Record stores in Kathmandu
Record shops reward the patient digger. Kathmandu, Bagmati has 25 mapped right now. That's 25 record shops mapped around Kathmandu. Every shop grades and prices differently, so the same record can be a bargain in one and a splurge in another — dig everywhere. Check the grading before you pay — a visual grade and a play grade are two different things.
This guide covers every record store we could verify in and around Kathmandu (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Kaleidoscope Music Academy and Music Sqare, plus Nasah Shristi Kala. If a record shop's missing from Kathmandu's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Kathmandu record lineup
25 mapped within about 40 km:
Kaleidoscope Music Academy
Record store
Kaleidoscope Music Academy — Record store, found on Dhobidhara Marga in Kathmandu.
Dhobidhara Marga, Kathmandu
Music Sqare
Record store
Music Sqare — Record store.
Nasah Shristi Kala
Record store
Nasah Shristi Kala — Record store on Sahid Nirgun Marg. Also worth knowing about Nasah Shristi Kala: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Sahid Nirgun Marg
Phone: +97714223717
Kathmandu Youth Orchestra
Record store
Kathmandu Youth Orchestra is Record store on Ropeway Sadak.
Ropeway Sadak
Wisdom Eyes Music Collection
Record store
Wisdom Eyes Music Collection is Record store.
Nepal music gallery
Record storeRun by Kamal Subedi
Nepal music gallery is Record store run by Kamal Subedi on scout building 1 Lainchour scout building. Nepal music gallery also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as 24/7; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
scout building 1 Lainchour scout building
Hours: 24/7
Phone: 9841805379
Ace Music Store
Record store
Ace Music Store — Record store, found on Pashupati Marga in gyaneswor. Also worth knowing about Ace Music Store: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Pashupati Marga, gyaneswor
Phone: 9860595504
Bass and Treble Maw Music Pvt. Ltd.
Record store
Bass and Treble Maw Music Pvt. Ltd. — Record store.
Harmonium Musicals
Record store
Harmonium Musicals — Record store.
Musical Store
Record store
Musical Store — Record store.
Music Connection
Record store
Music Connection is Record store.
Music Course Computer Trainning
Record store
Music Course Computer Trainning — Record store.
Music Work Pvt.Ltd
Record store
Music Work Pvt.Ltd is Record store.
Music Stations
Record store
Music Stations — Record store.
Highlights Nepal Pvt. Ltd.
Record store
Highlights Nepal Pvt. Ltd. is Record store. Highlights Nepal Pvt. Ltd. also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Su-Fr 10:00-18:00.
Hours: Su-Fr 10:00-18:00
Madhumala Music
Record store
Madhumala Music — Record store.
Jam Up Center
Record store
Jam Up Center — Record store.
Audio Nepal
Record store
Audio Nepal is Record store.
Margi Music School
Record store
Margi Music School — Record store.
Nepa Sound Service
Record store
Nepa Sound Service — Record store. Also worth knowing about Nepa Sound Service: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: +977-9861101788
Gyan Music and art
Record store
Gyan Music and art — Record store.
Atul Memorial Music Gurukul
Record store
Atul Memorial Music Gurukul is Record store. Atul Memorial Music Gurukul also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: 015199407
Aaramba Rising Star
Record store
Aaramba Rising Star is Record store.
Creation Dance And Music Pvt.Ltd
Record store
Creation Dance And Music Pvt.Ltd is Record store.
Shree Gaurishankar Band Baja
Record store
Shree Gaurishankar Band Baja — Record store.
What the map tells us about record stores in Kathmandu
2 of the 25 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — record shops keep shop hours, so the listed times are usually reliable.
The Kathmandu record crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: Kaleidoscope Music Academy on Dhobidhara Marga, Music Sqare, Nasah Shristi Kala on Sahid Nirgun Marg, Kathmandu Youth Orchestra on Ropeway Sadak, Wisdom Eyes Music Collection, Nepal music gallery on scout building 1 Lainchour scout building, Ace Music Store on Pashupati Marga, and Bass and Treble Maw Music Pvt. Ltd.. That's 25 stops on the Kathmandu record crawl. 17 more are listed below.
Record digging tips for Kathmandu
A few things worth knowing before you work through Kathmandu's record stores:
- The listening station is the test at Kaleidoscope Music Academy. If a record looks questionable, play the loud passages. That's where surface noise shows up.
- Ask the staff what's new at Music Sqare. Shop staff know what's just come in and what's about to. One question can save an hour of digging.
- Check for warps in the shop. Hold the record at eye level and sight along it. Warps that look minor at home look obvious in the store.
- Inspect the seams. Split seams and ring wear tell you how a record lived. Light wear is fine; trashed sleeves drag the value.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Kathmandu — 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 Kathmandu can take a while to appear. The 25 above are only as current as the community map. A record store that's shut, or a new one nobody's added yet, gets fixed with a single OpenStreetMap edit.
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 25 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 Kathmandu: 25 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.