Top 5 MTL Record Stores
In the United States, vinyl record sales surpassed CDs for the first time since 1987. Canadian sales are not far behind, demonstrating a surging interest in the format. Montreal band, The Flamingos Pink, discuss their favourite local record shops.
For your listening pleasure: Free Livin by The Flamingos Pink, released September 2022.
This isn’t a BS top 5 list on MTL Blog. We’re not telling you where to buy your records. These stores are our favorites because they have cool records, the people are nice, and we’ve found some pretty sweet vinyl along the way. Here we go:
Beatnick
3770 Saint Denis St, Montreal, Quebec H2W 2M1
Huge selection of used vinyl, especially if you love 60s rock. The clerks are helpful and are happy to order anything they don’t have on the floor for you. They also have constant new arrivals and occasional rare special edition records at a decent price. Some of our fav records we found at Beatnick include White Stripes Live BBC Sessions, Fontaines DC Live, Idles’ Joy and Ultra Mono, Rage Against The Machine’s Battle of Los Angeles. They’ve got loads to look through so take your time.
Paul’s Boutique
112 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal, Quebec H2T 1N8
It’s a classic. The yellow façade and red lettering are a staple. The store may look small but the backstore is flooded with records. We also got some sweet posters there way back, there’s some cool artwork to dig through. Fav records we picked up at Paul’s are 2 classics; Nirvana’s Nevermind and Dr Dre’s The Chronic. Oink.
Aux 33 Tours
1373 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal, Quebec H2J 1Y8
They kill it with the wide selection. You can find a whole lot of records over there. We also had a great time ordering used records online during peak pandemic time. Every week they’d add new arrivals and deliver your order straight to your door. That was really cool. If you’re gonna go, make sure you got some time and some money. Fav records we picked up; BB King’s Lucille, Best of Little Richard, The Kills’ Midnight Boom, White Stripes’ De Stjil, The Stooges’ 1969, and Bass Drum of Death’s Rip This and GB City.
Sonik
4050 Rue Berri, Montréal, QC H2L 4H3
We picked up this really awesome New York Dolls Demos record as well as a Velvet Underground Rehearsals record. Loads of cool old school punk rock and garage stuff. DIY vibes at it its finest. Cash only!
The New Sound Central
4486 Coloniale Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2W 2C7
Vinyl, CDs, cassettes, merch, you name it! New arrivals, plenty of used vinyl, loads of rare gems. Closed on Wednesdays! Now you know! 😃