Record Store Day in Bristol, United Kingdom
Two dates to know: Record Store Day Black Friday is Friday, November 29, 2026, and the next main Record Store Day is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an annual event built around independent record stores. The main event traditionally lands on the third Saturday of April each year; Record Store Day Black Friday is traditionally held the day after US Thanksgiving. Both days bring exclusive, limited-run vinyl and CD releases sold only at participating independent shops — not big-box retailers, and not mail order until the in-store exclusives sell through. Because pressings are limited, popular titles can sell out within the first hour, which is why a line-early culture has grown up around the day even at shops that are otherwise quiet on a weekday morning.
Tips for the day
- Arrive early. At busy shops, lines for popular titles can start well before opening.
- Bring cash. A cash line often moves faster than card on a shop's highest-volume day of the year.
- Check each shop's own site or Instagram in the week before the date — participating shops post their own opening time, line policy, and which exclusive titles they've ordered in.
- Release lists are first-come, first-served and vary store to store. A title in stock at one shop may not show up at another, even across town.
- Expect one-per-customer or per-household limits on the most in-demand titles.
- Not every independent record store participates every year, and allocations vary shop to shop — confirm directly with the shop rather than assuming based on a past year.
Shops to check in Bristol, United Kingdom
Independent record shops open in Bristol, United Kingdom right now. We don't yet track which specific shops participate in Record Store Day or what they've ordered in for a given year — check each shop's own site or Instagram close to the date for their exclusive-release list, opening time, and line policy.
- Astro Vinyl
Small city-centre shop, cafe and bookshop on Park Row owned by Alex Reed, selling used vinyl and CDs across metal, punk, psych, funk and soul alongside coffee and books.
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- Black City Records
The South West's only dedicated heavy metal record shop, founded 2021 by David Savage in Bristol city centre, stocking new and pre-owned metal vinyl, CDs, cassettes and merchandise.
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- Cherry Waves Vinyl
Father-and-son run record shop in St George/Redfield with over 3,700 vinyl records plus CDs, tapes and other formats spanning pre-loved classics to new releases.
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- Collector Cave
Independent Cheltenham Road shop run by Guy and Ben selling used vinyl, CDs, DVDs, cassettes and collectables, with monthly open-deck nights for local DJs.
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- Disk Frisk
Independent second-hand record shop in St Paul's specialising in lost sounds from the late 1970s to early 2000s across a wide range of genres. Web-discovered addition not in the OSM leads.
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- Face The Dawn Records
Secondhand record stall at the back of St Nicholas Market alongside Wanted Records, Payback Records and The Rock Shop, also selling a small range of secondhand hi-fi equipment.
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- Fred and Alf's Music and Collectables
Secondhand vinyl, CD, cassette and vintage audio equipment stall in the indoor market on Regent Street, Kingswood, on Bristol's eastern edge.
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- Friendly Records
Bedminster record shop open since 2016 selling mainly used vinyl with some new releases across hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz and global genres, plus books, hi-fi gear and prints.
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- HMV
Cabot Circus-area HMV store on Broadmead stocking vinyl and CDs on its upper floor alongside DVDs, pop-culture merchandise and a book corner, following a store refurbishment.
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- Hotwax
New record shop and cafe near Gloucester Road opened October 2025 by Nathan Worm of Worm Disco Club, selling vinyl, art prints and DJ accessories alongside Radical Roasters coffee.
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- Idle Hands
Bristol's underground dance-music specialist, vinyl-only across house, techno, garage, dubstep, jungle and bass; closed in 2022 after a decade on City Road and reopened on Lower Park Row in November 2024.
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- Longwell Records
Independent record shop with 10,000+ albums and in-store gigs run by Iain Aitchison; relocated from a decade in Keynsham to Clifton Arcade in February 2026.
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- Oxfam Books & Music
Oxfam charity shop at the top of Park Street specialising in books, vinyl records, CDs and DVDs, opposite Bristol University near Cabot Tower.
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- Payback Records
Vinyl-only reggae and dub specialist stall trading in St Nicholas Market for over 25 years, also stocking jazz, soul, rock and hip hop, run by owner Paul Craine.
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- Planet Caravan
Permanent record shop fixture inside the Strange Brew venue and cafe-bar on Fairfax Street, stocking new and used vinyl, books and merchandise.
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- Plastic Wax Records
Bristol's longest-established second-hand record and CD shop, trading since 1978, with roughly 12,000 albums A-Z by genre and the South West's largest used CD selection.
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- Prime Cuts
Basement digging spot beneath Repsycho Clothing on Gloucester Road, servicing collectors and DJs with a large stock of second-hand vinyl across most genres. Web-discovered addition not in the OSM leads.
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- Rooted Records
Independent vinyl shop on Gloucester Road in Bishopston, part of Bristol's densest strip of record shops alongside Prime Cuts and The Centre For Better Grooves.
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- Rough Trade
4,500 sq ft Rough Trade store opened December 2017 in Bristol's city centre, staffed by former Rise Bristol employees, with a Beavertown cafe-bar and a live performance room alongside vinyl, CDs and books.
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- Shall Not Fade Store
Record store and creative space run by Bristol-born house/electronic label Shall Not Fade, sharing its St Nicholas Street unit with Plant Works, a plant shop.
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- Specialist Subject Records
Vinyl-focused record label and shop sited above music venue The Exchange on Old Market, specialising in punk, hardcore, emo and underground rock, alongside zines, tapes and merch. Web-discovered addition not in the OSM leads.
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- The Centre For Better Grooves
Used-vinyl shop on Gloucester Road sharing premises with Paul Roberts Hi-Fi, founded by former Fopp/Rise director Gordon Montgomery with a jazz, soul and funk focus and free coffee for browsers.
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- The Rock Shop
St Nicholas Market stall run by local promoter Jon Murray selling new and second-hand rock, metal, punk and alternative vinyl, CDs, DVDs and memorabilia, and buying record collections.
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- Wanted Records
Bristol's destination for rare and collectible vinyl since 2009, specialising in folk, reggae, psychedelic and jazz; moved to a larger High Street space with two listening decks in 2022.
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See the full record store listing for Bristol, United Kingdom.