I'm writing this review begrudgingly, as I want all of the albums at this brand new shop for…read moremyself. Hot Wax Records has yet to launch officially, so please excuse the austere interior and lack of stock in place (there's not even a sign up, but owner Dave is still trading). Offering a wide selection of 12-inch albums, DVDs, modern collectibles, posters and comics, Hot Wax is one of Cardiff's newest "music and more" shops and soon to become my favourite place to spend money. I stumbled upon this jewel in the alluvial deposit that is Cowbridge Road East just the other day. Oh, but the vinyl, the glorious vinyl, many of which comprise my "dream collection" and most are all priced less than a fiver. If I didn't have somewhere to be, I would have happily spent the entire afternoon here, digging for musical treasure. Please note the store is closed from 1-2 for lunch, and as of last week the card machine system is not in place so only cash is accepted. Won't deter me, though!

Every music lover out there should visit D'Vinyl Records just to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume…read moreof physical music. Piles of vinyl, Compact Discs and memorabilia fill the shop floor to ceiling. As record stores go you would be hard pressed to find one that still buys second hand merchandise and sells it on and this can lead to issues with scratched discs. After you have enjoyed a moment of sheer fantasy where by you take on the shop and listen to music non-stop until your demise, as would be the case if you tried to finish the backlog of music playtime in this store. Your best choice for new music is spillers who are easily the best shop in Cardiff for new CD from known and unknown artists.

Ok so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I prefer D'vynal Records to Spillers. The reason…read morewhy is because D'vynals just has so much more to offer, stuffed to rafters with vinyl's, CDs, DVDs and books. It has a fantastic smell of history which you can only experience and not describe and really gives you the sense that a record was once an asset to keep and cherish rather than an electronic file that is now so easily available the true meaning of the work and artistry that goes into making a record has been lost. What is also great about this place is you can trade in your old records and get some good deals. I could spend hours and hours in D'vynals as there is no other record store in Cardiff that offers the same experience. It's about a 15 minute walk from the city centre but very much worth the walk and I guarantee you will not be disappointed with this seemingly endless treasure trove of music.

Well I suppose "The Record, Record Player, CD & Tape Shop" would have cost a lot more to have done…read moredown the sign shop. But for years I thought this place was strictly vinyl only, but no! There's a healthy selection for the devotees of other mediums of music. People always go one about the wondrous crackles and pops of vinyl but never have a positive word for the lovely, gentle, warm hiss inherent to tape. Bah! Anyway tucked down one of the side roads off Albany Road, this bright blue shed-like building will enthral music lovers of every generation with crate upon crate of tunage. Need an original 7" pressing of Pat Benatar's biggest hit (and who doesn't? Love IS a battlefield) or the final cover mounted mix CD from MUZIK magazine to complete your collection? Then this is the place for you. Less claustrophobic than D'vinyl round the corner, The Record Shop is one of the true gems of Cardiff.

Oh God... I don't want to write this review…read more Just like my review for Troutmark Books, I have been putting this particular review off for a long while. The reason for this is the same as Troutmark; these stores are relatively quiet and unknown. These places are my little secrets in Cardiff. Now, I would love nothing more for the places I love to succeed beyond their owner's wildest dreams. For all the great things I've gotten from these places, they deserve it. But in the back of my mind is the thought that maybe, by telling other people, I'm letting them get all the really, really good stuff before me. My level of paranoid devotion to The Record Shop should give you some idea of how absolutely amazing it is. This is a place to waste a few hours scouring through the boxes and old racks to get some fantastic albums you may have never considered before. And despite my distaste for the things, they have a vinyl section that impressed even me.

