I've lost count of the amount of time and money I've spent in Vinyl Exchange over the years…read more Suffice to say, it would probably mount to quite a lot! Housed in the heart of the Northern Quarter, it's a two storey building solely devoted to secondhand music from indie, power pop, psyche-rock and folk to electro, hip hop, rap, disco, funk, soul and nu wave. Upstairs is devoted to racks of nearly new, secondhand and promo CDs and DVDs whilst the basement is packed with all kinds of vinyl from rare 7" and 12" to albums and box-sets. Prices are reasonable, the staff are friendly and passionate about music and you can trade and sell records and CDs. It was here I managed to track down copies of Mo' Wax Headz 1 and 2, Sonic Youth 'Beat On The Brat' 12" and Miles Davis's seminal Bitches Brew album one lucky afternoon!

If it has ever been on a vinyl or some form of plastic that is read on a gramophone etc vinyl…read moreexchange will have it. They stock a wide variety of classics from every corner of music, downstairs they have one of the most intense dub step and DJ sets around. If you've got any old vinyl's either considering there in good nick the guys will weigh up a trade in for cash or other vinyls. Home to all things old skool in music and those few who pursue this passion.

Great record store right in the heart of Manchester city centre. Small store, but lots of vinyl to…read morechose from & reasonably priced. If you love Japanese or audophile pressings, this is a store you will love. I also found a section dedicated to bands from Manchester like Oasis, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays & New Order ect which is cool to see from a store based in the city centre. If you are after signed LP's you are in look as Clampdown Records features a nice little section dedicated to this type of collectible. Overall this is a great little store that I have visited every week I pop into Manchester & have bought quite a bit of stuff from here. The owner is friendly & very knowledgable about his stuff. I was asking one time I visited about Japanese vinyl as I had heard their pressings are superior when compared to American or UK pressings & pretty much gave me the full rundown of which periods this is true of + things to look out for. Great store with a very honest, helpful owner.

Clampdown record is a well-organized shop with a solid selection of harder to find titles. As I…read morebrowsed through their indie and Manchester sections, I saw a lot of titles that are well sought after. Pricing was fair and the clerk (owner?) behind the counter let my partner and I browse without any of the bother you sometimes get in record shops. I would mark this as a must visit when visiting Manchester and hunting for vinyl.

The reviews of Paramount really hit the nail on the head. The selection on offer here is excellent…read more- unusually for a second-hand bookshop I have been able to go in with a particular book in mind and actually leave with a copy (along with several others of course.) The owner is a genuine book lover and is happy to talk to you about your purchases. They have a fantastic selection of old Faber poetry editions. The smell of the place is wonderful too; the sweet rot of old books. My favourite thing about Paramount though is not the range of books lining the shelves (or leant against the piano in the west wing of the shop) but the crates of magazines, comics and periodicals stacked on folding tables as you enter. There are girly mags from the fifties, sixties and seventies (like a fossil record of erotic tastes) and well-thumbed compendiums of Sci-Fi short stories (with trippy cover art featuring weeping robots and space dragons.) This is the stuff that makes the shop; the stuff that would have been consigned to a bin a few decades before. Reading through a copy of Action Comics that someone probably hid underneath their pillow as a kid is a rare and treasured thing.

I have to give a major shout out to Paramount Books - a fantastic independent bookstore nestled in…read morethe sometimes overlooked and forgotten Shudehill area of town. Ok so there may be a million KFC ripoff takeaways and a few random shops that have seen better days around it but Paramount stands out as a well looked after 2nd hand book store with loads of character! I was pulled in on a wet and windy Monday by their comic book sale - in fact there's a whole area in the back dedicated to rare comics and graphic novels (fantastic selection) - inside there's a fantastic selection covering everything from music and film to politics, history and philosophy - really good to browse and possible pick up a tome to take home (wow that rhymes...) The best part of this place is the owner who basically is exactly what you'd be looking for if casting this place in a Hollywood movie. With glasses dangling from his neck and a scholarly look as he sorts the shelves - the classical music in the background makes you really feel what a unique place this is in the world of chain stores and amazon. Make sure you check out Paramount soon and enjoy a slip back into yesteryear!

Whilst Vinyl Exchange and Piccadilly Records stock an incredible range of music from americana,…read morepsyche-folk and rock to blues, soul and punk-funk, Vinyl Revival is more of a specialist store that deals with everything related to Manchester's musical history. We're talking rare and hard to find posters from The Hacienda and Factory Records, limited edition 12"s and promo pressings of early Stone Roses, Smiths and New Order and every album by A Certain Ratio, Durutti Column, Buzzcocks and Magazine. If you're after something in particular - like Barry Adamson's* brilliant imaginary soundtrack album Moss Side Story - just ask and there's a chance they might have one or know someone that can get you one. It's that kind of store! * Who's Barry Adamson? The charismatic bass player in seminal post-punk band Magazine, early member of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and now a full time solo artist and soundtrack composer of course!

A smaller shop but always has choice vinyl and CDs. A large selection of Manchester artists and a…read morelot of really cool artwork on the walls. All of the employees I've encountered are too guys who are there to make sure you find what you're looking for.

