A warning to all you ladies out there: if, after dragging your doting boyfriend around the retro…read moreshops of Park Street, you loving ask, 'is there anywhere you want to go?' you may just end up at Forbidden Planet. This comic book and sci-fi mega store is every boys dream and every girl's nightmare. Be prepared to lose several very important shopping hours here. Having said that, it's easy to admire the scale of the store and the quality of the goods they have to offer. Even I, a sci-fi phobic, enjoyed flicking through the comic books and eyeing up the DVDs. It's a great place to shop for presents for boyfriends, friends and little brothers. And, luckily for me, the shop assistants are so helpful so even the clueless can pick the perfect stocking filler.

Comic book nerds and geeks (or those that think Sci Fi is so square that it's hip) from all around…read morewill love forbidden planet. It's not the easiest place to find - it's on the less visited part of triangle, so a little away from the main shopping drag on Park Street, but definitely worth making the effort for. If you're not into comics too much yourself, this is definitely a brilliant place to grab an original gift for someone who is - there's endless amounts of memorabilia. The stuff here is pretty expensive though.

This places has been few a couple of different makeovers. Previously Zavvi, and before that Virgin…read moreMegastore, it's always been a big city centre record shop where you can get all the usual chart stuff plus a bit more (mostly in virtue of their need to fill all space I think) that's never looked like it's doing all that well. The impact of music downloading and Amazon seems to have continued to eat into the business here, with more and more discounts on offer. At the moment there's racks and racks of four pound CDs. So even if you're tech savy enough (and these days, who isn't?) to get it cheap off the net it's still worth coming down here to do a bit of impulse shopping. It isn't the most pleasant of retail experiences in my opinion. This might just be because the tastes of the staff (who get to put the music on pretty loud here) don't usually match my own. Though it does feel a lot more impersonal than any of Bristol independents. It isn't too oppressive though, and if you're in the city centre with a tenner burning a hole in your pocket then head to Head to see if you can find anything you like.

Sam was on to something when he said 'Doing well to stay open', because they did recentley close. A…read morefew weeks ago they had a massive closing down sale, everything was reduced to quite low prices, and when I went in all they seemed to have was countless copies of rubbish childrens films and Sylvester Stallone in a film called 'Stop or my Mum will shoot'! Sounds pretty bad. But recentley this store has re-opened, nothing is really any different other than a seemingly large re-brand. It's still called 'Head', and they have got rid of the horrible green that could be seen everywhere which I think was a good move. I think the DVD's are a little bit cheaper though.

Nothing to do with the similarly named film studio, 20th Century Flicks is a small independent DVD…read moreand video rental shop. It's better than Blockbusters for so many reasons, the chief one being that they have dedicated staff who have an encyclopaedic film knowledge. You can go in, say something along the lines of 'I want that film, I think it was Hitchcock, made 1961 or maybe '64...' and they will usually be able to work out what you're looking for. They also go to the trouble of writing little cards with their opinions of the movies, which I think is a nice touch. Their library is as comprehensive, I've always been able to get what I want and kept up to date. They do a good line in ex-rental, so it's worth going along even if you don't rent much. Walking past this morning I saw Atonement on DVD for £5, a bargain. 20th Century Flicks is a good place to find a film and has a bit more of a personal touch to it, which I always appreciate.

This is quite simply the best video rental shop in Bristol. Unfortunately I live a bit too far away…read morenow, but I used to go here all the time when I was in Clifton. Why? Well, it's independent for one, which is a bonus in any walk of life. Also, the staff know what they're talking about and are all encouraged to write cards and lists recommending their faves new and old, with art house and cult hits very much to the fore, not just the latest crap from Hollywood. It's a little bit expensive but you certainly get what you pay for. And if they don't have what you want on their heaving shelves, ask at the desk as they can dig pretty much anything, however obscure, up for you from their back-up warehouse.

Sound Control is the biggest music retailer in Bristol. The staff are really friendly and…read moreknowledgeable, and as the number of them is in the double figures, there is always someone on hand to help. In some ways it is more of a venue than a store as 'bouncers' man the door and they often have live bands entertaining potential buyers. Saturday morning can be a bit of a sensory overload with a handful of wannabes showcasing their 'talents' at the same time. It is all new stock - more contemporary than classical - and they have a great range of musical instruments (guitars, drums, pianos / keyboards, PAs and studio equipment). Chances are they will have what you are looking for in at least 4 different colours...and if they don't, they will order in for you. If you land up spending more than £200 you can often wangle a bit of a deal.

I could spend a good few hours of a weekend in HMV, when they have their, what actually seems like…read morea pretty ongoing, sale of £3 dvds I have to remind myself that I can't buy more than I can carry! As much as I love HMV I wasn't 100% impressed with this store - usually the staff are really really helpful and genuinely seem to have an interest in music/film but this store seems a little under-par. I often think they could fit a lot more in as well, maybe it's me but part of the fun of a cd/dvd shop is the slightly cramped feel, you know when you bump backwards into the guy looking at the opposite row? I still give it 3* because HMV is HMV but there's room for improvement here!