Pontcanna Flea Market is the real deal. You are guaranteed to find a really good selection of…read morequality Kitsch, both for the home and garden, as well as loads of classic and retro clothing, antiques, electrical goods, records, books, and furniture... essentially all the kind of stuff that you'd expect at a flea market, but with the added bonus of this one being a particularly good one. I don't know where the traders get their stock from, but some of them must have an incredible address book! A lot of them seemingly have endless access to the most incredibly desirable objects. Their lives must be heavenly! I considered becoming a trader myself a few years back, but decided that it would be an overtly dangerous career choice. I'd be great at scouting out my stock, and have fairly well tuned haggling skills. So far, so good! But, the problems would arise when it came to selling any of it on. I know I'd want to keep everything! Those confounded attachment issues! They also hold regular auctions at the King's Road site. I've not been to one, but I hear that they are as much fun as the flea markets, and just as well stocked with eminently buyable stuff.

If you've not heard of Spillers then just pretend you have as its a little uncool not to know…read more I do not collect vinyl nor do I know anyone who does but I've often pretended I used to be a regular at Spillers. As a youngster I could often be heard dropping Spillers name into my conversation just to impress the odd would be girlfriend, "Yeah well i had to order it from Spillers coz even they didn't have the 12 inch in stock" So if you're visiting Cardiff you have to pop into Spillers as apparently it is "the oldest record shop in the world". It's just a pity it had to move to new premises as I think the new light and airy shop in the Morgan's Arcade is a bit like a music lover deciding to dump all his dark moody vinyl collection in preference for shiny new compact discs.

If your cool you'll know all about this shop. Started in 1894 Spillers specialised in selling…read morePhones?! In the early 20c, really? Oh wait, Phonographes, sorry. They relocated to the Hayes in the 1920's and have sold vinyls, CD's and music DVD's ever since (Those latter examples came later obviously) There was a worry a few years ago that it was going to be shut down thanks to the delights of Cardiff being built around them but were eventually saved thankfully. Now as a music fan, this is the place I want to be. Real music for real fans, staffed by people who know that they are talking about. Spillers feels special every time I go in, I often come out with some hidden treasure after seeing the staffs recommendations or after I speak to them about the bands I like and what's new (My ear is defiantly not to the floor when it comes to popular culture I'm afraid.) Something that always leaves me with a smile as I exit the shop. There's a real old antique feel to the place that makes the small shop feel different to those shiny soulless chained stores. Your not gonna get anything cheaper in here, but what you are doing is supporting a dying breed of independently owned music stores that feel like they are there for the love of music, not money!

Only open between Thursday and Saturday, Jacob's Market (aka Jacob's Antiques) is a collection of…read morevery small specialist collectors' shops under one roof. Mostly it's second-hand stuff though there is also brand new furniture to be had. There's a certain novelty to it- such as the stuffed badgers in the entrance (will anyone ever buy those?) and the sci-fi stall upstairs with its sort-of-full-sized TARDIS. All kinds and eras of 'retro' are covered, old clothes (a bit dusty), old signs, old kitchen appliances, old military memorabilia (there's quite a bit of this and some of it's quite scary). It's worth a browse round, though I would say you could have done it all in less than 2 hours, it won't take all day. Prices vary but some things are not as cheap as you'd like them to be, as some sellers are adamant that there is an 'antique' value. The cafe is a small anteroom, seating about 20 people, where one person will knock up cooked brunches on demand using a little oven and grill. The prices are dirt-cheap and the portions very very generous, the only problem is that since it's cooked from scratch when you order you may have to wait a while, not too good if you've just popped there for lunch.

This indoor market sprawls across several floors in an old red brick building at West Canal Wharf,…read morenear Cardiff Central Station, and for the last couple of decades it has been creating a welcome distraction for Cardiff's lovers of antiques, vintage and novelty goods. It is a great place to spend a lazy few hours browsing around aimlessly. The 50 or so different stalls sell a huge array of different wares, including antiques and collectors' items, vintage household goods, second hand clothes and books, jewellery, and all sorts of other knick knacks. When you walk in through the entrance, for example, you're faced with some rather alarming and fusty-looking stuffed badgers; carry on and you might stumble across vintage Bakelite phones, military memorabilia, or leather jackets - while an exploration upstairs will offer you an encounter with a full-sized Dr Who tardis. Some stalls have more reasonable prices than others, but for vintage and antique items with a higher price tag you really need a bit of knowledge to know whether it's good value. The café, on the other hand, has very reasonably priced food and HUGE portions!

