Great store, lots to offer and very inexpensive, the staff are generally very friendly and helpfulread more

not a great selection and can be a bit cramped in places but overall not a bad shop. not too pricey…read moreas some charity shops are these days and the staff are always very friendly. good selection of womens clothes and books.

I bought my first guitar from Sound Control in Birmingham and wouldn't hesitate to buy from them…read moreagain. The shop is very well laid out and big enough to offer a large selection of choices no matter which instrument or piece of equipment you went in for. The departments are separated by instrument and set over various different floors and rooms. The staff are extremely helpful and patient and more than happy to leave you testing or fiddling with the instrument you are interested in without being obtrusive or pushy. I would certainly recommend this place if you want to get impartial advice form people who know what they are talking about.

lovely shop with plenty f choice in all departments, lovely kids range and home range is also…read moreextensive. Staff are always happy to help and friendly when you go in, there are brilliant sales with great bargains to be had!

This is one of my favourite places to shop for clothes. The range is good, items are very good…read morequality and the prices sensible. The on site Costa is also a pleasant addition.

Now, I am a lover of all things Comic booky, board gamey and generally a bit geektastic (if you…read moredidn't already know that). A trip to Forbidden Planet is a pretty rare occasion for me as I know my wallet will be angry at me every time I even begin to look at the dusty shelves filled with pretties... I popped in yesterday for the first time in a while. I got a £10 gift voucher for my birthday and desperately want a copy of "Takenoko" after playing it for the first time at SciFi Weekender in Wales (it's a board game where you have to grow bamboo - much more fun than it sounds). After the distributor telling me that Forbidden Planet could easily order this in for me, I hastily nipped down on my lunch to enquire about this. Now, service has always been mixed at this branch of Forbidden Planet. The staff are very informed about their products, but sometimes it can seem a little Elitist. The gent which served me yesterday was friendly and helpful, but seemed a little put out that I wanted to order something in and wasn't sure he could. Needless to say, I have given them my details - so will have to update the review later if it can be achieved and the transaction completed. The product range in this store is pretty vast. Stocking everything from themed boardgames (they stock "Adventuretime" Monopoly!) to Graphic Novels and various merch (again, a huge range featuring a selection from "Twilight" to "Minecraft"); you will normally find your particular kink catered too. We are lucky to have Nostalgia and Forbidden Planet in quite close proximity. If you can't find what you are looking for in one, you can always pop down and try the other! This place really is an "Aladdin's Cave" of geeky treasures.

From the moment I queued what seemed like a mile around the corner to meet Amber Benson aka Tara…read morefrom 'Buffy' (yes, this is how positively cool I am), I was in love with Forbidden Planet in Birmingham. A haven for all those grown-up boys and girls who still find pleasure in playing with toys and secretly wish they were superheroes, the store in Birmingham is a little out of the way from the main shopping drag - but that has kept its inherent charm intact. If you fancy checking out the latest comic book issues and memorabilia, this has always been the #1 destination in the city. It's not massive and it feels a bit like a cave in there thanks to the dingy light, but again this helps set the scene for what should be a bit of a secret geek den. The staff are always helpful and clued-in (a must for any place like this, where the customers are sure to come loaded with really specific questions) and, for a pretty small space, there's so much to see and wish you could afford to take home with you that you could spend a good hour in there just having a nose.

Stirchley High street is full of shops that cater for single-issue shoppers. Amongst them there's a…read moretobacconist, a vacuum cleaner repair shop and....a shop for drummers! Very niche indeed. As a musician I'm unable to walk past without sticking my head round the door. My son is becoming obsessed with drums (and making a noise and hitting things, generally) so he is absolutely fascinated by this place. The staff are very tolerant of my little boy and let him belt the odd thing with a watchful eye. Alongside a fairly decent selection of drums and percussion instruments, this place also provides drum tuition, so if you fancy yourself as the next Buddy Rich, or if you have a little one that is showing signs of being a drummer, you might want to pop in for a chat.

You probably won't be surpirsed to find out that Drums International doens't sell penguins, Persian…read morerugs, Peyote cactuses or other exotic goods that begin with the letter P. That's right, it sells drums! Mostly of the kind that have been a prequisite for rock and pop acts since the dawn of time. By a full kit, or buy drum bits and pieces, and obviously a wide selection of skins and sticks are available. Luckily the staff are friendly enough to talk to, so there's plenty of adivce on hand if you need advice n your purchases.And if all this drum talk has unleashed an urge within you to become the next Dave Grohl or Keith Moon they can point you in the way of tuition. A low key, well run specialist music shop aimed at the cheaper end of the market that knows what it's doing and does it well. Well worth a visit if you're in the makret for some drum bits and pieces.

Revival is a great little vintage stall in Birmingham's alternative fashion store, The Oasis. They…read morehave a wide range of clothing for men and women spanning 50s - 80s eras with the odd exception. They stock Modj favourites such as Harringtons, button down shirts and desert boots but also have a great range of women's dresses for very reasonable prices; I picked up a lovely 50s print shift dress for a mere £10 the other day, which would have cost me double that anywhere else in Birmingham. I also found a Burberry trench for just £25 which might still be there if you're interested. There is a small changing area which is handy and the owner was pretty helpful when I enquired about a style of dress that I was after. I've visited the stall a few times now and he always tells me when his next delivery of dresses is due. All in all a great little stall where you might find a real gem if you look hard enough. If you have any enquiries you can contact Revival via wintcane@aol.com

I was quite surprised to see items that are familiar to me, a great place to dig for treasures…read more Burmi has a lot of selections when it comes to thrift shops and that's appreciate. Looking forward to visiting again someday.