It probably goes without saying, but we love record shops. Whether they're big or small, rocking a minimalist aesthetic or packing more vinyl than you can shake a stick at into overflowing crates, we love how each and every one has something special in store for its customers. From the quirkiest locals to the big, gig-hosting powerhouses, we pick one each month to be our Record Store of the Month. They get a tasty gift from the Record Tokens team, and you get to discover the best independent record shops this country has to offer - win-win!
February's Record Store of the Month: Tasty Records, Altrincham
This month's winning store, Tasty Records, sells both new and used vinyl and are an official partner of Record Store Day. We love Ben, Trevor and Holden's sheer knowledge of music, the expansive range of genres they have on offer, and their active social media presence. Congratulations guys – we hope you celebrate with your food and wine hamper!
Ben from the shop tells us more:
"I've been selling records in Altrincham for 7 years and have been in our current location for 3 years. Trevor, on the right, has joined me this year and is helping push us into becoming the go-to place for new and used records. We're quite unique because we have such a wide variety of new and used records, we stock the latest releases and some very niche music, we have a huge section of DnB, afro, reggae, electronic through the back of the shop and in the front we have an almost 50/50 split of new and second hand rock/indie and everything else in between.
The team is three-strong now with Holden joining us in January and he's really showing his worth and superb knowledge of esoteric music, folk and classic rock. Between the three of us we have all bases covered and can help with almost anything.
We've found Record Tokens to be a serious part of doing business, its important for us to retain customers and sometimes it can be hard for people to buy records as gifts because someones music taste might not be that easy to pick for... The Tokens enable them to give the gift of digging and the end user of the Token always has a huge smile on their face when they're buying. I've noticed a difference in business since offering Record Tokens and I recommend them to any other record shop."
Congratulations to the whole team! You can find Tasty Records at 25 Regent Road, Altrincham. Don't forget your Record Tokens!
Do you want to find out more about the latest releases? Sign up to Tasty Record's weekly pre-order list.
Tasty Records also have a Spotify playlist which rotates a selection from every new record that's coming out and makes finding new music very easy! Everything on the playlist can be purchased through their store.
Ben also shared with us some upcoming releases the team are looking forward to:
"Lanterns On The Lake, The Orielles, Organisation - Tone Float (early Kraftwerk) all the African Head Charge reissues, David Gray's White Ladder was superb, a well needed vinyl issue. Baxter Dury's new one next week is something I'm personally very excited about..."
Previous Record Stores of the Month
January 2020 - The Record Café, Bradford
December 2019 - Sister Ray, London
November 2019 - Phase 1, Liverpool
October 2019 - Empire Records, St Albans
September 2019 - Record Collector, Sheffield
August 2019 - Black Circle Records, Leighton Buzzard
July 2019 - Beyond Vinyl, Newcastle
June 2019 - The Orpington, Bromley
May 2019 - Vinyl Fiction, Manchester
April 2019 - Spiller's Records, Cardiff
March 2019 - David's Music, Hertfordshire
February 2019 - Winyl, Manningtree
January 2019 - Rapture Witney, Oxfordshire
December 2018 - Crash Records, Leeds
November 2018 - Pebble Records, Eastbourne
October 2018 - Spinning Discs, Sheffield
September 2018 - Reflex Records, Newcastle
August 2018 - Banquet Records, Kingston
July 2018 - Hundred Records, Hampshire