The Cardiff Antique Centre doesn't exactly sell antiques to the exclusion of all else, and would…read moreprobably be more appropriately named if it carried the title of 'Cardiff Collectibles' or something of that ilk... and then this would even be stretching the description a bit. (A 1970's vinyl LP going by the name of Tango Time wouldn't be found anywhere near my record collection, I can tell you that!) The quality of stock varies considerably, and to my mind, quite a lot of it would be better suited to a specialist flea market, more than an antiques shop. But in its defense, housing several traders under one roof, and finding a name that fits all, is never going to be an easy balancing act. However, the stock tends to be a little bit pricey, and I feel this is more reflective of the prestigious location and the branding, and has less to do with the actual inherent value of the goods in question. But when all is said and done, it's a great curiosity shop, that makes for pretty interesting, (and often entertaining), browsing. Some things are just so naff that they'll prompt an episode of incredulous giggling. And of course, it is more than possible that you'll find many tasteful genuine articles. If the truth be known, I could actually spend a fair amount of money in here... if I had it! The stalls occupy two floors, with specialists in military memorabilia, jewellery, bone china, toys, autographed collectibles etc.

I love browsing around antique shops and that's pretty much all I do - I hardly ever buy with the…read moreone exception of when I went into Cardiff Antique Centre. I bought a little silver lighter for £30 - I don't know why it just appealed to me. But there are loads of stuff to look around - signed celeb pictures - star wars memorabilia, jewellery etc etc. It's pointless me listing what they sell as its anything and everything - pop in and see what I mean it won't be a wasted time in fact once you go in once I pretty much guarantee you'll pop in again and again. And if you do fancy buying something don't be scared to haggle.

Catapult does for Cardiff's urban dance music fans what Spillers does for indie, rock and…read morealternative fans. It sells CDs and vinyl spanning various genres (house, breaks, hardcore, dubstep, drum & bass, techno, hard dance, urban, etc). It's a haven for Cardiff's club DJs, and for anyone who's really into their club music. If you're not into clubbing, however, you may feel a bit out of place - or at the very least you're unlikely to find much in here that you recognise. But if you're looking for a present for someone and you're out of your depth, just ask the staff - they are incredibly approachable and go out of their way to help. They also sell DJ equipment, catering for everyone from professional DJs through to home spinners, plus some cool streetwear such as Aerosoul's Junglist Movement t-shirts and Catapult hoodies, plus record bags and metal boxes.

All hail the independent music shop. In a world where gems like this are dying out it's refreshing…read moreto see somewhere like Catapult still going strong. Cardiff is blessed with Spillers which satisfies the indie/rock/electronica fans but for folks who are into the harder stuff the Catapult is your best bet. Probably best described as 'Urban' you'll find Dubstep, Drum n' Bass and Jungle amongst other things. There's a massive range of top quality DJ equipment that gives me a headache just looking at it. So many buttons... but for the technically challenged folk like me there are gorgeous skull candy headphones and various other goodies that will enhance your listening experience not to mention a tone of vinyl and cd's which cover just about ever niche and specialty. All the cool kids go to Catapult.

So far Save The Children has provided help to 500,000 people in Pakistan's devastated flood…read moreaffected area, including medical care, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene items, water purification sachets and food. They have established 63 child-friendly spaces and are working with communities to address issues that affect children's well-being. With the threat of water born diseases such as cholera taking hold, it is imperative to act quickly to avert many more deaths in this region. There are several ways of supporting these efforts. Money can be donated or you can sort through your unwanted household items and pop them down to the shop. Items wanted include ladies fashion, children's and menswear, books, DVDs, CD's and vinyl records. All of these items are clearly for sale as well... and now that the weather is turning you may want to consider getting your Christmas cards a little earlier this year?