Here are some of the records I have bought from Alien Records:…read more - a Serbian '80s electro pop record - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will by Mogwai - a NZ country music compilation - a recording of Shostakovich's 9th Symphony When people ask "where are all the good record shops?" the answer is: in a warehouse down a driveway in New Lynn, close to the RSA. Alien Records is run by what I can only lovingly describe as music nerds, one of whom will never fail to ask you if you play an instrument. This is endearing the first time but less so after the fifth or sixth. It's full of oddities, hits, classic hits compilations, and lots of top quality new pressings. I'm always slightly amazed they're still in business as it's got to be the most hidden specialty shop in Auckland, but they do know their stuff and it's good fun to spend an hour or so rifling through the bins so unless your ears are made of stone you're bound to find something you want. They also sporadically hold gigs in the room next door.

Fantastic store!!! Lots of vinyls, cds, books, t shirts all music related. I bought 2 albums I'd…read morenever seen in the US. Service was great. Value great. Loved this shop

ordered online for delivery 3 or 4 times. some of the books…read moreand cds were torn, and cracked. not happy with it when i bought with money. paid for it, but came along some torn books, and cracked cd cases. not worth ordering from real groovy. plus they sell stuff just a little bit expensiver than other retail stores. get it together crooks.

Having read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, and then watching the movie of Nick Hornby's High…read moreFidelity, there's something that will always appeal to me about small, independently-owned music shops. Also I am a nerd and a bit obsessed with music, so music shops in general are just neat, in my opinion. Musiquarium satisfies all my requirements. It's small, has little natural light, and is painted a lurid shade of green. Also it has an excellent range of CDs, both popular and obscure. Their stock covers a range of music, but seems to be particularly extensive when it comes to 90s alternative rock and 50s/60s rock & roll (disclaimer: it is possible that it just seemed that way because I like those two styles). They also focus on New Zealand music in a way that other places would like to look like they do, but actually don't.

The music acts are always first rate. No cover is great. Drink prices are higher than normal, but…read moreyou've got great music and a place to dance if you wish. My problem with this place is that after multiple visits, I've come to the conclusion that the wait staff behind the bar give very poor service. I've experienced several different sets of staff and they all offer poor service. No personality. No water unless requested. Long wait times for even an acknowledgement that you are even sitting at the bar. Management needs to improve their interviewing when hiring. Yes, I'll go back there often because of the music, but I'm certainly not going to tip for poor service.

In this day and age of chain stores selling nothing much but top of the pops CDs and band t-shirts…read morewith singers on them who appear still to be foetal, Marbecks is welcome respite. Any music lover will adore Marbecks. You get that feeling of being in an actual place when you visit, rather than in just another cloned merchandising experience. You also get a real Alice down the rabbit hole feeling because of the wonderful range, and it's one place that actually makes me feel excited about buying music. The staff here are excellent and great at fielding all kinds of questions, and very accommodating to importing things especially for you and that kind of stuff. They also have a dangerously tempting range of books and a decent stock of vinyl, so there's a lot to keep you busy once you get there.

Love this little place. It has a modest pop selection, but lots of cool new albums, a good…read moreclassical section, jazz CDs, music related DVDs and even a few boxes of LPs to make you look either old or cool. You can tell the staff love it too. They'll let you listen before you buy music and they place labels with honest reviews and recommendations on the new releases. Hope they remain open forever!

Before I developed my love for independant bookstores, Whitcoulls was my go-to for Christmas…read morepresents. A book (or board game, if I was feeling generous) for each family member and I was done. Despite being a chain, they've got a relatively good selection and the staff that i've interacted with seem to like and read a number of them, which is always a plus. Whitcoulls of course, also have stationery, magazines and a small selection of puzzles too. If you desperate for a gift, they're a one stop shop that's often open late but personally, now that we've got our own independent bookstore in Milford, The Booklover, I'd much rather support them and get a recommendation that's sure to wow!

