This is a supremely awesome shop that lives just a little way off of London Road, and stocks a wide…read morerange of good quality records in prime condition at extremely reasonable prices. There's a collection of CDs to peruse too, but the real focus is the wealth of records to flick through. I found a fair few rarities here, and although I don't have a Vinyl player at uni, picked them up to display on my wall. Joy Division's "Love Will Tear us Apart" and Kitchens of Distinction's "Quick as Rainbows" both tempted me, and I raked the last few pence out of my wallet so that I could take 'em home with me for a meagre £6.50. Seeing that it was all the money that I had left, the cashier was nice enough to let me off the 50p in case I needed it in an emergency! Now I'm no lightning calculator, but I could see I was already getting a deal as it was, and to get a considerable percentage off on top from the kindness of a strangers heart just sweetened the deal. From now on, I have two music shops in my life. Resident for CD's, and Monkey Music for Vinyl. Simple as

I'm definitely a fan of this gem of a record store. If you have an interest in vinyl or alternative…read moremusic, this is unquestionably the place to go visit. When you step inside you quickly become aware of how small the store is; there are records along every wall, with an island of CD's in the middle of the living room sized shop. In terms of selection, I was massively surprised by what was on offer. I found 3 Pixies 12' vinyls, all in top condition, all costing £6 each. Obscure bands of the 90's like Sonic Youth, or dead musicians from the 60's like James Brown are all immortalised in record form within the emporium. I don't think there is a thing that could be said against Monkey music emporium, certainly not from a music lover's perspective. The range of records on offer makes it so easy just to waste time flicking through row after row, waiting to see what you'll discover.

Sadly, I had to sell my decks and mixer when I moved to Sweden. Before this there was nothing I…read moreliked more than whiling a few hours away in a record shop,, searching through stacks of vinyl and sampling my finds on a store's turn table. Rarekind wasn't on Trafalgar street back inn my dj days, but I decided to have a little snoop the other day for old times sake. They specialise in UK/US Hip-hop and vintage funk. There are also complimentary genres such as dub step and soul on the shelves. Whilst I was given a general education into the old school roots of funk from a vinyl head flat mate, I must admit that a lot of the records are not directed at an electronica fan like myself. This being said, there is enough records to satisfy the avid collector who likes nothing more than leafing therough stack after stack of vinyl on a mission for that elusive classic to add to the collection and also for up to date hip hop and dub step dj's who are looking for the latest sounds to play at their next set. The staff were happy for me to sample a handful of funk 45's and my old flat mate would have been able to talk 'shop' to the guy behind the counter for hours. If you are unable to get tot he shop they also offer a mail order service and their website would be a good port of call to get a feel of the type of tunes they are offering. Again, not being a connoisseur of the genres, I reckon you should check it out in person if this kind of music is your thing.

A must for deejays and crate diggers, RareKind Records specialises in new and second hand vinyl and…read moreCDs. Positioned near the end of Trafalgar Street, it's a friendly shop that's packed with boxes of new and vintage funk, soul, jazz, electro, hip hop, grime, drum'n'bass, disco, reggae, downtempo, dubstep and psychadelic rock. All the records are marked Excellent, Very Good or Good and the prices are reasonable - think £7 for Kraftwerk, £8 for Minnie Riperton and Bettye LaVette. There's a deck near the counter so you can check out your records before you buy them and a small selection of brilliant 45s from specialist record labels like Jazzman and Daptone. They also stock slipmats, needles, headphones and DJ equipment - which is handy for those lucky enough to scratch a living spinning tracks!

I'm a collector of 50s early 60s records and I couldn't believe the prices of their records I had a…read moregood look through them all and the prices in general were double in most cases what I would pay on ebay or discogs I thought seeing as I was in there I'd buy a few 6 records for £50 which I admit I could have got a lot cheaper online and quality would have been better these had a lot is scratches etc.Alol in all a real shame as they had loads of records I wanted and would have spent a lot more but not when I can get them much cheaper and better condition online

Brighton is blessed with a handful of secondhand record shops and one of the best is Wax Factor…read more Housed in a black painted building on the perimeter of North Laines, it's an atmospheric place that's literally jam-packed with secondhand vinyl, CDs and books. They stock everything from hip hop, electronica, funk, soul, jazz and motown but their real speciality is classic rock and pop from the 1950s to the present day. If you're looking for a copy of The White Album, Quadrophenia or the whole back catalogue of The Rolling Stones or The Small Faces, this is the place you'll find it!

