I love a good music store. Such stores are few and far between, mainly due to a shift in how we…read morelisten to music. We are more into streaming it than physically owning a copy in some form, be it digitally as music files, or on a CD or record. Frankly, I've adopted both methods. I stream music wherever I have a wifi connection. However, at home, my music collection is a combination of digital files from my years being an iPod fan (the best device to go on a road trip and bring your own music without thinking about data charges), and playing albums on my record or CD player. I was recently in Leslieville, waiting for a pizza order. It would take thirty minutes for the pizza to bake. You can't rush a good thing. I decided to take a stroll around the area. I found In the Groove. I was first elated to see a music store full of records (vinyl to those who like that hip term), CDs, cassettes, and more. My heart sank when I saw that this store was closing for good. Wait a minute, though. A man walked out of the store. Is it really closed? I stood in front of the store and read every posted sign. The closing date was January 31st, 2023. It was February. I looked at the other sign that said that the closing sale was held over. Yes! I still had mixed emotions. It's always sad to see a music store close. I went in to check it out. I am the type that I can spend hours in a music store, looking at everything and ending up buying some good albums to add to my collection. I only had fifteen minutes before I had to leave and fetch dinner. It was the best fifteen minutes and I made it count. A man behind the counter said hi to me. We would later trade first names. I got Sheldon's business card, who is the owner of this fine business for 25 years. He lives in Richmond Hill. We both talked about how it does take a bit of time to get to Leslieville from York region. I found two albums that caught my attention. The first was Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. It's a classic. It was my first cassette tape purchase in my life. I still have it. I want to return and get the record version. There were two copies of the album in the store. What I settled for instead was Peter Cetera's Solitude Solitaire. I have always enjoyed listening to his music, either with Chicago or his solo work. I oddly did not own anything by him until I decided to get this album. The downside was that I did not come prepared with cash. Sheldon said that he had disconnected his payment machine the prior month and only accepts cash. He let me know that there was an ATM machine down the road. He asked how much the album in my hand was. It was going for $8. He was generous to offer it for $5 if I had cash. If you know me, it is rare that I have cash on hand. I had a $5 and a twoonie. So rare. He didn't want the latter. He was fine with $5. I got a $5 album from a generous man. He saw that love for music that we both shared. His kind gesture meant a lot. Besides being a music lover, Sheldon is a professional photographer. He told me that he has loved what he has done over the years. The pandemic caused him to lose a ton of money having his store closed. Although he originally had the end of January as his closing date, he is playing it by ear and will decided at the end of this month whether he is done for good. I need to drop again by before it shutters for good. I am hoping that his store is still around a bit longer. It's a gem, with 45 and 78 RPM records that I still need to explore. Part of me wishes that I had found this store sooner. However, I'm glad that I did recently. I met a nice man behind the business who sold me an album than now has more meaning than meets the eye. (45)

Sheldon is super friendly and chatty. I didn't find anything that I wanted, but my friend joyfully…read morebrowsed the plethora of records and ended up taking four home. While he was browsing, Sheldon kept me entertained, and another regular customer came in and joined the conversation. I can see why the other reviewers found him too busy to help since he's so chatty, but it's fine to interrupt him. He's just that neighborhood shopkeeper that enjoys chatting with customers, not necessary the corporate employee who maintains professionalism at all times. Stop by and find a good record, or just go chat with Sheldon.

Eclectic vinyl shop. Everything from hip hop, to Classic reggae to metal to Jazz and more…read more Prices are marked by the sticker, flea market style, but likely slightly negotiable. Take your time to browse through the selection. I found a rare hard to find album and I'm glad that I randomly popped in to snatch it up at a very reasonable price. I must say that some records range from $5 to over 100. Most records are used. The owner is pretty cool and the shop has been around for over 10 years. Green p parking right along the relatively mellow Toronto street.

Rad little curated record store that I just so happened to spend the most I have ever spent on a…read morerecord.. AKA MAMA SAID Lenny Kravitz original British pressing! So many tears my wallet Cried.. The store is cool and has stuff from all over the world! Lots of cool imports and things I have never seen anywhere else! The guy working was rad and thought I might be into the Sex Pistols box set.. Had to tell him they are not my band.. They did have a nice selection of records for 5 bucks a piece too, found some Randy Newman records back there that everyone should own! So head there and buy them..

This is a great place to find old (and some new) DVD, Blu-ray, CD, records. DVDs are 3 for $10 and…read moreBlu-ray are 3 for $15. Have the store is dedicated to records. Everything looks in good condition. They also have some old record players and VHS TO DVD transfer service.

This place is kindof a mess…read more The records aren't well organized at all. Everything starting with the same letter is all jumbled together. So if you're looking for Bowie, his records will be scattered throughout the "B" section. That's okay I guess if you've got all day to browse, but the records are also packed in super tight. So browsing, usually a pleasure, becomes a real chore. Another bummer, there is little to no current music here.

