Few small Welsh towns can claim a record shop that once posted thousands of LPs a week to customers on the other side of the world, but Porthmadog can. Cob Records has traded from the same corner of Britannia Terrace since 1967, its yellow signboards sheltering beneath a slate veranda a few steps from the embankment that gives the shop its name.
Background / History
Cob began in 1967 as a back room sideline selling ex jukebox singles at one shilling and sixpence each. Demand for current releases quickly outgrew the arrangement, accounts were opened with the record companies, and the basement of the existing business was fitted out as a proper record shop. An early offer of any three of your old LPs for any one new of theirs set the tone, and part exchange remains part of how the shop works.
Growth came through the post. By 1971 Cob was mailing roughly 7,500 LPs a week to some 25,000 customers in more than fifty countries, employing around 25 people and running mail order from a warehouse across the road. Small ads in the back pages of the NME and Melody Maker carried a Gwynedd address to bedrooms across Britain and far beyond, and a small town shop exporting records in that volume drew documentary crews from television and radio. Ownership has not changed since 1967, and in January 2025 the Financial Times named Cob among the greatest record stores in the world, calling it a Tardis of musical rarities.
What You’ll Find
Stock covers new and second hand CDs, LPs, 7in and 12in singles, and thousands of DVDs, with particular depth in rock, pop and classical material from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Deleted and hard to find vinyl is a long standing strength, and there is a good Welsh language section in keeping with the Recordiau Cob name on the front. New CDs are priced keenly rather than at full list, and second hand copies are checked before they reach the racks. The counter buys and part exchanges unwanted CDs, DVDs and LPs for cash, a wants service will chase down titles that are not on the shelves, and the worldwide mail order side that made the shop’s name still runs alongside the shop floor.
Experience / Atmosphere
The frontage gives little hint of how far the shop goes back. Wooden racking and glass topped counters run the length of the room, CDs climb the walls in tiers above the LP bins, and everything is labelled well enough that you can work through a section methodically rather than rummage. The lighting is bright, which matters when you are reading spines, and the staff are quick to help without hovering. Most people arrive meaning to have a quick look and leave an hour or two later. For much of Gwynedd and the Llŷn peninsula this is the nearest record shop by a considerable distance, which gives it a role well beyond retail.
Why Visit
- Trading under the same ownership since 1967, making it one of the longest running record shops in Wales
- Deep second hand racks covering rock, pop and classical, with plenty of 1960s to 1980s pressings
- LPs, 7in and 12in singles, new and used CDs and thousands of DVDs under one roof
- A Welsh language section that reflects the shop’s place in the local music scene
- A wants service and worldwide mail order carried over from the shop’s export years
- Sensible prices and a counter that buys and part exchanges your unwanted discs
Summary
Cob Records is a genuine survivor, a shop that turned a Gwynedd back room into an international mail order business and kept its doors open long after most of its contemporaries closed. The pleasure of a visit lies in the quantity of stock, the fairness of the pricing and the sense that these racks have been building steadily for close to sixty years. Set aside proper time, bring a list, and expect to leave with more than you planned.
