Record Store Day in Thessaloniki, Greece
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 Thessaloniki, Greece
Independent record shops open in Thessaloniki, Greece 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.
- Alone Music Store
Metal specialist store since 1995, with a dedicated records division since 2013; heavy/power/speed/progressive metal vinyl, CDs and merch.
2 sources
- Empire Vinyl-CD-DVD
Rock, punk and metal specialist selling vinyl, CDs and DVDs since 2001, in central Thessaloniki.
2 sources
- Father Herbie Records
Jazz, soul, funk, afro, disco, Brazil, library and world-grooves specialist located above Father Coffee in central Thessaloniki, since 2019.
2 sources
- Lotus Record Shop
Thessaloniki record-shop institution open since December 1990, importing CDs and vinyl worldwide with an eclectic, carefully curated multi-genre selection.
3 sources
- Noise Records
Alternative/underground record store launched December 1992 (relaunched 1997, relocated 2011); house, techno, progressive, trance, ambient, electro, drum & bass and alt pop-rock.
3 sources
- On Stage Records
Record store and independent rock'n'roll label founded by Tom Glavenas in 1998; imports records worldwide, buys collections, sells new and secondhand vinyl, CDs, cassettes and DVDs across genres.
2 sources
- Orbers Vinyl
Independent record store in central Thessaloniki since 2019, stocking 10,000+ new and used vinyl spanning jazz, soul, hip-hop, rock, electronica and rare Greek pressings.
3 sources
- Phonomono Records
Specialist in second-hand Japanese import vinyl straight from Tokyo and Yokohama -- rare and out-of-print jazz, funk and soul pressings; opened December 2019, sharing a building with Vinyl Salvation.
2 sources
- POP Records (Aris Kouinoglou)
One of Thessaloniki's oldest record shops, run by Aris Kouinoglou since 1979 in the Dikastiria (Courthouse) area; a huge cassette selection (Greek, Arabic, Egyptian, Israeli) alongside laiko and classic-rock vinyl.
2 sources
- Primitive Record Store
Mostly-used vinyl and CDs across all genres, in central Thessaloniki.
1 source
- Steel Gallery Records
Heavy/power/speed/progressive-metal record shop and label run by Kostas Athanasoglou since 1996, specializing in Hellenic steel and underground metal.
2 sources
- Stereodisc
One of Greece's oldest record shops, operating in the same central Thessaloniki spot since 1968; two floors of new vinyl and CDs across genres, a Record Store Day participant.
2 sources
- Studio 52
Physical and mail-order music store carrying 50,000+ Greek and international CD, DVD and vinyl titles (rebetika, traditional, pop, rock, jazz, classical), with in-store hours alongside its large online catalog.
2 sources
- Take Give
Secondhand records and books store next to the Palace of Galerius, with roughly 1,500 vinyl in alphabetical order plus budget dance records; hosts live sessions and album launches.
1 source
- Velona Records
Independent record store since 2017 covering alternative, classic/prog rock, jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, metal, blues and punk; mostly new sealed stock plus rare used titles, with regular in-store events.
2 sources
- Vinyl Mania
Small record store since 1998 (also selling online since 2005), specializing in Greek and international vinyl LPs and 45s mainly from the 60s-90s.
2 sources
- Vinyl Salvation
Rooftop penthouse record store on the 9th floor of a downtown building; house, techno, disco, boogie, hip-hop, funk/soul, jazz, latin and rock, imported weekly.
2 sources
- Ζαχαρίας Records (Zaharias Records)
Thessaloniki branch of the long-running Zaharias record store (Athens original opened 1989); new, used and collectible vinyl and CDs, want lists accepted.
3 sources
See the full record store listing for Thessaloniki, Greece.