Split into two little shops either side of the staircase at the back of Clifton Arcade you will…read morefind this little gem of a store. This is how I remember all record shops to be - even the new ones! All items here are second hand and they do a particularly good range of vinyl. Most will be in the rock and pop genres from 60s-80s which is great for me. If you are a Queen fan I think they have everything ever made ever.... They also have CDs, DVDs (mostly in the shop to the left) which are priced around the £6 mark which is the same as online but you get to spend time shuffling round a shop which is infinitely nicer then an online buy. Also t-shirts for you retro slogan wearing kids and music sheets for the talented ones. You are welcome to browse and you will definitely find something unusual here. Like a record fair imploded.

Right at the very end of the Arcade you'll find this record shop. Not huge, but with a good…read moreselection of vinyl and a few posters and CDs as well. They'll have music on when you go in, which I've always thought is a bit questionable, but nothing my ears couldn't bear for ten minutes of browsing. Not big enough to have a properly extensive collection, this isn't really the place for music aficionados. There's specific sections for metal and prog rock, to give you a flavour of what they stock. If you've got a spare tenner and an afternoon in Clifton this is a good place to discover something new. The owner is happy to give advice, and there's just enough on offer for most people to find plenty of stuff they haven't heard before. A run of the mill independent record shop, X is good for wasting a bit of time.

Nothing to do with the similarly named film studio, 20th Century Flicks is a small independent DVD…read moreand video rental shop. It's better than Blockbusters for so many reasons, the chief one being that they have dedicated staff who have an encyclopaedic film knowledge. You can go in, say something along the lines of 'I want that film, I think it was Hitchcock, made 1961 or maybe '64...' and they will usually be able to work out what you're looking for. They also go to the trouble of writing little cards with their opinions of the movies, which I think is a nice touch. Their library is as comprehensive, I've always been able to get what I want and kept up to date. They do a good line in ex-rental, so it's worth going along even if you don't rent much. Walking past this morning I saw Atonement on DVD for £5, a bargain. 20th Century Flicks is a good place to find a film and has a bit more of a personal touch to it, which I always appreciate.

This is quite simply the best video rental shop in Bristol. Unfortunately I live a bit too far away…read morenow, but I used to go here all the time when I was in Clifton. Why? Well, it's independent for one, which is a bonus in any walk of life. Also, the staff know what they're talking about and are all encouraged to write cards and lists recommending their faves new and old, with art house and cult hits very much to the fore, not just the latest crap from Hollywood. It's a little bit expensive but you certainly get what you pay for. And if they don't have what you want on their heaving shelves, ask at the desk as they can dig pretty much anything, however obscure, up for you from their back-up warehouse.

A warning to all you ladies out there: if, after dragging your doting boyfriend around the retro…read moreshops of Park Street, you loving ask, 'is there anywhere you want to go?' you may just end up at Forbidden Planet. This comic book and sci-fi mega store is every boys dream and every girl's nightmare. Be prepared to lose several very important shopping hours here. Having said that, it's easy to admire the scale of the store and the quality of the goods they have to offer. Even I, a sci-fi phobic, enjoyed flicking through the comic books and eyeing up the DVDs. It's a great place to shop for presents for boyfriends, friends and little brothers. And, luckily for me, the shop assistants are so helpful so even the clueless can pick the perfect stocking filler.

Comic book nerds and geeks (or those that think Sci Fi is so square that it's hip) from all around…read morewill love forbidden planet. It's not the easiest place to find - it's on the less visited part of triangle, so a little away from the main shopping drag on Park Street, but definitely worth making the effort for. If you're not into comics too much yourself, this is definitely a brilliant place to grab an original gift for someone who is - there's endless amounts of memorabilia. The stuff here is pretty expensive though.

This places has been few a couple of different makeovers. Previously Zavvi, and before that Virgin…read moreMegastore, it's always been a big city centre record shop where you can get all the usual chart stuff plus a bit more (mostly in virtue of their need to fill all space I think) that's never looked like it's doing all that well. The impact of music downloading and Amazon seems to have continued to eat into the business here, with more and more discounts on offer. At the moment there's racks and racks of four pound CDs. So even if you're tech savy enough (and these days, who isn't?) to get it cheap off the net it's still worth coming down here to do a bit of impulse shopping. It isn't the most pleasant of retail experiences in my opinion. This might just be because the tastes of the staff (who get to put the music on pretty loud here) don't usually match my own. Though it does feel a lot more impersonal than any of Bristol independents. It isn't too oppressive though, and if you're in the city centre with a tenner burning a hole in your pocket then head to Head to see if you can find anything you like.