This is a very interesting store in Manchester near the Manchester Piccadilly train station, about…read moretwo blocks away. It has an array of things, including books, records, but also clothes. Very cheap, as everything is used. What makes it worth visiting is its charm as an "anything goes" type place..I bought CD's and a few books there. I thought the owner was friendly. It's fun to rummage through these things. Take a half hour or so and have fun browsing.

HELP WANTED! I'll be traveling to Manchester, Liverpool, and London for a week in late November and…read morewould really appreciate some good recommendations for music shops, bookstores, coffee shops, and places to eat! I really like places that are quirky and out of the box so if you live in any of these areas and have suggestions please reach out! Thanks! :) -Amberly

Fab graphic tee-shirts? Tick Cool design books? Tick…read moreIncredible photography and art books? Tick Huge style bibles? Tick Quirky hand-made badges and zines? Tick Ace cards, stationary and wrapping paper? Tick Thanks to Magma, I was able to buy lots of unique and arty Christmas presents in one go. Wait, I forgot to get something for myself! How about the new Yoshitomo Nara book?

I bought something from Magma today! Yay,get in!…read more It's only 10 months ago since I wrote my review stating that one day I will buy something from here,and that day arrived today. Although I must state that in my previous review I said that if I did buy something, then it would probably be for someone else. Well I lied,I bought something for myself. Take that people who I would normally buy things for! What I bought was a cardboard solar powered nodding skeleton (you know you want one). It was supposed to be a build your own thing,but unfortunately the only one that they had in stock was the display model,which had of course already been put together,but that didn't bother me as I would've made a mess of it anyway. And because of this, the lovely Man who served me knocked 30% off the price....result! No longer in my eyes is Magma a museum of curiosities,it is now a cool shop of curiosities......

I am indebted to Kingbee…read more A few years ago, my brother asked me to deejay at a 30th birthday party for him and his mates. When he casually mentioned it was in 48 hours time and he didn't want me to play the 70s records I already had - Patti Smith, Television, New York no wave, etc - I began to panic. Since I was in Chorlton at the time, I went into Kingbee on the off chance they' might have a couple of records I could get. When I saw they had racks of 70s disco, pop and rock, I could have kissed the owner. Instead, I spent the next hour digging through the racks and checking out different tracks on their turntable. If it had been a Friday or Saturday, I would have had a long line of grumpy record collectors behind me, impatiently waiting to play their chosen records. As it was, I had the turntable to myself and left the shop with two bags stuffed with goodies. Amazingly, the whole lot only came to £30 and the guy offered to buy back any records I didn't want a few days later. What did I get? A couple of mint T-Rex, David Bowie and Roxy Music albums, compilations featuring Abba, The Bee Gees, Hot Chocolate and Sister Sledge and lots of excellent Blondie, Soft Cell, Sylvester, The Specials and Curtis Mayfield 7" and 12"s. Suffice to say, my brothers and his mates danced all night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqJk0q4QvZk&feature=related

Kingbee is the only shop in Chorlton dedicated to records (although you can also find quirky retro…read morerecords in Wowie Zowie! on Manchester Road and an assortment of old vinyl in the plethora of charity shops on the Wilbraham Road). As endearing as the vintage yellow Kingbee sign is, I don't own a record player and have been known to buy things because they look pretty, so I tend to stay away from this record shop as it can be quite pricey. I looked at a couple of the Cure's 7 inch singles but at £30 a pop they would make expensive pictures for my wall. If I had the money I'd go wild in this shop. £750 for a signed Led Zep tour poster from 1980? Bargain! It's not just vintage records that Kingbee sell. You can pick up a 7inch limited edition of The Ting Tings' 'That's Not My Name' for £35. All in all, a great place for collectors and serious vinyl fans, but a bit pricey for the rest of us. However, if you've got boxes of old vinyl in your attic, Kingbee may be able to take them off your hands.

This is one of the most iconic and legendary music shops in the UK if not the world. They've been…read morearound since the late 70s and I just love stopping by when I'm back in Manchester. Even if I'm just browsing and not expecting to buy something, I usually do. Folks here know their stuff. Their knowledge of music goes beyond compare. And it's no wonder, this is Manchester after all. It's just so cool to go in a chat with like-minded folks about music. They have so much available in CD form as well as vinyl. It's easy to get lost in the beauty of it all. So whether you're looking for punk, funk, or disco, they'll hook you up. I wish I could give them ten stars.

Sizzling Soul Fabulous Funk…read moreBrilliant Broken Beats Awesome Abstract Hip Hop Fantastic Free Jazz Dazzling Dubstep Sweeeeeet Lovers Rock Beautifully crooned Country Amazing Americana Classic Chicago House Tantalising Techno Pogo-ing Punk-Funk Perfect Pop Gorgeous Psyche-Folk Blistering Garage & lots of cool Rock & Roll Don't mean to get all High Fidelity on y'all but Piccadilly Records is the Northern equivalent of Rough Trade East. They have aisles of incredible vinyl on 7", 12" and long-players, tons of new and re-issued CDs and listening decks where you can check them all out. Even better, most of the staff are deejays so can give you the lowdown on the tracks that are the most fly. They also host in-store gigs from emerging and established artists. What more could you want?