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Record stores in Canterbury

Canterbury, Kent has 22 record stores on the map. That's 22 record shops mapped around Canterbury. Every shop grades and prices differently, so the same record can be a bargain in one and a splurge in another — dig everywhere. Bring a want-list, but leave room for the find you didn't know you needed.

This guide covers every record store we could verify in and around Canterbury (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include HMV and Carmel Records, plus Magic Discs. If a record shop's missing from Canterbury's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.

Canterbury buildings (174) (geograph 7102340)
Photo: Michael Dibb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Canterbury record lineup

22 mapped within about 40 km:

HMV

Record store

HMV is Record store.

Carmel Records

Record store

Carmel Records — Record store.

Magic Discs

Record store

Magic Discs — Record store.

South Records

Record store

South Records is Record store on 24 Queens Road. South Records also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:30-16:00; Su 12:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.

24 Queens Road

Hours: Mo-Sa 10:30-16:00; Su 12:00-16:00

Website

Two post boxes, Castle Street, Canterbury - geograph.org.uk - 2831804
Photograph by Stacey Harris (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Mark 1 Music

Record store

Mark 1 Music — Record store, found on 12-16 Victoria Road in Deal. Also worth knowing about Mark 1 Music: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.

12-16 Victoria Road, Deal, CT14 7BN

Phone: +44 1304 372020

Website

Deal Radio

Record store

Deal Radio is Record store on 69A High Street, Deal.

69A High Street, Deal, CT14 6EH

Some nice things

Record store

Some nice things is Record store.

Elsewhere

Record store

Elsewhere is Record store on 21-22 The Centre, Margate.

21-22 The Centre, Margate, CT9 1JG

Shop on Castle Street, Canterbury - geograph.org.uk - 8101449
Photo: JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Vintage & Vinyl

Record store

Vintage & Vinyl is Record store on 57 The Old High Street. Vintage & Vinyl also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.

57 The Old High Street

Website

Gatefield Sounds

Record store

Gatefield Sounds — Record store, found on 70 High Street in Whitstable.

70 High Street, Whitstable, CT5 1BB

Ark Music & Coffee

Record store

Ark Music & Coffee — Record store, found on 6 Tower Parade in Whitstable.

6 Tower Parade, Whitstable, CT5 2BJ

HMV

Record store

HMV is Record store on High Street, Southend-on-Sea. HMV also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.

High Street, Southend-on-Sea

Website

Canterbury houses (203) (geograph 7102525)
Photograph by Michael Dibb (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

HMV

Record store

HMV is Record store on 24 St. Margaret's Street, Canterbury. HMV also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30;Su 10:30-16:30; it has a website with more detail.

24 St. Margaret's Street, Canterbury, CT1 2TH

Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30;Su 10:30-16:30

Website

Vinylstore Jr

Record store

Vinylstore Jr — Record store, found on 20 Castle Street in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Vinylstore Jr: the map lists its hours as Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00; it has a website with more detail.

20 Castle Street, Canterbury, CT1 2QJ

Hours: Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00

Website

Music Bay

Record store

Music Bay — Record store.

B'Side The C'Side

Record store

B'Side The C'Side is Record store.

Your Music School

Record store

Your Music School is Record store on Simmonds Road, Canterbury. Your Music School also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.

Simmonds Road, Canterbury, CT1 3RA

Phone: +44 1227 456331

Website

Sounds Records

Record store

Sounds Records — Record store, found on 9 St. Peter's Street in Canterbury.

9 St. Peter's Street, Canterbury, CT1 2AT

Cliffs

Record store

Cliffs — Record store, found on 172 Northdown Road in Margate. Also worth knowing about Cliffs: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 08:30-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.

172 Northdown Road, Margate, CT9 2QN

Hours: Mo-Su 08:30-16:00

Phone: +44 1843 297985

Website

Ghost Papa

Record store

Ghost Papa — Record store, found on 105 Northdown Road in Margate.

105 Northdown Road, Margate, CT9 2QY

Medway Record Centre

Record store

Medway Record Centre is Record store.

Brandons Music

Record store

Brandons Music is Record store on 55 - 55a High Street, Hythe. Brandons Music also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.

55 - 55a High Street, Hythe, CT21 5AD

Phone: +44 1303 264429

What the map tells us about record stores in Canterbury

4 of the 22 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — record shops keep shop hours, so the listed times are usually reliable.

8 have websites listed. Worth a look for new-arrival posts and want-list services.

The Canterbury record crawl

Making a day of it in Canterbury? Work this order: HMV, Carmel Records, Magic Discs, South Records on 24 Queens Road, Mark 1 Music on 12-16 Victoria Road, Deal Radio on 69A High Street, Some nice things, and Elsewhere on 21-22 The Centre. That's the record crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 14 more are listed below.

Record digging tips for Canterbury

A few things worth knowing before you work through Canterbury's record stores:

Good to know

We searched about 40 km around Canterbury — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new record store in Canterbury can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 22, or a record store we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.

We don't list prices or stock — both change by the day. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers.

If you run one of the 22 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.

Record store listings for Canterbury: 22 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.

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