Record stores in Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea, Essex has 25 record stores on the map. That's 25 record shops mapped around Southend-on-Sea. 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 Southend-on-Sea (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 Southend-on-Sea's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Southend-on-Sea record lineup
25 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.
Area 51 Vinyl
Record store
Area 51 Vinyl is Record store on 65 South Street.
65 South Street
MusicLand
Record store
MusicLand — Record store, found on 54 North Street in Romford.
54 North Street, Romford, RM1 1BH
Gerard's Music Room
Record store
Gerard's Music Room is Record store on 43 Market Place, Romford.
43 Market Place, Romford, RM1 3AB
HMV
Record store
HMV is Record store.
Romford, RM1 3RL
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
HMV
Record store
HMV is Record store on Rose Gallery, Greenhithe. HMV also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Rose Gallery, Greenhithe, DA9 9SP
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 843 221 0127
HMV
Record store
HMV is Record store on West Thurrock Way, Grays. HMV also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
West Thurrock Way, Grays, RM20 2ZF
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Phone: +44 843 221 0343
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 Eastgate Shopping Centre, Basildon. HMV also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:30-17:30; Sa 09:00-17:00; Su 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Eastgate Shopping Centre, Basildon, SS14 1AF
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:30-17:30; Sa 09:00-17:00; Su 10:00-16:00
Phone: +44 843 221 0111
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
Decktronix
Record store
Decktronix is Record store.
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
Crazy Beat Records
Used record store
Crazy Beat Records — Used record store, found on 87 Corbets Tey Road in Upminster. Also worth knowing about Crazy Beat Records: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
87 Corbets Tey Road, Upminster, RM14 2AH
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-17:00
Phone: +44 1708 228678
Music Bay
Record store
Music Bay — Record store.
B'Side The C'Side
Record store
B'Side The C'Side is Record store.
Analogue Music
Record store
Analogue Music 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
Intense Records
Record store
Intense Records — Record store on 33-34 Viaduct Road.
33-34 Viaduct Road
Medway Record Centre
Record store
Medway Record Centre is Record store.
What the map tells us about record stores in Southend-on-Sea
7 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.
9 have websites listed. Worth a look for new-arrival posts and want-list services.
The Southend-on-Sea record crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: HMV, Carmel Records, Magic Discs, Area 51 Vinyl on 65 South Street, MusicLand on 54 North Street, Gerard's Music Room on 43 Market Place, HMV, and South Records on 24 Queens Road. That's 25 stops on the Southend-on-Sea record crawl. 17 more are listed below.
Record digging tips for Southend-on-Sea
Digging in Southend-on-Sea? A few habits pay off:
- Bring cash for the small shops at HMV. Some independents prefer it, and a cash offer on a stack can occasionally move the price.
- The listening station is the test at Carmel Records. If a record looks questionable, play the loud passages. That's where surface noise shows up.
- 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.
- Ask about want-list services. Good shops will keep an eye out for your grails. It takes patience, but the call when it lands is worth it.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Southend-on-Sea — 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 Southend-on-Sea can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 25, 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 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 Southend-on-Sea: 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.