Fine records specialises in new and second hand classical CDs and also has a good stock of Jazz and…read moremovie soundtracks. They stock a fair amount of rare LPs too so worth having a dig through those to see what you can find. Owner Julian Pelling prides himself on helping people look for what they're after and is more than happy to order in what he can't find in his vast stocks.

One of the few independent record shops left in Town (the only one in Hove I believe) specialising…read morein older and more niche music. You're more likely to find a variety of folk and classical vinyls here than the latest music. You tend to find a lot of record collectors here. I used to pop in from time to time as it reminded me of a record shop where I used to work back home. Sadly it seems to get emptier and emptier (much like the rest of George Street) as the high street starts to decline more and more. I hope they get a few more years trading as it's sad to see all the record stores go :(

Blink and you'll miss this highly specialist record store that houses a number of independently…read moreproduced records of all sizes. The typical offerings here are the genres of Electronica, Rock and Alt Rock. Fans of the burgeoning labels Drag City and Tru Thoughts will be delighted to discover that Edgeworld stock the best these labels have to offer. You can also get CD's here, which is useful for budding musicians because Edgeworld will actually stock your own CD if it's professionally packaged.

A must for fans of Nurse with Wound and other obscure Noise/Experimental artists. Nicely hidden…read moreaway, but be aware that if you are unfamiliar with any kind of music outside the MTV charts, this could be a very traumatic (and possibly life-changing) experience! :) I hope they still exist, haven't been there for a while due to lack of funds but would LOVE to go there again and have a good rummage through this realm of the bizarre and under-recognized!

(The following occurred July 7th 2023 ~ 3pm) My wife…read moreJennifer and I have traveled extensively throughout the EU and UK and speak from experience when noting the stunning rudeness we experienced in Cult Hero was unprecedented, here or anywhere. It can't be a cultural misunderstanding, we've made friends and spent thousands of pounds & euros across Europe in record shops and always made new friends as a result. We take cues from Ted Lasso & Brenee Brown to leave good karma and positive first impressions in our wake when out and about. Somehow our best efforts crashed and burned at Cult Hero. We noted the 'no food or drinks' sign at the entrance and we finished our tiny paper cups of espresso before entering. Jennifer combined them into one small folded up fragment and entered, looking for a waste bin to place them in. Not seeing one she asked one of the two men behind the counter "do you have a trash bin so I may throw this away?" Without answering, he slowly reached out and took the bit of paper from her hand as if grasping a foul object and stared at her, his face communicating absolute contempt and disgust. They locked eyes for an uncomfortable span at which point Jennifer said "you could've simply said 'no' ..." I missed this and asked her why she looked so upset and intent on leaving the shop we'd made pains to arrive at. I then turned to the sallow, glaring guy and noted: "Generally my friend, it's a given you should be kind to your patrons and not ignore their queries or be rude to them." To which he leaned towards me and affected an exaggerated pantomime of appearing menacing for a span of time. "That's exactly what I'm talking about" I added, "that weird thing you're doing right now". His comrade then hissed under his breath "fa**ot". Astonished at this insult, especially in Brighton a city known for its inclusiveness, I said "Really? That's your reply?" then added "we drop hundreds of pounds in most every record shop we've entered. Congratulations on running us out." I surmise the stocky, angry and mute guy was either massively hungover, constipated or impotent (all of the above?) though that wouldn't warrant being an complete knob to a random couple. His punishment is that he has to live with himself for the rest of his life. Please: shop elsewhere. They don't deserve your money.

This gem of a music shop used to be on Duke Street nestled in between the chocolate and clothes…read morestores. Earlier this year, it moved to this bigger location on North Street - where it seems to attract more passersby. The layout and aesthetic of the shop is reminiscent of Fopp with racks of CDs, DVDs, books and vinyl all making good use of the space. There's special offers introducing new albums and re-issues for the bargain price of £5 and the rest of the stock is reasonably priced too. Rock, pop and indie lovers will find what they're looking for but there's also strong mini-sections devoted to everything from techno, drum'n'bass and electronica to R&B, soul, funk, classical music and soundtracks. The DVDs range from music to cult and world cinema flicks and the books are great too. Think Bukoswki, Burroughs and books on classic cities and design eras. If you're new to Brighton and fancy going to some gigs, they also sell tickets for most of the local venues and have lots of posters and flyers advertising forthcoming shows from Peaches to Florence and The Machine.

