Few British cities have shaped as much recorded music as Manchester, and its record shops still carry that history. Within ten minutes’ walk of Piccadilly station you can browse new releases in a shop that opened in 1978, dig through second-hand punk in a dealer that survived the 1996 bomb, or buy a techno 12-inch with your morning coffee. Our Manchester record shops page lists every shop we cover in the city, and this guide groups them by area so you can plan a proper day of digging.
A practical note before you set off: opening hours vary widely. Some of the specialist shops open only from the middle of the week or from the early afternoon, so check each listing for current hours before you travel.
Three Manchester record shops to start with
Piccadilly Records first opened in 1978 and moved to its Northern Quarter home at 53 Oldham Street in 1997. It is strongest on new music and quality reissues, curated rather than simply comprehensive, with indie and alternative alongside house, techno, disco, soul, jazz and reggae. See the Piccadilly Records listing.
Eastern Bloc Records has sold dance records since November 1985, starting in Afflecks Palace and settling on Stevenson Square in 2011. The racks lean towards house, techno, electro, disco and drum and bass, and the same room runs a café and licensed bar, so it opens early on weekdays. See the Eastern Bloc listing.
Sifters Records on Fog Lane in south Manchester was founded in 1977 by Pete Howard, the “Mr Sifter” namechecked in the Oasis song ‘Shakermaker’. It is best known for second-hand vinyl across rock, soul, reggae, jazz and classical, and the stock changes constantly. It opens in the afternoons and closes on Wednesdays and Sundays. See the Sifters Records listing.
Manchester record shops by area
The Northern Quarter and Oldham Street
The Northern Quarter is the heart of Manchester record shopping and easy to cover on foot.
- Piccadilly Records, 53 Oldham Street. New releases, reissues and second-hand finds, plus in-store events and long Record Store Day queues.
- Vinyl Exchange, 18 Oldham Street. Trading since 1988 across two levels, with second-hand vinyl, CDs and DVDs covering rock, indie, punk, metal, hip hop, house, techno, jungle, reggae, soul, jazz and world music.
- Eastern Bloc Records, 5a Stevenson Square. Dance music on new vinyl and imports, with a café and bar.
- Vinyl Revival, 5 Hilton Street. A shop specialising in the sounds of Manchester going back to the 1950s, with rare collectables.
- Withy Groove Records, 5 Thomas Street. A basement shop on the Shudehill edge of the quarter, trading since December 2023, with original pressings from the 1950s to the 1990s, deep boxes of 7-inch singles, posters and vintage decks. It opens seven days a week.
- Empire Exchange, 1 Newton Street. A traditional second-hand shop where records share the shelves with books, memorabilia and vintage curiosities.
Afflecks
The indoor market on Church Street has a long connection with Manchester’s record trade, and its third floor holds two specialists side by side.
- Vinyl Resting Place. Run by Alistair since April 2014, with thousands of mostly second-hand records across rock, pop, soul, jazz and punk, plus CDs, cassettes, band T-shirts and bargain boxes.
- MARS TAPES. A cassette specialist with new and pre-owned tapes, and players and Walkmans for anyone getting back into the format.
Near Piccadilly station and the city centre
Clampdown Records sits behind a red Victorian shopfront on Paton Street, a short walk from Piccadilly station. It began as a mail order business in the 1980s, opened in the Corn Exchange in 1990, lost much of its stock in the 1996 IRA bomb and has traded from Paton Street since 2004. Neil Clarke runs it today, with deep second-hand stock across rock, punk, indie, soul, funk and jazz, plus out-of-print CDs and Manchester memorabilia.
Closer to the shops of Market Street, FOPP Manchester fills two floors on Brown Street, beside the Arndale, with new vinyl, CDs, films and books. Keenly priced catalogue titles make it a good place to fill gaps in a collection.
Ancoats
A short walk east of the Northern Quarter, two very different shops trade on Pollard Street East.
