Record Shops in Northampton, Northamptonshire*

The places where you buy your music

You can tell us more about Northampton.

Record Shops

• Pied Piper has been having a closing down sale for about five months now. By the time you read this it may be gone forever! A great shame because it was a brilliant place for picking up bargains and the owner was a very knowledgable guy.
• spiral archive records,fishmarket,town centre,northampton myspace.com/spiralarchiverecords
• I ran across Spun Out while going to get some food for my hangover. Great selection of House, Techno, DnB and breakbeat records. There had to be like 6 decks to listen to your records. They even had a clearance bin of records for 95p. When I head back out to Northampton I am definitely hitting up this spot again. http://www.spunout.net/ 57 Gold Street, Northampton, NN1 1RA
• Spun out....bottom of Gold Street
• Not quite a musical desert, but getting there. With the loss of Spinadisc, Our Price, MVC and a few decent market traders over the last few years. However there's The usual predictable HMV and Virgin in the Grovesnor Centre. Spiral Archive (Beware limited opening times. I think he's 10-4 Tuesday or Wednesday through to Saturday, but don't quote me) in the Emporium, Abington Square. Has loads of vinyl and Goth/Industrial/Punk CD's.And a few other rock/Heavy metal. Alex (nice chap) the owner seems to steer clear of folk/jazz/blues in the CD section. Pied Piper - Wellingborough Rd has a good selection of cheap second hand CD's however 50% of them you won't have heard of. The owner obviously loves music, but is very uncommunicative. (I've still not had a hello, goodbye, please or thank you, in 15 years of regular dealing. Perhaps it's the cut of my cloth!) However don't let this put you off there are still some gems to be had if you look long enough. Allens stall on the Market(enter form Abington St one of the first few stalls you come to as you head for the Grovesnor market square entrance)Saturday only. Allen is a very pleasant chap who is incredibly knowledgable on most genres of music particularly Punk, psychedelic and rock. And his well stacked stall reflects this with plenty of quality mainstream titles as well. Good luck!
• Spinadisc R.I.P , Pied Piper welly Rd for secondhand stuff
• Northampton could boast a great record store in spinadisc - that is until it shut down. Now you have to venture to either HMV or Virgin Megastores in the Grosvenor Centre.

• Pid Piper is good, most are 2nd hand and some are quite inexpensive. The man lets you listen to the CD before you buy it too.
• Pied Piper is a great music shop, some really rare stuff in there and the owner knows his stuff. Nice bloke.
• Spiral Archive above the Emporium on Abington Square. The owner is a really helpful bloke who's got absolutely shitloads pf VHS tapes at bargain prices (great for collectors who aren't afraid of embracing the past) and just about any vinyl album you want, he's most probably got it in stock...and more importantly, he knows where everything is, too.
• OOOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOD !!!!! Spinadisc have sold out and closed down !!! What an absolute disgrace. The Town no longer has an independent record shop now. We have to buy from the expensive chains with their rip off prices. No wonder everyone buys on the internet. Who wants to buy cd's for £13.99 when they are £8.99 on the net. I'm in mourning now. Boo Hoo
• Pied Piper is good, so was Spin-a-disc. God, all the good shops and places are closing-this is depressing...
• HMV's sale is good at the moment. Virgin is ok. Pied Piper is good. You pick up CD and the guy there plays it for you and you buy it or put it back if it's shit. I like Pied Piper-it's nice. London is best for music, charity or second hand shops are worth a try for good ol' vinyl. You could buy it for your old man to sweeten him up.
• Spinadisc finally closed its doors after 30 brilliant years in February 2005, a great shame as it was one of the best record shops in town. Spiral Archive can now be found above the Emporium on Abington Square. Pied Piper is now the town's only independent record store, so for God's sake SUPPORT IT...we don't want it to go the same way as Spinadisc (R.I.P)