I don't have much cause to come to this place, as I don't own a record player, and the music they…read moresell isn't really much my thing. However, I really, really love these kinds of shops. People of an older Brighton vintage than me tell me that the North Laine area used to be full of these kind of places, before it got trendy. Ragged round the edges, slightly dusty, but full of love and care in what they do. They seem to have been around for years. It's a great place for a browse and to rewind a couple of decades.

The Singles Bar is a dusty record shop that's back to back with The Wax Factor. You can walk…read morethrough one to the other and probably pick up half a dozen records you fancy. Whilst The Wax Factor sells everything from vintage rock and pop to metal, The Singles Bar seems to specialise in old funk, soul, jazz, girl groups and motown. 90% of the stock is second-hand with the quality varying from Excellent to Good. There also seems to be a lot of pop singles and 12"s from the 80s onwards. If you're after an old Human League album, a Culture Club EP or Chicago house sampler, this is a good place to start.

This is what Vinyl is all about. The shop is located just opposite the station and is a soundtrack…read moreheaven. An old flatmate of mine used to be a big record junkie, always up for collecting rare music scores for remixing and sampling in DJ sets. Whilst my skills were certainly of a lesser calibre than him, I enjoyed having a mess about also. This shop is a literal goldmine of movie and TV scores, although I have never been able to find a copy of the Hawk the Slayer soundtrack yet. I like that there is a 'loose' filing system that means it's always worth having a root through the boxes and cases of 45's and 12 inches. It's the kind of shop that has that musty second hand smell and it's certainly worth popping to leaf through a point of nostalgia.

This is a small, obscure-looking and rather dusty shop, just up the road (on the right hand side of…read moreBrighton station as you exit). It's the sort of place that surprises you by its survival against the glitzy chains, but does so by having a loyal clientele of enthusiasts and by providing old stock that chain stores haven't touched for years. It's vinyl heaven, and even more so if you are interested in their specialty, which is film sound tracks. They are also good for anything before the 1980s. As you'd expect, the staff are knowledgeable in an encyclopaedic sort of way. Occasionally they also give away old unsold records.

Fantastic web site, excellent online service. Great shop. Looking forward to visiting the physical…read morelocation some day. I have indeed placed an order here and found the customer service and ordering experience to be top notch. Excellent service. Support your local record store!

Every city needs a great independent record shop. London has…read moreRough Trade Records, Soul Jazz and Sister Ray. Manchester has Piccadilly Records. Liverpool has Probe. And Brighton has Resident. Situated at the heart of the North Laines, Resident is a complete joy to visit. The record selection is small but perfectly formed and there's aisles of great CDs to flick through. The choice of music is also extensive as they stock everything from rock, pop, dance, hip hop and electro to funk, soul, jazz, bluegrass, country, americana and afro-beat. The staff are knowledgable, approachable and passionate and there's handy sections like New Releases and Resident Recommend as well as an on-going £5 section that includes recent and classic albums. I love this shop so much I would happily work there!

The sheer range of LPs on offer stops me from giving this place a 2, but I must admit I'm not…read morestruck on Across the Tracks at all. Where as "Monkey Music Emporium" and "Borderline" can't hope to compete with the volume at ATT, they both have something that Across the Tracks really craves... A personality. I just feel this place doesn't care, from its general lack of ordering, absence of a stock sheet (the owners themselves won't be able to tell you if they have what you want), and surprisingly steep prices for second hand LPs, it feels soulless. Save your money, and head over to Monkey Music Emporium for a great store, with fantastic prices, and the feeling that both you and the music you crave matters.

Price, range, volume and personality, I was blown away by my unexpectedly idyllic experience at…read morethis veritable vinyl heaven. It ain't pretty, but it sure provided the goods in abundance. And the prices were the lowest I found throughout Brighton. From the old vinyl buffs that were behind the counter to the salty characters who were, in effect, record store roadies - this place oozes a lack of care for anything but the music itself, which I can definitely get behind. As soon as they found out I actually knew what I was talking about, they completely changed their aloof tune, pointed out some new treats for the pickin' and even showed me some rare gems they stash in the back for their treasure hunters. It's not about the hype or the decor or the chipper staff, ATT is all about the music. If you are as well, I'd highly recommend a good browse.