I order some items before Christmas as Christmas gifts for my daughter and granddaughter. Only half…read moreof my order arrived. I never received a confirmation email, no tracking details just radio silence. I paid via Afterpay so I do have digital traceability. I have emailed several times but received no reply email. I have also phoned several times and left a message for a call back. I'm still waiting. All I have received is radio silence. I am owed almost $100 by Manna Christian bookstore. not very Christian like. I am going to proceed to taki legal action since they won't respond and it has now been well over a month of trying weekly to make contact. Not impressed and will never spend another cent at this store.

Formley known as the Church of Christ book store. Situated on the corner of Mt.Albert and Dominion…read moreRoad,next to the Church of Christ. The store provides all your Christian-based books - modern bible translations like the King James,New International,and Archaeological translations,at great prices. Also they have bibles,books,DVDs and more, for teens,and younger children.Available are top titles by known popular TV evangelists like Joyce Meyer,Joel Osteen,and many more. The store staff are friendly and very helpful. The store is wonderfully set up so you can find exactly what you're looking for. A staff member will help you if you need them. As a local who has lived in Mt.Roskill for over 30 years ,and a sometimes customer, I highly recommend this store for all your Christian-based literature.

Superb! Everything was a breeze. I ordered from Christchurch and figures arrived really packed and…read morein great time. They constantly kept in touch throughout the delivery. Thank you so much, 10/10!!!

Just when you thought that a game you really wanted was just out of your price range, in steps…read moreVagabond Games and comes to the rescue (this store seems to be a collaboration with Livewire Games). These guys have some pretty good deals that can sometimes even beat the other gaming giants like JB hifi and EB games. They have a fair number of games for sale as well as some other game related products like figurines and other collectible stuff like that; you know, nerdy stuff that you don't need but want anyway. This store used to be located in a really hard to find part of that ridiculously designed Metro building (seriously it's so stupid with its escalators that miss out entire floors!), but thankfully they are now located on Chancery Lane) . They also have plenty of Anime DVD's and other related products. Check out their website as they often have a few good specials on there.

I have had interesting experiences at this cafe. Some good and some bad. The first time I dined at…read moreDvd Cafe was after a night out boozing and acting a fool. A friend and I went to the cafe to have a coffee and talk about what had happened the previous night. Out of nowhere I threw up all, luckily enough we were outside. The staff quickly came to my aid and I cleaned up the ground. They were lovely about it which surprised me. I would've slapped aomeone for throwing up in my cafe. The second time I went there was to rent a few Dvds for a cosy night in with the boyfriend. The cafe has a dvd rental facility which is awesome. I walked away with a few dvds and two large takeaway vanilla milkshakes which tasted so good. The third time was when I had a meeting to pitch an idea to someone. We sat down and the waitress came to us and rudely announced that we had to leave because they were having family issues. I understand that it was a crisis but she could've talked to us in a manner that wasn't rude and dismissive.

It's so great they are so kind, they are never mean to us and they are a A Heath rating highly…read morerecommend!!!

Service was fast and friendly, called to put a book on hold and showed up about 35 minutes later…read more They had it ready to go and were very nice.

I love bookstores: the smell, the colors, and the possibilities for adventure and escape. Where I…read morelive there aren't many left, so it's exciting to visit as wonderful as Unity Books. In Auckland there are quite a few places to go, but this one is independent and probably the best. Unity Books has its main store and children's book separate on the same street; both are fun to browse through. I came here both to browse and with a mission. I wanted to purchase the complete Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations books. They're printed in New Zealand and cover places we visited, and others we'd love to return to. Their prices were what I expected; with the exchange rate, I was happy. The store was organized and they were easy to find, but one of the books' spine was broken. I asked a friendly clerk and they quickly went to the back and got another copy. It made buying them there easy. They had so many happy customers, it's easy to see they're doing well. I will definitely stop here on our next visit.