With an unparalleled selection of vinyl and DJ toys, Seismic has grown to become one of the best…read morerecord shops in the whole country - even the Observer says so! Situated sneakily above Kong, a lovely fashion store in its own right, staff are always friendly and extremely knowledgeable. As it is mail order too there is an almost exhaustive selection of DnB, Breaks, House, Hip Hop etc vinyl with loads of rareties and white labels to discover! The shop itself is bright, comfortable and the perfect way to waste away an afternoon. Unmissable for DJ's

Fantastic selection of records, the owner is extremely friendly and helpful. If there is a record…read moreyou want that isn't in stock, he will order it in for you. Pricing is also very competitive.

Hmv in Stratford is easy to find and as usual as with all their stores they sell music,games, dvds…read moreand other bits and bobs. This store is very very narrow which is for the size of other stores a bit dissappointing. But never the less it still holds up quite well. Being narrow means if two people want to pas each other you quite literally have to turn sideways to pass its that small. Once past that problem its clear the store requires more room. The tills are set back to aid with room on the left of the store on the way in. Recent releases of cd etc are at the fron of the store. And as you go further back you find more music, dvds and the game section. Right at the back of the store you will find an area which sells headphones and speakers from makes such as Bose, Sony and philips. I pod accessories are also available too. The store gets 4 out of 5 as the staff being helpful and the amazing amount of stock they cram in makes up for the store being stupidly small.

There are Charity Shops and then there's Oxfam Book & Music!…read more Dedicated entirely to Books, CD's and DVD's, the shop is inviting and is well laid out with some fantastic stock which is regularly updated. While not a big store, it genuinely has a book shop feel to it with classical music playing in the background and a small area for sitting and reading. While the books aren't as cheap as other charity shops, you're much more likely to find a gem here. Recommended!

The Oxfam book and music shop in Knowle came up trumps today. I'd been experimenting with the…read morekindle i-pad app for my current read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and it hadn't been going too well if I am honest. With my next book club meeting looming I was in desperate need of a traditional copy of this work. So, as I was passing, I popped into this store on the off chance. Not for the first time my prayers were answered by an Oxfam shop. Sitting waiting for me was just the book I needed, in paperback and in excellent condition for a mere £2.99. I quickly browsed the rest of the store and it was in perfect condition. There is a nice reading area at the front of the store if you want to take your book purchasing a bit slower than mine. They also have a small but good selection of DVDs, CDs and vinyl. Thanks once again Oxfam!

I had been a regular customer of Presto since childhood. From the age of 6 or 7, this is where my…read moremother would take me to by my sheet music, my reeds, all of my musical accessories and instruments. Through my teens, I would visit to try and buy new instruments, buy jazz CD's, classical music, staff paper, really anything I needed. I've since stopped visiting Presto, having noticed a strange shift in the behaviour of the staff towards me, especially by one particular person. I have been treated horrendously, once having been told by this staff member that they were 'surprised' that I was able to competently play one of their instruments (which I was intending to buy before that point). On another occasion, I visited to enquire about instrument rental / hire services (which I later learned was not a service offered by Presto). Rather than receiving a polite response, I was instead told that, if I were to rent an instrument from them, it would probably be returned 'wrecked' , if at all. Needless today, this was incredibly strange and hurtful at the time and I left feeling both embarrassed and confused. Sadly, these are not the only negative customer experiences I've had there in recent times, and I do not intend to return again. I've been followed around the shop while browsing, told off for testing instruments (while other customers were doing the same), having the instrument in question snatched out of my hands. The staff (particularly the one i have mentioned) had no valid or apparent reason to make these assumptions or to treat me way. I am a relatively simple, quiet, and polite person. I dread to assume why this has happened; I would certainly hate to think this was racist or discriminatory behaviour on account of my dark complexion. I am not a person typically taken to posting public reviews of any kind; however, in the absence of any other clear avenues to do so, I felt it important to express how upset and disappointed I am to have felt excluded arbitrarily from one of very few retailers I can honestly say is part of my identity and history as a musician and as a person, all due to the baffling, rude, and possibly discriminatory behaviour of the staff ( I say this tentatively and regretfull).

From the owner: We're an award-winning independent music shop, with a great selection of sheet music and musical…read moreinstruments - including pianos, guitars, violins, brass and woodwind. We also stock classical and jazz recordings, and a wide range of accessories from music stands to strings, reeds and great musical gifts. Run by a team of musicians and music-lovers, we'll be happy to help with any enquiry.