THis HMV has a really good selection, and the staff are very friend;y, and once helped me discover…read morethe brilliant Garth Marengies Dark Place, for which I will be ever thankful! Being a massive fan of the Mighty Boosh, I was asking about the box set of the 1st and 2nd series (this was in the days before the 3rd series and subsequent band formation) and they suggested I have a look at Dark Place, I didn, and it was brilliant. I remember seeing 1 or 2 episodes on CHannel 4 when it was on tele but I didn't pay much attention, so thankful I paid it a second look, and all thanks to some bloke from HMV... don't think he works their anymore though.

DMT is a business that has been spawned by rave culture. On the face of it, it looks like an…read moreultra-cool indie music shop, but DMT does a whole lot more than sell vinyl. These guys hire out sound systems that could rock the city, let alone a club, or an isolated field in the middle of nowhere, (location to be revealed later).... This graffitied building on Stokes Croft is covered in art work of a more nocturnal nature, and carries posters for some of the fabled venues in Bristol. Inside you will find a plethora of flyers spilling off the counter. If you want to party, this is where you'll discover where you want to do it!

Split into two little shops either side of the staircase at the back of Clifton Arcade you will…read morefind this little gem of a store. This is how I remember all record shops to be - even the new ones! All items here are second hand and they do a particularly good range of vinyl. Most will be in the rock and pop genres from 60s-80s which is great for me. If you are a Queen fan I think they have everything ever made ever.... They also have CDs, DVDs (mostly in the shop to the left) which are priced around the £6 mark which is the same as online but you get to spend time shuffling round a shop which is infinitely nicer then an online buy. Also t-shirts for you retro slogan wearing kids and music sheets for the talented ones. You are welcome to browse and you will definitely find something unusual here. Like a record fair imploded.

Right at the very end of the Arcade you'll find this record shop. Not huge, but with a good…read moreselection of vinyl and a few posters and CDs as well. They'll have music on when you go in, which I've always thought is a bit questionable, but nothing my ears couldn't bear for ten minutes of browsing. Not big enough to have a properly extensive collection, this isn't really the place for music aficionados. There's specific sections for metal and prog rock, to give you a flavour of what they stock. If you've got a spare tenner and an afternoon in Clifton this is a good place to discover something new. The owner is happy to give advice, and there's just enough on offer for most people to find plenty of stuff they haven't heard before. A run of the mill independent record shop, X is good for wasting a bit of time.

I was out Yelping in town the other day - by which I mean I had to do some chores so I took my…read morecamera with me and took some photos of various shops in the centre, not that I was standing outside the Tesco Metro where the nutters congregate shouting to myself. Anyway, this was all going fairly well and I'd established something of a routine - go to a shop, take a photo, go to the next shop, take another photo - you get the idea. This was all going swimmingly until I got to Smiths. For some reason, after I'd taken a pic, the manager came running out after me and demanded to know what the pic was far. I told her and she insisted that I write down the URL of this site for her to investigate. Out of respect for the privacy of Smiths, I've decided not to upload the pic, though, even without looking at it, I can easily describe it for you instead. It's a Smiths. As for a review of the store. It's a Smiths. I sincerely hope these revelations won't damage this secretive little store too much...

Yes, it's a Smiths, so expect a fairly standardised approach to the printed word, in magazines and…read morenewspapers. However, this place has a special significance for me, as I work for a magazine and it's always with special pride that I trot down to this store to make sure that all the hard work that me and the team put into making it each month wasn't entirely wasted. It's fairly niche, as magazines go, so this is one of the only stockists, and it's on this fact that I recommend this branch, especially now that Borders has been wiped off the face of the earth. Yes, this Smiths has two floors, so it's packed with printed goods. One of the better stores in the chain, for sure.

Thankfully after all the Fopps closed down last year, this one mysteriously reappeared in a new…read morelocation. It's now owned by HMV and its main purpose seems to be to sell off all the overstocked CD and DVD albums from the last 3 years or so, at discounted prices- and that's what it's good at. It does have a range of new releases and a back catalogue as well but that's just the same as HMV really. The trick is to pop in fairly regularly, maybe once a month, as the stock in their £3 and £5 sections changes fairly frequently and it's easy to see whether there's something new you want to pick up. Even if you only buy £3 CDs it's all too easy to spend £50 in this shop- on CDs that would've cost you £150 if you'd bought them somewhere else.

I was very disappointed when Fopp's across the country closed down last year. It was, however, a…read moreconstant burden on my wallet and perhaps a good thing. With many good CDs often reduced to £3 or £5, and the reduced selection changing every month or so, it was always ever so easy to wander around, ending up with a stack of CDs about 20 high. The biggest challenge was choosing which to leave, in hope they'd still be cheap the next month..!