For vinyl aficionados, Cosmo West Records is a great place to find hard-to-music…read more For lovers of jazz, soul, rock, psychedelic and blues, this little shop is a must stop for collectors but be warned: you can easily spend a fortune here. I know, I've done this. Its owner, Aki Abe, is a true vinyl fan who knows his product and scours record shops locally and around the world, buying quality records. He is an encyclopedia when it comes to the type of record, its stamp, the issue, etc. His friendly and welcoming personality invites his customers to ask him questions and once he gets to know your style and interests, he'll even suggest artists that you might like, which is a great salesman tactic. While I have heard some people mention that the prices listed at Cosmo West are on the expensive side. Much of their items are rare and limited editions, but it's certainly competitive to other shops in the area. It's also a good place to find that one-of-a-kind gem you've been looking for. Be sure to also check out its sister store down the street for hip-hop, soul, and rap records.

I stopped in Cosmos on a 5 hour whirlwind tour of record shops in Toronto today (went to…read morePandemonium, Good Music, Cosmos, and both Kops). This is a five-star shop except for a few issues. They have records that nobody else has. First pressings of Andrew Hill's Blue Note albums. Japanese imports of free and soul jazz. Private pressings with Don Cherry as a player... what!?! I bought two records (I didn't ask how much the Andrew Hill records were, just to avoid the temptation). One was a Hannibal Peterson Japan-only release for $60. That's cheaper than you can get it on Discogs or Ebay once you factor shipping, and I got to listen to it before buying. So really it was a good deal. The other was a $20 Mal Waldron Trio record, import from Germany on Enja. That's a very reasonable price, I've paid $30 and more for similarly rare Enja releases. The only reason I don't give the fifth star: 1. If an album is over $50 then I'd like to have it cleaned. He has a record cleaning machine and the really expensive stuff had been washed from what I could tell, but I'd like to see $50 as the threshold for a nice cleaning. 2. Some records were more than I would expect given the pressing. A United Artists era pressing of Jackie Mclean Demon's Dance was about twice the Popsike average. 3. The turntable at the listening station had some issues. The cuing lever was not functioning, so I had to hand cue. I trust myself to do this (I do it at home), but I hate to think of how many records have been gouged by others.

What a great little store with friendly staff and a good selection of more current music and…read moreartist. If you are in Toronto and are looking for current radio hits then the selection at this cute shop is for you. As a person that prefers music from the 80s and 70s the selection was limited but that didn't stop me from finding a couple of gems. The albums appear to be predominantly new with a smallish section of used discs. Prices seem fair and I would definitely visit again.

Great record store with a nice selection of new and used vinyl. They also had CDs. What makes this…read moreplace stand out is the amazing friendly staff. I felt very welcomed and we chatted a bit about music. Being in town alone this was welcome and made me feel good about being in Toronto. I bought a couple of records and left a happy vinyl collector

Teeny tiny little records store on Dundas Avenue on the north side of Bellwood Park. Definitely…read moreworth stopping in to see what they have. Good tunes are always spinning...staff is laid back and friendly

No list of Top Toronto Vinyl Stores is complete without Shortstack Records…read more While the shop is smaller than some of the others in Toronto, it more than makes up for it with its customer service. The owner Cal MacLean is a true vinyl aficionado who has helped me track down several of my most sought after LPs for very fair prices. I also highly recommend selling/trading your unwanted records here as it has the fairest prices in the city.

Great records great prices! They moved from sammon to a new location at 1374 Queen St E!read more

I have been buying vinyl from Baxter's for a few months and I always find good quality used…read morerecords. Owner is very friendly and his prices are very reasonable. Only open on Saturdays 12-5. Give this place a try you won't be disappointed.

Honest down to earth knowledgeable owner. Very helpful. He will order stuff if he doesn't have it…read morebut he has a lot of good stuff with reasonable prices

Being the ONLY record store in Mississauga for over 20 years is reason enough to award Ric's…read moreRecollections a 5-star, but after a long awaited person visit on my behalf I finally got to shop Ric's insane collection of records! Moving to a larger location on Port Credit's East side (about 1 km east of Hurontario), about 4 years has allowed for Ric's to expand their offerings and inventory to a point where you feel like you've traveled back in time to the 60's/70's to go record shopping. All the classics are there... like all of them! If you're a true audiophile, this is the place to be. I spend almost an hour doing a 'quick' skim of the categories that interested me most. Ric's has got a lot of vintage vinyl going from $6 up to $35-$40, there's something from every genre, category and generation on his shelves. That said, if you're looking for something old... brand new, he's got an expansive collection of re-releases and pressings that he keeps on regular order. These can range in price from $25 to over $100 depending on the album. For those still loving the smooth skip skip skip sound of CD's, Ric's has a good helping of these as well. I didn't choose to browse because if I want digital music, I'll download it from itunes, plain and simple. But if you're still a fan of the old compact disc, I'd swing by here and check them out! Today I picked up a Best of the Beatles 1967-1970, Kick by INXS and Blue Train by John Coltrane! I can't wait to get them home to listen!