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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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:
- The dollar bin is honest work at HMV. Nobody's getting rich off the dollar bin, but the joy-per-dollar ratio is unbeatable. Flip through all of it.
- Check for warps in the shop at Carmel Records. Hold the record at eye level and sight along it. Warps that look minor at home look obvious in the store.
- Visit on restock days. Shops process collections on rhythms. Ask when new used stock hits the floor and time your visits.
- Check the vinyl, not just the sleeve. Slide it out (carefully, by the edges) and look at it in good light. Sleeves lie; vinyl doesn't.
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.