Record stores in Colchester
Vinyl hunting in Colchester, England? There are 17 record shops mapped here. That's 17 record shops mapped around Colchester. Every shop grades and prices differently, so the same record can be a bargain in one and a splurge in another — dig everywhere. The new-arrivals bin is always the first stop — that's where the good stuff lands before anyone else sees it.
This guide covers every record store we could verify in and around Colchester (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Rocket Music Store and Stone Rock Records, plus Area 51 Vinyl. If a record shop's missing from Colchester's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Colchester record lineup
17 mapped within about 40 km:
Rocket Music Store
Record store
Rocket Music Store is Record store on 6-8 St Nicholas Street, Ipswich. Rocket Music Store also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-17:00; Su off; it has a website with more detail.
6-8 St Nicholas Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TJ
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-17:00; Su off
Stone Rock Records
Record store
Stone Rock Records is Record store on 51 Head Street, Colchester. Stone Rock Records also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
51 Head Street, Colchester
Area 51 Vinyl
Record store
Area 51 Vinyl is Record store on 65 South Street.
65 South Street
HMV
Record store
HMV is Record store on Sailmakers, Ipswich. HMV also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
Sailmakers, Ipswich
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30; Su 10:00-16:00
Oxfam Books & Music
Record store
Oxfam Books & Music — Record store, found on Buttermarket in Ipswich. Also worth knowing about Oxfam Books & Music: it has a website with more detail.
Buttermarket, Ipswich, IP1 1BJ
Out of Time Records
Record store
Out of Time Records — Record store, found on 46 Fore Street in Ipswich. Also worth knowing about Out of Time Records: it has a website with more detail.
46 Fore Street, Ipswich, IP4 1JY
Your Vinyl Answer
Record store
Your Vinyl Answer is Record store on 29a High Street, Sudbury. Your Vinyl Answer also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
29a High Street, Sudbury, CO10 8NY
Fred's Bar & Vinyl
Record store
Fred's Bar & Vinyl — Record store, found on 7 Ipswich Street in Stowmarket.
7 Ipswich Street, Stowmarket, IP14 1AB
Magic Music
Record store
Magic Music — Record store, found on 61-63 in Clacton-on-Sea.
61-63, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1TE
Music Mania
Record store
Music Mania — Record store, found on 18 High Street in Clacton-on-Sea.
18 High Street, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1NR
Sound Solution Consultants
Record store
Sound Solution Consultants is Record store on White House Road, Ipswich. Sound Solution Consultants also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
White House Road, Ipswich, IP1 5LT
Phone: +44 1473 396 332
Manns Music
Record store
Manns Music is Record store on 123 High Street, Colchester.
123 High Street, Colchester
Classics
Record store
Classics — Record store, found on 2a Osborne Street in Colchester.
2a Osborne Street, Colchester, CO2 7DP
HMV
Record store
HMV is Record store on 27-30 Culver Square, Colchester. HMV also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
27-30 Culver Square, Colchester, CO1 1WF
Intense Records
Record store
Intense Records — Record store on 33-34 Viaduct Road.
33-34 Viaduct Road
Rewind Records
Record store
Rewind Records is Record store on 19d Gaol Lane, Sudbury.
19d Gaol Lane, Sudbury, CO10 1JL
Red Eye Records
Record store
Red Eye Records — Record store, found on 47 Knightsdale Road in Ipswich. Also worth knowing about Red Eye Records: it has a website with more detail.
47 Knightsdale Road, Ipswich, IP1 4JJ
What the map tells us about record stores in Colchester
2 of the 17 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — record shops keep shop hours, so the listed times are usually reliable.
9 have websites listed. Worth a look for new-arrival posts and want-list services.
The Colchester record crawl
The efficient Colchester record crawl strings these together: Rocket Music Store on 6-8 St Nicholas Street, Stone Rock Records on 51 Head Street, Area 51 Vinyl on 65 South Street, HMV on Sailmakers, Oxfam Books & Music on Buttermarket, Out of Time Records on 46 Fore Street, Your Vinyl Answer on 29a High Street, and Fred's Bar & Vinyl on 7 Ipswich Street — 17 stops, one logical order. 9 more are listed below.
Record digging tips for Colchester
How the regulars work Colchester's bins:
- Bring cash for the small shops at Rocket Music Store. Some independents prefer it, and a cash offer on a stack can occasionally move the price.
- Hit the new-arrivals bin first at Stone Rock Records. That's where fresh stock lands before anyone else sees it. The good stuff rarely survives the week.
- Don't skip the 45s. The singles boxes get less traffic and hide great finds. B-sides are the deep cuts of record shopping.
- Handle records properly in the shop. By the edges, never the grooves. Shops notice, and so do the records.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Colchester — 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 Colchester can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 17, 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 17 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 Colchester: 17 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.