16 Record Stores To Visit In Australia

These analogue-first stores and bars should be on every Australian music fan’s radar.

Whether you’re dipping your toe into the world of LPs or have years of collecting under your belt, everyone is welcome in the world of vinyl. And with World Record Store Day on 20 April each year, it’s our time to hit the decks.

From cafe-meet-record stores to listening bars stocking enviable vinyl collections, here are our top picks of the best record shops in Australia.

Victoria

1. Greville Records

Just off Chapel Street in this upmarket portion of South Yarra in Melbourne is Greville Records : which is more about edgy vintage than the surrounding trendy boutiques. Stop by here for a huge range of new and second-hand vinyl, uber-cool posters and vintage gig flyers.

the exterior of Greville Records near boutique shops — Explore edgy vinyl at Greville Records.

Address: 183 Gertrude St, Fitzroy Vic

2. L’Espresso Ballarat

This cafe-meets-record shop in Ballarat serves up brunch, lunch and music to locals and travellers.

Smash a delectable eggs benny before heading to their wall-to-wall stash of records and flicking through their collection. Just make sure to wash any leftover yolk off your fingers first…

the records on display at L'Espresso Ballarat — Flick through their amazing collection.

Address: 417 Sturt St, Ballarat Vic

3. Rocksteady Records

After some local vinyl? Rocksteady Records in the Melbourne CBD stocks plenty in the way of Australasian tunes, alongside international reggae, funk, soul, jazz and more.

the vibrant interior of Rocksteady Records with vinyl on display — Stock up on some local vinyl at Rocksteady Records.

Address: Mitchell House, Level 1, 358 Lonsdale St, Melbourne Vic

NSW

4. Repressed Records

A Sydney institution smack bang in the alternative, nonconformist neighbourhood of Newtown.

the store exterior of Repressed Records — Repressed Records is a purveyor of independent and underground music. (Image: Destination NSW)

Step in to peruse Repressed Records’ new and second-hand collection of independent and lesser-known Australian vinyl, as well as high-quality Japanese pressings. Music zines, magazines and tapes are also stocked.

a person browsing through vinyl records at Repressed Records — Discover lesser-known vinyl treasures at Repressed Records. (Image: Destination NSW)

Address: 413 King St, Newtown NSW

5. TITLE store

Among the boutique shops, bars and cafes of Crown Street, you will find this informal and well-curated bookstore that, along with poster art and eclectic group games, has a carefully picked selection of contemporary and vintage records.

the TITLE record store in Surry Hills — Hunt down records at TITLE in Surry Hills.

TITLE also has a shop at Barangaroo.

a look inside the record store at TITLE, Bangaroo — TITLE Barangaroo has all the classics.

Address: 501 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW and Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW

6. Abicus Records

This Newcastle local has an assembled stock of unique jewellery, Birkenstocks and odds and ends like tarot cards and art journals. But obsessive analogue fans will be drawn in particular to the dedicated area of the shop with limited editions, new releases and classic vinyl.

a look inside Abicus Records, Cooks Hill NSW — Get lost in Abicus Records.

Address: 103 Darby St, Cooks Hill NSW

Tasmania

7. Suffragette Records

Suffragette Records is a passionate ode to the power and talent of female musicians in a tiny, well-loved space in southern Hobart. Open since 2022, the owners work hard to counter the male-dominated industry of music with their collection of singles and albums created by women.

an all-female catalogue on display at Suffragette — Suffragette celebrates music by women with an all-female catalogue.

Address: 52 Sandy Bay Rd, Battery Point Tas

8. Tommy Gun

New records, second-hand and bargain low-cost vinyl collections, band t-shirts, turntable parts and everything in between. Whatever your vintage music needs, Tommy Gun in the Tassie capital has it all.

vinyl records on display at Tommy Gun, Hobart — Tommy Gun has all your vintage music needs covered.

