Arundel Street runs through the stretch of Sheffield where the city centre gives way to old cutlery workshops, and about halfway along it a whitewashed frontage with black-framed windows announces LP Record Store. The windows earn a minute of anyone’s time before you reach the door, filled with sleeves and hand-lettered signs, setting the tone for a shop that has served Sheffield’s record buyers with very little fuss for years.
Background / History
LP Record Store moved around the city more than once before settling at 137A Arundel Street, a short walk from The Globe and ringed by Sheffield Hallam University buildings. It is run by Mark, whose own listening runs deep through jazz, blues, folk and classic rock, and whose presence behind the counter is a large part of why people keep coming back. Alongside the shop floor it keeps an active Discogs storefront, which turns stock over steadily and brings in collectors from well beyond South Yorkshire.
What You’ll Find
New and used vinyl sit side by side here, with CDs too, though the second-hand racks do the heavy lifting. Stock takes in electronic, jazz, reggae, rock, hip hop, soul and funk, folk, blues, punk and indie, with a healthy run of dance 12in singles and boxes of 7in singles that reward patient flicking. Prices open at around £3 and climb through to genuinely rare and collectable pieces, so the shop suits a casual half hour and a serious hunt equally well. Record players, accessories and gift vouchers sit alongside the music. Sheffield’s own musical lineage is never far from view, with the city’s electronic and post-punk history well represented in the racks and on the walls.
Experience / Atmosphere
The space is compact and browsing is an unhurried business. Mark is happy to steer people towards records they would never have reached for on their own, which is how a good many customers end up leaving with something well outside their usual listening. Students from the nearby Hallam campuses drift in through term time and mix with collectors who have used the shop for years, so conversation across the counter is part of the visit rather than an interruption to it. There is no pressure to buy and no snobbery about what you are hunting for, which makes it an easy first stop for anyone just starting a collection.
Why Visit
- A deep second-hand section that genuinely rewards digging, with prices from around £3
- Owner knowledge across jazz, blues, folk and classic rock, shared freely and without airs
- Rare and collectable stock sitting alongside everyday reissues and new releases
- Dance 12in and 7in singles in quantity, not just albums
- Record players, accessories and gift vouchers for anyone setting up or buying for someone else
- A Record Store Day participant, with the shopfront given over to the occasion each April
- They buy as well as sell, so unwanted collections can find a sensible home
Summary
LP Record Store is the kind of independent a city needs: small enough to feel personal, stocked deeply enough to keep surprising you, and run by someone who cares what ends up in your bag. Whether you are chasing a Sheffield classic, a pressing you have been after for years, or simply somewhere to spend a wet afternoon working through boxes of singles, the short walk out to Arundel Street pays for itself.
