Record Store Day in Geneva, Switzerland
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 Geneva, Switzerland
Independent record shops open in Geneva, Switzerland 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.
- Bongo Joe Records
Riverside Plainpalais-bridge institution run as an association: record shop, café-bar with terrace, label and concert venue in one, with a wide, genre-sorted selection of new and used vinyl, cassettes, CDs and books including a Swiss section.
2 sources
- Brazzaville Records
Grottes-neighborhood record shop and Congolese cultural space with a deep specialty in Congolese and wider African music alongside hip hop, jazz, funk and prog rock/soundtrack; hosts Thursday DJ sessions and is run by knowledgeable, welcoming staff.
2 sources
- Dig It! Records
Long-running Pâquis-area shop buying, selling and trading vinyl -- rock from the 50s-90s, blues, jazz, punk, reggae, world, electronic and film scores -- plus used hi-fi gear; regulars call it Geneva's best selection across a huge range of genres.
2 sources
- Disques Plain Chant - harmonia mundi
Classical, jazz, world, chanson and children's-music specialist run by Laurent Sambo since 2003, primarily a CD/DVD shop but confirmed to also stock vinyl; knowledgeable, patient staff praised across dozens of reviews.
2 sources
- La Citadelle
Metal bar with a dedicated vinyl/CD record shop inside, covering hard, thrash, black, stoner, goth, hardcore, doom, prog and death metal. Record shop open Tue-Sat 4-7pm; bar open daily. Hosts live shows and album-release nights.
4 sources
- O'CD
Plainpalais outpost of the O'CD chain buying, selling and trading vinyl, CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays; reviewers single out a wide choice of vinyl and a strong 80s/90s rock and heavy-metal CD collection alongside new releases and film.
2 sources
- Sounds
Plainpalais record shop trading since 1979 -- 'one of the best record stores in Geneva' per regulars -- with a clearly genre-marked new-vinyl selection including a dedicated Swiss section, and a strong reggae range.
2 sources
- Vinyl Résistance
Hip-hop specialist packed with a large, hard-to-find collection -- reviewers call it a must for serious diggers -- though there are no in-store turntables to preview records, so come knowing what you're after.
2 sources
See the full record store listing for Geneva, Switzerland.