My wife and I were in town the other week when I ventured into Back Alley Music for the first time…read more Being from Texas, I was curious as to what sort of music they had in stock. Their selection was pretty on point, and even held quite a few treasures. As I was making my way through the collection, I heard the manager talking to his daughters off hand about the band Explosions in the Sky, a band who, in the early 2000's, I had gone to see out in small West Texas. My ears immediately perked up and I asked why the band was mentioned by them. To my surprise the manager had just intentionally made the order for the album to come to the store. His knowledge and appreciation was evident. Before making my way out I stopped and I bought that vinyl. I'm listening to it right now. It's amazing to go to a place and see how well rounded and engaging the staff is with their knowledge and appreciation for music. Personally in that moment when Explosions in the Sky was first mentioned I found myself a bit homesick, thinking back on growing up in Austin in the 90's. Without knowing my background, I was addressed with a down to earth empathy, very much like how it was during the countless of times being in a record store back home. With engaging the staff, I was brought back to a familiar scene of spending hours listening to music. No doubt I would be the last to have such experience at this great store.

One of my stops on the trip was to go to the local record store. This is a cute shop with a bunch…read moreof used and new records. Prices for used are on the cheap side. Even though l arrived an hour before closing time, l counted at least 4 or 5 new people coming in and out, which l think makes it a popular place. Separating used vinyls by letters inly forces you to go through all of them. The good: A good selection of used records. A section of " new used records " is something l never saw in a store before and found some goodies in there. Bunches of vinyl sleeves in packs of 100 (12.75 x 12.75 by the way). The bad: First store l visit that did not have an online catalog to view beforehand. Which means that the pictures on their Instagram account (on which they do not reply to messages) can quickly be out of date. If you are looking for a more precise underground artist/band, you will not find it here. If l lived in PEI, l would probably be there every week. It is a nice place to go to.

I just brought in my record collection to sell (about 10 NSLC wine boxes) and David went through…read morethe lot and gave me a very fair price. It was kind of incredible to see him sort everything, check for damage, and share his vast knowledge of the artists and how the records were recorded/produced, etc. My friend and I ended up hanging out for a bit after closing and chatting with David and another customer. The whole experience was A+.

My favourite place to shop for vinyl! Definitely worth the trip to Bedford, there is something…read morehere for everyone: rock, pop, motown, country, classical, soundtracks, etc. I've even bought recordings of comics like George Carlin here in the past. They also have a large collection of CDs and DVDs, and every time I go I walk away with some amazing deals. The owner is friendly and helpful, and if you're looking to get rid of any of your old music or movies, he'll take them off your hands for cash or store credit (store credit seems like the way to go in most cases, since he tends to be more generous with that than cash). As Adam B. mentioned, he brings his dog to work with him, she usually lounges on the floor in one of the aisles (which isn't really a problem as she seems friendly enough and is usually eager for a quick pat as you walk by).

Bookmark is a regular stop on my family's trips to PEI. While not as large as Chapters, it has a…read moregreat selection of off-the-beaten-track novels and other books. Plus it's great to support a small business. Bookmark also has a location in Halifax. This store is long and narrow with one side stocked with books and the other with art supplies. That's something else that makes it unique; get your art and books on art in the same location! Even though the only "artsy-craftsy" thing I do is knit, it is always a pleasure to check out the sketchpads, pens and other supplies. They also have stationery. I always find something to buy in this store simply because it seems to have different titles than the big-box stores. Also, because it's on the Island, it has books by their local authors you simply won't find anywhere else. I do wish it was a bit bigger with a leeetle more selection, but that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?

Bookmark is a Charlottetown landmark that is a model for independent bookstore everywhere. I was…read morepleased to see this business had survived, after a few years away: it deserves to. Operating since 1972, Bookmark has a good selection of books and magazines, as well as art supplies. The store also has a strong collection of local publications. The store is part of the Confederation Court Mall complex, but it also has street access.

This shop is amazing! The owner is very friendly and accomodating, a pet friendly shop, and if you…read moreare looking for something and he does not have it, he will find it. And the local products are wonderful! You can find things that cover nearly every fandom out there and some take requests as well. Wood craft signs, resin products, knit/crochet/sewn. And he does have delivery options and online shop.

Cute shop, lots of great merch and a wonderful LGBTQ+ friendly atmosphere, but the prices were very…read morehigh, even for the stuff that isn't locally-made or handmade. There are pillows in there for example - just two pieces of fabric sewn together and stuffed, nothing fancy - for over thirty bucks. In this economy? There are things up about the store that also refer to Canada as "Turtle Island", which is preachy and a colonizer term (colonists brought maps from above and the "Turtle Island" thing is contentious and offensive to other Indigenous tribes that don't adhere to this term for Canada). I was only able to afford a pinback button (an ace flag, I love ace representation!) and a second-hand Beanie Baby because most of the new merch was so expensive. Friendlier environment than Strange Adventures, and I loved how kind and approachable the staff were. To be fair, this is a somewhat recently-established shop in comparison with its competition, and so the price thing might just be teething troubles, but nobody in this economic climate could afford to buy much here.

Definitely more of a "natural remedy" type of store. Yes…read moreyou'll find crystals and SOME tarot cards-- but this isn't where you would wanna buy stuff you need for actual witchcraft. Barely any actual books good for learning, prices are surprisingly high for a crystal store. They don't sell things you'd need for spell work and don't have variety of things to actually do anything other than meditation or candle spells. I'd only recommend if you purchase natural/homemade products or natural tea remedies, or are just starting with witchcraft and want to buy crystals or MAYBE incense but I'd just go to a different store. Every dollar counts when you come to these stores!

Located in the shopping area of new Glasgow (Provost street shopping area), this gem of a shop…read moreoffers a wide range of Natural, holistic, alternative products. They have a great selection of (natural): - personal care items (the Rose Hip oil being my favourite). Lots of brands and selection from toothpaste to face creams. - household cleaning products - teas (japanese green tea is apparently delicious), dried berries (goji, acai), etc - aromatherapy They also carry lots of books, decor items, CD's, rugs, tapestries, Incense, tea pots, crystals... The store could do with a little spruce up but all in all a lovely place to poke around in, you never know what you could find.

I really like this Indigo store, though I feel that its location is probably not the best for…read moremaximizing its potential. It's in a quieter corner of the mall, and could use a bit more space. They always have interesting promotional tables set up in front of the store with special deals and "Heather's Picks" (I don't know who "Heather" is, but apparently Chapters/Indigo thinks she is the queen of books so who am I to argue..). It's a well organized store despite its size, and fairly simple to navigate. I particularly like their little impulse-buy gimmicky gift selection, and rarely walk out of there able to resist buying at least some small gadget that I'll never use. I like the color scheme and feel of the store.. it's light and airy and usually not very busy.. I definitely recommend giving this location a try

What do I love about this little boutique book/gift store in Sunnyside Mall? Uh. Just about…read moreeverything. From the mall entrance, it seems like a small location but there's a fairly large selection. It's almost TARDIS-like, this store. Inside, you'll find the usual Chapters/Indigo selection of books but in a smaller (and oddly better organized) structure. There's usually a fair selection of good deals. I'm also often fascinated with their range of selection of gifts. Lots of fun little trinkets that I haven't found at any other division of Chapters. There are few staff but they are always friendly and outgoing.