- Haunted Dancehall, Wellington House. Founded in 2022 by Etienne Groh, this electronic specialist sits two floors up in a mill overlooking the Ashton Canal, with techno, house, electro and trance across new releases, reissues and second-hand. It opens Wednesday to Saturday, from 1pm until 8pm.
- Vinylfetishes Records, 15 Pollard Street East. A queer-owned shop in a converted storage container, with pop and R&B at its heart and a focus on releases by local queer artists.
South Manchester
Two long-running independents are a bus ride south of the centre.
- Kingbee Records, 519 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton. Trading since 1987 behind its bright yellow frontage, with a fast-moving mix of vinyl and CDs and particular strength in Northern soul, alongside reggae, 1960s, rock and punk. There is a deck for checking records before you buy.
- Sifters Records, 177 Fog Lane. Second-hand stock across many genres, open in the afternoons.
Stretford and Urmston
- Fountain Records, 7 King Street, Stretford. Founded in 2015 as Reel Around the Fountain Records, it moved out of Stretford Mall to a street-front shop in late 2025. New and second-hand vinyl covers rock, indie, punk, soul, reggae and jazz, with a strong line in Manchester music.
- Music for the Soul Records, 50 Flixton Road, Urmston. Run by Dave Garland since 2015, with soul, Northern soul, funk and jazz at the centre and a broad second-hand range around them. Every pre-loved record is cleaned and graded before it reaches the racks. It opens Wednesday to Saturday.
Prestwich
Bank House Studios on Warwick Street is home to two shops, so a trip north covers both.
- Beatin’ Rhythm Records, first floor. A cornerstone of the soul scene since 1990, it moved from Tib Street to Prestwich in 2015 and deals in original American 7-inch singles across Northern soul, modern soul, funk, Motown and rare soul. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- The Record Cellar, in the cellar of the same building. A vinyl shop with limited opening days, so check the listing before you visit.
Beyond the city: Greater Manchester record shops
If you have more time, the towns around Manchester hold plenty more. In Stockport, SK1 Records and All Night Flight Records are a few minutes apart in the old town, and Dig Inn trades in Marple. South of the city, look for Gatekeep in Sale and Dead Cloud in Altrincham. To the north and west there is X Records in Bolton, Wax and Beans in Bury, Rocks Off in Rochdale, Static Records in Wigan, Sticky Black Tarmac in Leigh and Inner Space Records in Uppermill.
Planning a day of record shopping in Manchester
A suggested route
Start at Piccadilly station and walk to Clampdown on Paton Street, then head into the Northern Quarter for Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange and Eastern Bloc. Climb to the third floor of Afflecks for Vinyl Resting Place and MARS TAPES, then finish at Withy Groove on Thomas Street. If you want electronic music, save Haunted Dancehall in Ancoats for the late afternoon, since it stays open until 8pm. Kingbee in Chorlton and the soul specialists in Prestwich are better treated as separate trips.
What Manchester does best
The city’s shops reflect its music. Dance and electronic records are a real strength, from Eastern Bloc’s four decades behind the counter to the European-leaning selection at Haunted Dancehall. Northern soul runs deep too, at Beatin’ Rhythm, Kingbee and Music for the Soul. Several shops also give space to Manchester bands, so it is a good city for local pressings. If you collect the city’s 1990s guitar bands, our guide to collecting Britpop on vinyl is worth reading before you go.
Tips for digging
- Bring a want list, but leave room for surprises. Shops with fast-moving second-hand stock reward repeat visits.
- Check condition before you buy. Several shops have a deck you can use, and it is worth asking. Our guide to spotting hidden gems in second-hand vinyl covers what to look for.
- Read our record shop etiquette guide if you are new to crate-digging.
More guides for record hunting
Manchester is a natural stop on any record shop road trip, and our London to Manchester record shop roadmap links it with other cities on the route. For other days out, see our city guides to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Brighton. Record fairs are another good way to find stock, and our UK record fairs guide covers how to get the most from them. For release-day queues, read our Record Store Day UK guide.
Shop details change, so before you travel, check each listing on our Manchester record shops page for current opening hours.