Address: 127 Elizabeth St, Hobart, Tas

Western Australia

9. Astral Weeks Listening Bar

The concept of a listening bar (or HiFi bar) may have started in Japan , but the last few years have seen the unique nightlife design spread everywhere from Hong Kong to New York – and now, Australia.

In Perth’s Chinatown, Astral Weeks provides this all-analogue listening bar, where customers sit and listen quietly to the staff-selected record, sipping high-class wines and cocktails as the music plays in a shared cultural experience.

Address: Shop 12/60/66 Roe St, Northbridge WA

10. The Record Finder

A Western Australian cultural centre that has been selling and buying records across the world since the ‘60s. Today, there are thousands and thousands to choose from in The Record Finder ’s two-storey collection. Visit to browse their rare, original pressings, used and new records, or call to request specific items.

The Record Finder signage, Fremantle WA — Browse The Record Finder’s catalogue.

Address: 43 High St, Fremantle WA

Queensland

11. Wax Espresso Record Store and Cafe

Why rush an enjoyable afternoon poring over records when you can kick back with a coffee at the same time? As well as caffeine and pastries, the Sunshine Coast’s Wax Espresso Record Store and Cafe is particularly known for its electric selection: techno, house and ambient vinyl in particular.

guests inside Wax Espresso Record Store and Cafe — Hit up Wax Espresso Record Store and Cafe for pastries and vinyl.

Address: 35 Duporth Ave, Maroochydore Qld

12. The Record Exchange

Claimed to be the largest record store in Australia, The Record Exchange is hidden away in a laneway in the Brisbane city centre. Its crowded collection of second-hand vinyl is augmented with CDs, posters, go and even the limited nineties retro-esque VHS collection of concerts.

Address: 1/65 Adelaide St, Brisbane Qld

13. Ruby My Dear

A vinyl listening bar meets jazz cafe meets live music performance space – this time north of Brisbane. The izakaya-style cuisine at Ruby My Dear highlights the Japanese origin of listening bars, with pork katsu, pickled mackerel with wasabi and soy and sake negronis.

the dimly lit interior of Ruby My Dear — Sit down for live music at Ruby My Dear.

Address: 12 Longland St, Newstead Qld

Northern Territory

14. Air Raid Records

Looking for tracks up in the Top End? The Darwin-based neighbourhood store of Air Raid Records is not known just for its second-hand vinyl.

people browsing vinyls inside Air Raid Records, Woolner NT — Air Raid Records is Darwin’s only dedicated second-hand record store.

It also hosts kid-friendly live local DJ sessions and the chance for the public to practice their wax-spinning skills.

the record for spinning at Air Raid Records, Woolner NT — Spin the record for freebies.

Address: Air Raid Arcade, 48/12 Charlton Ct, Woolner NT

South Australia

15. Clarity Records

With special deals for Adelaide artists who want to stock their releases, as a result, Clarity has an enormous variety of local musicians in their shop. Their well-organised collection in their bright central city store is complemented by tote bags featuring bands, and books written by (and about) musicians.

a look inside Clarity Records in Adelaide — Clarity has an enormous variety of local musicians.

Address: 60 Pulteney St, Adelaide SA

16. Streetlight Adelaide

Come for the records, stay for… well, the records. But among the hoard of culture at Streetlight , there are plenty of other treasures for you to discover. With arthouse films, books of poetry and musician memoirs, you might find it hard to leave this independently-owned store.

vinyl records on display at Streetlight Adelaide — You’ll find it hard to leave Streetlight Adelaide.

Address: Shop 2/15 Vaughan Place, Adelaide SA

Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place.

Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat.

After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.

The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

Setting sail from Mildura

Murray River birds — Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.

My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.

Stop one: Echuca

19th-century paddlesteamers — A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.

The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.

Stop two: Barmah National Park

Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.

The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.

Stop three: Cobram

Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange.

The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.

Stop four: Albury-Wodonga

First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk — First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town.

Playing there

BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura — Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists.

Eating there

Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.

16 must-visit record stores in Australia