For vinyl aficionados, Cosmo West Records is a great place to find hard-to-music…read more For lovers of jazz, soul, rock, psychedelic and blues, this little shop is a must stop for collectors but be warned: you can easily spend a fortune here. I know, I've done this. Its owner, Aki Abe, is a true vinyl fan who knows his product and scours record shops locally and around the world, buying quality records. He is an encyclopedia when it comes to the type of record, its stamp, the issue, etc. His friendly and welcoming personality invites his customers to ask him questions and once he gets to know your style and interests, he'll even suggest artists that you might like, which is a great salesman tactic. While I have heard some people mention that the prices listed at Cosmo West are on the expensive side. Much of their items are rare and limited editions, but it's certainly competitive to other shops in the area. It's also a good place to find that one-of-a-kind gem you've been looking for. Be sure to also check out its sister store down the street for hip-hop, soul, and rap records.

I stopped in Cosmos on a 5 hour whirlwind tour of record shops in Toronto today (went to…read morePandemonium, Good Music, Cosmos, and both Kops). This is a five-star shop except for a few issues. They have records that nobody else has. First pressings of Andrew Hill's Blue Note albums. Japanese imports of free and soul jazz. Private pressings with Don Cherry as a player... what!?! I bought two records (I didn't ask how much the Andrew Hill records were, just to avoid the temptation). One was a Hannibal Peterson Japan-only release for $60. That's cheaper than you can get it on Discogs or Ebay once you factor shipping, and I got to listen to it before buying. So really it was a good deal. The other was a $20 Mal Waldron Trio record, import from Germany on Enja. That's a very reasonable price, I've paid $30 and more for similarly rare Enja releases. The only reason I don't give the fifth star: 1. If an album is over $50 then I'd like to have it cleaned. He has a record cleaning machine and the really expensive stuff had been washed from what I could tell, but I'd like to see $50 as the threshold for a nice cleaning. 2. Some records were more than I would expect given the pressing. A United Artists era pressing of Jackie Mclean Demon's Dance was about twice the Popsike average. 3. The turntable at the listening station had some issues. The cuing lever was not functioning, so I had to hand cue. I trust myself to do this (I do it at home), but I hate to think of how many records have been gouged by others.

Awesome gem tucked away in downtown Toronto area! Owner and…read morehis shop have been around for years..! Found a couple great dub records and even a 7" Of my own NoCal punk band! Awesome hang and highly recommend to anyone looking to dig through some bins!

Very rude female staff. Absolutely no care for customer service, with a passive-aggressive…read moreattitude. Owner himself is a nice gentleman and offers good prices with a great collection of records and cds. Too bad he got this female staff who just destroyed his business. After the nasty encounter with the female staff, I will no longer want to return to this store again. Owner needs to beware of what this fenale staff is doing to his business. Such a pity and a waste.

Great records great prices! They moved from sammon to a new location at 1374 Queen St E!read more

I have been buying vinyl from Baxter's for a few months and I always find good quality used…read morerecords. Owner is very friendly and his prices are very reasonable. Only open on Saturdays 12-5. Give this place a try you won't be disappointed.

This is one of the best record stores I've ever been to. The staff is amazingly knowledgeable. I…read morecan bring up and artist or album be it rock, jazz or blues (my particular favourites) and they will not only know what I'm talking about, but they'll recommend similar stuff that is always bang on! If they don't have something they'll do their best to get it in. The prices are quite fair and reasonable too. Highly recommend!

Nice big store. Well organized with a huge selection of new and used vinyl and CDs. The staff was…read moresuper friendly and chatty. See usually these shops are run by unfriendly gruffy types. They never acknowledge you or offer help. I was shocked. Shocked I tell you at how welcoming and nice the staff here was from the moment I walked in. Helpfully and friendly. If you're shopping for records in Toronto I highly recommend dead dog records

