The best new record stores in Toronto
Toronto’s record store culture is fiercer now than ever before. The last few years have seen old names opening new shops in the city and fresh, young upstarts creeping into the scene to deliver entirely uniquely curated catalogues. When it comes to Toronto’s best record stores, here’s the seven-step journey through all that’s new in the city’s vinyl scene. [Feature image: Dead Dog Records]
Dead Dog Records
1277 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6H 1N7Dead Dog Records is a bastion of musical knowledge. When the sun set on Sunrise Records, Dead Dog sprang up, a second head from the body of vinyl Cerberus. Dead Dog offers a wide-range of selections, and if they don’t have a record in-store, they can have it on-hand as fast as Hermes can fly. A laid-back, we’re-always-excited-about-music disposition will make the newest vinyl aesthete shopping for records at Dead Dog feel like an aficionado.
Loon Record Inc
550 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B1A colourful shop that boasts a colourful stock, Loon Records calls out to anyone looking to fill their personal roster with classic and idiosyncratic tunes from yesteryear. The space is a pithy statement on what the role of a record shop is in the contemporary music economy: nostalgic, energetic, and committed. In the digital era, an endless trove of contemporary releases might threaten the recollection of music history. Loon Records stands firmly in the present, but looks back at the hidden gems from times gone past.
Neurotica Records And Cds
567 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 3W9Neurotica is an old player in the record store game, but the re-opening of a Toronto vintage vinyl destination is like a fresh patch on an old pair of jeans. Neurotica could have opened any time in the last thirty years and still cater to at least one genre of Toronto’s complex music scene, with wooden record shelves that fit equally an ‘80s hair-rock scene, a ‘90s grunge shop, a low-fi emporium from the early aughts, or an artisanal synth-folk bar in contemporary Toronto. In other words, Neurotica has a casual, easy vibe that’s sure to sate any music lover’s taste.
Tonality
2173 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6R 1X5“There's a big dark town, it's a place I've found/ There's a world going on underground,” so sings Tom Waits, so strikes Tonality. Devoted to underground labels, Tonality arranges their stock by label. Browsing their collection is a wholly different experience than other record shops. Here, the focus is on the curatorial work that independent labels put into what they produce. Tonality’s devotion to independent producers brings to the forefront the relationship between music creators and consumers offering a more direct exchange between creators and listeners.
Kops Records
209 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2The East end lives! Kops is another old Toronto musical entity that has become new again. Vinyl has survived the purge of 8-track, cassette tape, and looks likely to survive at least as long as the CD. It’s a multi-generational medium. The original Kops was established in the ‘70s, so why open a new shop on Danforth in 2015? Because everything old becomes new again, and the Danforth location is packed with old objects encased in auras of new desire. If you seek an elusive piece of vinyl, a likely first stop is Kops to inquire about their incredible catalogue of rarities.
City Beat Records
Dance, trance, and prance into City Beat Records – the folks who are in the business of keepin’ only the latest booty skain’ beats on shelf. Inhabiting a small storefront on College Street between Ossington and Dovercourt, City Beat Records shares its quarters with the Toronto Radio Project. The space is an excellent amalgamation of musical action, broadcasting to the public, and providing a one-stop shop for DJs and devotees of the latest dance craze sweeping the 6ix nation.
