My mis-spent youth is filled with happy memories of spending Saturday afternoons pottering round…read morerecord shops, browsing and finding new stuff. With the rise of digital the fun of flicking through the racks has changed but Sick is here to bring the fun back, hurrah! Opened last year in a tiny unit round the corner from Aether and Echo, Sick is a proper record shop selling proper records. We are talking the joy of vinyl here people, and boy is it a joy. There is no CDs here, just wall to wall plastic, and there's no One direction either. Sick specialises in new independent and Alternative music and Archive Re-issues on vinyl, if you are looking rare, this is where to go. Also special mention must go to the owner Kenny, looking dapper with his silver quiff, and the guys, who have such passion for music and they want to share it, always willing to advise or recommend something new. Yes, I still love being able to get music instantly online, but nothing beats buying the physical product, and you can't hold a download. If you feel like me, you'll love Sick.

Very cool shop with deep selection of new and used vinyl across genres. Several surprising original…read morereleases from someone's traded in punk collection. Super friendly shop owner. Prices are reasonable.

From the owner: Vinyl Records, CDs. Buy & Sell Records.read more

McBurney's is situated in Belfast's own red light district, at least that what I like to call it as…read moreyou are surrounded by unsavoury shops that your mammy would tell you never to go into! I used to be scared to go in here as I always found it intimidating, full of young muso's and older men discussing vinyl. Plus I no longer had my record player so I was always just browsing. Obviously, as Belfast's oldest music shop they stock a real mixture of genres and the vinyl is mixed in with CD's and other musical paraphernalia. Well worth a visit if you are a collector or you have a record player. The man who works here is really nice and the shop has been around since 1926 so it is obviously doing something right as all the other independent music shops have long since closed.

I love Oxfam Books. It's so well laid out and stocked that on walking in you wouldn't even…read moreinitially realise it's a second hand bookstore. There's a huge selection of books spread over two large rooms and everything is shelved by theme e.g. art, history, cookery, fiction, graphic novels etc. I could spend a couple of hours looking through this shop and have picked up a quite a few great bargains over the years. Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves books.

As I have said in a number of different reviews, I am a big fan of charity shops. I always enjoy…read morethe laid back, chilled out atmosphere and you can usually get an absolute bargain if you have a good look around. I have called in here on a number of occassions and have picked up a few t-shirts and pairs of old jeans. The quality is always assured and you always know that you are doing a good thing and not giving your hard earned dollar to a big corporation. The staff in this particular store have always been helpful and friendly anytime I have called in. They're always willing to help you have a good look around and they'll hold stuff over for you if you need to pop out to get some money out or whatever. Well worth checking out.

This is a strange little store and one of the few independently owned retailers still operating in…read morethe city. If anyone can remember the fantastic Hector's House located just on the end of North Street then you know what a travesty it was when the little gem of a music store closed its doors. If it was rare vinyl, odd singles and in general a more alternative less mainstream approach to music then it was your hub. A truly fantastic place. This store doesn't quite have the same level of expertise and panache but you will find some random LPs (do the kids still call them LPs or has that ship long sailed) and you're likely to find a few a discounted prices. It certainly makes a change from the big hitters such as HMV or the like but certainly worth a little trek around for that rare oddity.

I'm currently searching for a top notch indie record store in Belfast and decided to check this…read morelittle shop out. First impressions was ok, but not heart racing. Music selection was reasonable, but I wish it had more vinyl. The shop was also too dated and run down, but the owner was helpful and polite enough for me to give it a second chance! When I lived in Scotland I always used to go to a wee record store called Groucho's, which was fantastic and large enough to spend a good few hours in and the staff were very knowledgeble. This is the kind of indipendent record store that I am searching for in Belfast

Bang Boutique is at the higher end price range of vintage shopping in Belfast. In my opinion it's…read moredefinitely not as good as the other shops I've been to (Rusty Zip, Best & Vintage) They do sell some really funky clothing, stuff you really wouldn't see anywhere else. But in my eyes it's all second hand clothing, but here it's got the 'vintage so expensive' tag. One bonus though is the manager and staff who are awesome, you'll often find them in adjacent Muriel's (By the way, go here! It's great!) One thing that did disappoint me was a visit I made after going to buy a friend a Michael Jackson t-shirt I'd seen. (This was shortly after his death, she was devastated) we had a bit of banter together and then I enquired about it, he was asking £50! I mean, no way! Said friend was (is) his hugest fan, but even she would kill me for spending that amount of money. It was absolutely ridiculous. That's totally just cashing in on the mans death, I wasn't impressed.

Bang Boutique is a cool little vintage clothing store just across from Muriels bar…read more It has really cool and funky clothes but I fear it is one of those vintage shops where everything is great to look at but you never actually buy anything because it's all too pricey. There were some cool things to browse through on the counter like an old school telephone and a girl's annual from the 1960's called Boyfriend, which had some really cool drawings in it. I also spotted some cool leather handbags but at £20, they were a tad too expensive. The owners are really nice and friendly and will chat away to you as you browse. I could imagine the members of Belle and Sebastian doing all their shopping in a place like this.

One good thing about recession - it makes second hand cool again. In a time when everyone is…read morewatching the pennies, charity and vintage shops are making a killing. This store opened up in 2009 and seems to be doing very well. I love going in for a wee hoke about and while, like at most second hands, the results are varied, I've managed to find a few little pieces amongst the rails. It is predominately clothing, but there is the odd bit of furniture which tends to be beautifully crafted dressers or wardrobes - just what you need to hold all your beautiful vintage items, right? The staff are always very welcoming, the prices are right and there's always something new to find, rather than the same old stuff you see on the high street normally. Plus, it's run by the East Belfast Mission who do a lot of good work in the poorer parts of East Belfast, engaging with young people and homeless outreach, so everyone's a winner!

'Vintage, re:use, re:style, re:store'…read more I love the idea of this shop. I hate waste and I'm always one for restyling my own clothes. This isn't just another vintage shop, it's slightly better quality than the others. They do a great job with mannequins, I'm always impressed with their window dressing skills. The clothes in the shop front was the first thing I ever noticed about the place. It's always a really good job. So kudos to whoever sets this up. Inside the store it's always laid out brilliantly, some vintage shops are a bit like TK Maxx at the best of times, you need a good few hours to sort through the jumble until you find the gem you're after, but in Vintage they've got everything in order around the shop and you can immediately find some real gems. They sell (amongst a myriad of others) trousers, skirts, dresses, shoes, jackets, formal and casual wear. Anything and everything. Paradise! Even their furniture is for sale (so pretty too!) Like most vintage shops they don't offer refunds but do offer a credit note exchange. I find this particularly handy if you don't have the time to try items on. You're always going to find something you're after anyway.