I love a good music store. Such stores are few and far between, mainly due to a shift in how we…read morelisten to music. We are more into streaming it than physically owning a copy in some form, be it digitally as music files, or on a CD or record. Frankly, I've adopted both methods. I stream music wherever I have a wifi connection. However, at home, my music collection is a combination of digital files from my years being an iPod fan (the best device to go on a road trip and bring your own music without thinking about data charges), and playing albums on my record or CD player. I was recently in Leslieville, waiting for a pizza order. It would take thirty minutes for the pizza to bake. You can't rush a good thing. I decided to take a stroll around the area. I found In the Groove. I was first elated to see a music store full of records (vinyl to those who like that hip term), CDs, cassettes, and more. My heart sank when I saw that this store was closing for good. Wait a minute, though. A man walked out of the store. Is it really closed? I stood in front of the store and read every posted sign. The closing date was January 31st, 2023. It was February. I looked at the other sign that said that the closing sale was held over. Yes! I still had mixed emotions. It's always sad to see a music store close. I went in to check it out. I am the type that I can spend hours in a music store, looking at everything and ending up buying some good albums to add to my collection. I only had fifteen minutes before I had to leave and fetch dinner. It was the best fifteen minutes and I made it count. A man behind the counter said hi to me. We would later trade first names. I got Sheldon's business card, who is the owner of this fine business for 25 years. He lives in Richmond Hill. We both talked about how it does take a bit of time to get to Leslieville from York region. I found two albums that caught my attention. The first was Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. It's a classic. It was my first cassette tape purchase in my life. I still have it. I want to return and get the record version. There were two copies of the album in the store. What I settled for instead was Peter Cetera's Solitude Solitaire. I have always enjoyed listening to his music, either with Chicago or his solo work. I oddly did not own anything by him until I decided to get this album. The downside was that I did not come prepared with cash. Sheldon said that he had disconnected his payment machine the prior month and only accepts cash. He let me know that there was an ATM machine down the road. He asked how much the album in my hand was. It was going for $8. He was generous to offer it for $5 if I had cash. If you know me, it is rare that I have cash on hand. I had a $5 and a twoonie. So rare. He didn't want the latter. He was fine with $5. I got a $5 album from a generous man. He saw that love for music that we both shared. His kind gesture meant a lot. Besides being a music lover, Sheldon is a professional photographer. He told me that he has loved what he has done over the years. The pandemic caused him to lose a ton of money having his store closed. Although he originally had the end of January as his closing date, he is playing it by ear and will decided at the end of this month whether he is done for good. I need to drop again by before it shutters for good. I am hoping that his store is still around a bit longer. It's a gem, with 45 and 78 RPM records that I still need to explore. Part of me wishes that I had found this store sooner. However, I'm glad that I did recently. I met a nice man behind the business who sold me an album than now has more meaning than meets the eye. (45)

Sheldon is super friendly and chatty. I didn't find anything that I wanted, but my friend joyfully…read morebrowsed the plethora of records and ended up taking four home. While he was browsing, Sheldon kept me entertained, and another regular customer came in and joined the conversation. I can see why the other reviewers found him too busy to help since he's so chatty, but it's fine to interrupt him. He's just that neighborhood shopkeeper that enjoys chatting with customers, not necessary the corporate employee who maintains professionalism at all times. Stop by and find a good record, or just go chat with Sheldon.

A good sized record store in the Sherway Gardens Mall. There's a huge selection of CDs, vinyl and…read moreDVDs, as well as other collectibles. The range is good, and if not in stock the staff are happy to look to order it for you if they can. Prices are fair, especially for some of the harder to find CDs. I've picked up a number of items I've not been able to find elsewhere.

Service has always been great. Owner is always very helpful and polite and most importantly,…read morehonest. One of my favourite stores to purchase vinyl and CDs.

Keith celebrated his 5th anniversary in grand style on 12 August 2017. It's hard to fathom that I…read morehave been a client of his since November 2012! His vinyl is always of excellent quality and his selection changes so frequently that I have missed out on some gems in the past. His CD wall has grown since he sold that beautiful Seeburg juke box: (shame shame Keith). Oh yes, let's not forget the great coffee and large selection of different teas. And last but not least, Keith supports local artists by displaying paintings on his walls. On Sundays, he invites local musicians to perform for those who venture in between 12:00 and 17:00. All in all, one of my favourite spots on the Lake Shore. P.S. Bring in your vinyl and Keith with WASH it for a pittance. The difference will amaze you!

This is a great place to find old (and some new) DVD, Blu-ray, CD, records. DVDs are 3 for $10 and…read moreBlu-ray are 3 for $15. Have the store is dedicated to records. Everything looks in good condition. They also have some old record players and VHS TO DVD transfer service.

This place is kindof a mess…read more The records aren't well organized at all. Everything starting with the same letter is all jumbled together. So if you're looking for Bowie, his records will be scattered throughout the "B" section. That's okay I guess if you've got all day to browse, but the records are also packed in super tight. So browsing, usually a pleasure, becomes a real chore. Another bummer, there is little to no current music here.