films are arranged in three sections: horror, action and everything else. They also have a good stock of new and pre-owned games for most platforms. You can bring your old films and games here for exchange or for cold hard cash.

Shops like this are gaining in popularity, with CEX shops popping up everywhere, and massive chain…read moreshops like Zavvi closing down an age of cheap DVD buying has occured. I'm quite a film fanatic, and now I am past the days of student loans I though that small joys like buying a new film would no longer be possible, but ah ha! it is! pop in here and get an impressive (although some what erratic) display of preowned DVD's, and games as well. Great if you want to have a quiet night in, or if your low on money but have a few birthday presents you need to buy because everyone loves a good film. There is also a selection of CD's for those of us still out of the 'itune' loop and favour the hard copies, but as i'm sure you can imagine, it's not the most up to date, and most the good stuff gets snapped up pretty quick. Equally if you have a massive media collection and are seeking some extra cash you can trade in your unwanted films, games, cd's and consoles for cahs... 'cha-ching!'

If you were to take away all the things that come out of my mouth that I stole from a film…read morepredominantly from the 1990's I'd be left with probably not much more than a few lines. It was in this era too that DVD really had its day - VHS was on the way out (VCD doesn't even get a mention) and mass internet downloading hadn't started yet. Thus a shop such as Hollywood Nites (spelt this way I assume purely for the gimmick factor) is a sure find for me - rammed to the hilt with such diamonds as Passenger 57, Predator and Young Guns. The deals are incredible too with such absurdities as three films for a fiver - long gone are the days of forking out £15 at HMV for but one title. These guys also buy films, consoles, controllers - anything electrical. Ideal if you've just robbed a house I suppose but let's not concern ourselves with such details. Rather, let us think of Wesley Snipes on a plane with hoards of terrorists and awful one-liners. For £2. Get in.

My two big vices (beside my Butcher shop whoring!) has to be books and films. Everytime I see a…read moreshop that looks as if it will seel either of these at a vaugley cheap price then i'm in like a shot. Hollywood nights had a stack load of films, so many on offer. Some brilliant offers as well, like buy 2 for £5 get one free! it was amazing, this is why I should never take my wallet out with me! They buy films, consoles and games off you as well, so if you need to whittle your DVD collection down a bit then this is ideal.

From the outside this shop looks every inch the perfect record store. There's graffiti, vinyl in…read morethe window and posters supporting the latest cool bands. Inside is just as trendy. Filled from floor to ceiling with LPs, EPs and CDs. Having a record collector for a Dad I'm used to trawling round record shops, trying to find an elusive 50s jazz record, or a sought after first pressing. But Rooted Records is better for DJs than collectors - especially those who love jungle or drum 'n bass. This shop has a great atmosphere, but sadly I've always left empty handed.

This shop really does give out a vibe of "don't come in unless you're cool enough and know your…read morestuff". It always reminds me of the record shop in Nick Hornby's book, 'High Fidelity', where the guys live their lives through their record collections. Having said that, once you get inside it's a pretty cool little shop. The guys are actually really friendly and helpful. Gloucester Road is definitely a great place to come vinyl shopping in Bristol if not in the whole of the South West.

Suspicious looking couple.read more

This charity shop on Whiteladies road is excellently stocked - being in expensive areas always…read moreserves charity shops well, and this is clearly no exception. It's so well stocked it could be a proper book shop, only far far cheaper. They have a little section of music, which is also fairly impressive, and their range and topics of books is wide ranging. I had a very long chat to the guy who was working there, who seemed to know the shop back to front and was very helpful in finding a few relevant books for the thing I was searching for. They're obviously always in need of donations, so do a good turn in either way - donate, or have a browse and find yourself a bargain.

It seems all the craze these days for charity shops to branch out into the world of just books and…read moremusic, and British Heart Foundation are clean to hop on the band wagon. It's a bit of a trek up White Ladies but really very worth it once you get here. The selection is so varied and vast I have a hard time believing it all comes from donations. The music, for instance, stretches from Lenon to Arctic Monkeys to Dubstep and the book choice is huge! Books on insects, murder mysteries and so much more all peering out the woodwork. A bit of a stomp up the hill, but worth it.