Sam was on to something when he said 'Doing well to stay open', because they did recentley close. A…read morefew weeks ago they had a massive closing down sale, everything was reduced to quite low prices, and when I went in all they seemed to have was countless copies of rubbish childrens films and Sylvester Stallone in a film called 'Stop or my Mum will shoot'! Sounds pretty bad. But recentley this store has re-opened, nothing is really any different other than a seemingly large re-brand. It's still called 'Head', and they have got rid of the horrible green that could be seen everywhere which I think was a good move. I think the DVD's are a little bit cheaper though.

This was where I bought my copy of Dark Side of the Moon years & years ago! I went home, shut my…read moredoor and put the record on, and I don't really remember much after that. But this shop symbolises everything the Independent Record shop should be; the staff will always chat to you about music and ask you what you like so they can recommend stuff to you, or keep music behind the counter for when you next go in. If you're lucky enough to find this shop open you are in for a treat, they are always playing something you won't have heard before, and my advice is, buy the music they recommend to you. But finding this shop open is a game in itself, I had the misfortune of stopping by earlier today to find they have shaved even more opening hours from their week. So now it's just Fridays & Saturdays, which gives it more of a market stall feel. I hope by doing this they will get the business they need to stay open. So stop by at the weekend and start digging into the boxes of old records they have in the back! You'll find a Zeppelin album you didn't even know you needed.

An independent second hand record shop on Cotham Hill, The Beat Goes On is a rare find nowadays…read more Specialising in vinyl, they've got a big collection of second hand music, both on wax and on cd. Their range isn't massive, but there's definitely a few gems in here and it's worth really taking your time and having a peruse. Like the hardware store just around the corner, they've managed to cram an awful lot of stuff into a small premises, and it gets really crowded with just a few people in here. It's got a nice feeling to it - a bit messy and untidy but in a good, hippy and shambolic way. Definitely a shop that's well worth supporting, come and find a gem and spend a happy Sunday afternoon in musical bliss.

I could spend a good few hours of a weekend in HMV, when they have their, what actually seems like…read morea pretty ongoing, sale of £3 dvds I have to remind myself that I can't buy more than I can carry! As much as I love HMV I wasn't 100% impressed with this store - usually the staff are really really helpful and genuinely seem to have an interest in music/film but this store seems a little under-par. I often think they could fit a lot more in as well, maybe it's me but part of the fun of a cd/dvd shop is the slightly cramped feel, you know when you bump backwards into the guy looking at the opposite row? I still give it 3* because HMV is HMV but there's room for improvement here!

THis HMV has a really good selection, and the staff are very friend;y, and once helped me discover…read morethe brilliant Garth Marengies Dark Place, for which I will be ever thankful! Being a massive fan of the Mighty Boosh, I was asking about the box set of the 1st and 2nd series (this was in the days before the 3rd series and subsequent band formation) and they suggested I have a look at Dark Place, I didn, and it was brilliant. I remember seeing 1 or 2 episodes on CHannel 4 when it was on tele but I didn't pay much attention, so thankful I paid it a second look, and all thanks to some bloke from HMV... don't think he works their anymore though.

Thankfully after all the Fopps closed down last year, this one mysteriously reappeared in a new…read morelocation. It's now owned by HMV and its main purpose seems to be to sell off all the overstocked CD and DVD albums from the last 3 years or so, at discounted prices- and that's what it's good at. It does have a range of new releases and a back catalogue as well but that's just the same as HMV really. The trick is to pop in fairly regularly, maybe once a month, as the stock in their £3 and £5 sections changes fairly frequently and it's easy to see whether there's something new you want to pick up. Even if you only buy £3 CDs it's all too easy to spend £50 in this shop- on CDs that would've cost you £150 if you'd bought them somewhere else.

I was very disappointed when Fopp's across the country closed down last year. It was, however, a…read moreconstant burden on my wallet and perhaps a good thing. With many good CDs often reduced to £3 or £5, and the reduced selection changing every month or so, it was always ever so easy to wander around, ending up with a stack of CDs about 20 high. The biggest challenge was choosing which to leave, in hope they'd still be cheap the next month..!

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.