• Sadly, as of February 2005, Spinadisc Records is no more. As so many people have mentioned, it was by far the best record shop in the area and the centre of Northampton's music scene. It will be sorely missed. Apparently the sister-shop in Rugby (about 20 miles away?)remains open, though personally I haven't got round to making the trip yet. There are still a couple of places in Northampton worth a visit. Pied Piper, at the top of Wellingborough Road, is not great for new releases but you can pick up some great bargains when it comes to secondhand LPs. They sometimes have the odd promo floating around at a good price too. A good place to lose yourself for an afternoon if you're that way inclined. Spiral Archive, on the other hand, is one of the smallest and most chaotic record shops i've ever been in. There are boxes of secondhand and new vinyl and CDs everywhere! It broadly specialises in industrial/goth type stuff (the guy who runs it is in local band Venus Fly Trap) but there's still plenty to satisfy the discerning indie kid. In fact, it's worth a look whatever style of music you're in to. It's been situated on the first floor of a building on Wellington Street (just off Abington St, down the side of M&S) for a couple of years now but apparently it's shortly going to be moving to a new shop above The Emporium on Wellingborough Road. Hopefully it'll be a bit less cramped! Other than that, if you're looking for new releases then sadly your best bet is probably one of the chainstores (HMV or Virgin) in the Grovesnor Centre.
• Spinadisc. Everyone should boycott HMV and Virgin and go to Spinadisc, cos they're usually cheaper and probably one of the last decent independent record shops left in the country. Categories/layout is a bit weird though, which puts some people off.
• spun out ,spina disc ,HMV ,VIRGIN
• Rutland Records, check the market square every Thursday near the Cafe Continental, you will be in vinyl heaven.
• IF U LIKE TO MIX HARD/HOUSE/TRANCE, THEN TIDY TRAX ARE THE BEST AROUND. GO TO SPUN OUT!!!!ON GOLD STREET. THEY HAVE SOME FU@#ING BANGING TUNES IN THERE. THEY ALSO SELL GOTHIC CLOTHES IF U LIKE THAT SORT OF THING, THEY KNOW WHAT THERE TALKING ABOUT AS WELL,THEY GET U WHAT U WAN'T NOT JUST TRY TO SELL U WHAT THEY HAVE LIKE OTHER MUSIC SHOPS. MUSIC AND MIXERS,DECKS,STYLUS-BONGS! THEY ARE THE BEST SHOP IN NORTHAMPTON FOR (NON-CEMERCIAL-RUBBISH) TUNES, FORGET HMV? SPINADISC? ECT.TRUST ME ON THIS.+ VOTE, TINY TONY ON TIDY TRAX HOME PAGE, SUMMER CAMP COMPERTITION.
• Spinadisc, Spiral achives is great, Pied Piper is ok. Virgin and HMV suck
• well, HMV, virgin and spinadisc are cool.
• spinner disk!
• I was in N'Hampton for a few weeks and checked out a store called Spiral Archive in an alley just off the high street near M&S. Awesome shop. Got the first Runaways LP for a fiver!
• spinadisc is great if your looking for old C.D's they are cheap. i use HMV a lot as this is a great store with lots of offers.
• Spinadisc currently has all the atmosphere of a closing down sale in a 1950s state-run Albanian department store. So apart from the excellent Pied Piper & a couple of market stalls for some unusual bargains, you may have to travel to Birmingham for anything out of the ordinary : Swordfish in Temple Street, Reddington's Rare Records near the market, & The Diskery which used to be the hub of all things progressive in the '60s, but is now at bit out of the way on Bristol Street. There's also a very good 3-storey HMV in The Pavillions. Sadly Tower Records is no more.
• was spinadisc but feels like an east european store lately, hmv is good for indie singles. pied piper good for second hand but the owner could win awards as the most miserable man in northampton
• I would just like to point out, that the upstairs of spinadisc has now been changed into a music school?! ahahaha, how I miss crazy old northampton. Also, in defence of the staff of spinadisc, yes the majority of them may at times appear "aloof", wouldnt you if you had to cope with all those 14 year old goths and grebs outside (apologies to the lone twenty something year old who continues to hang there after he finishes work) starting fights every second of the day. And in my experience, if something is not in stock, then the staff will try their hardest to get it for you. So there xx
• Pied Piper's brilliant, Spinadisc is all right but the staff seem to think they're superior life forms.
• Vinyl Solution. Amazing new vinyl and music shop opened at the bottom of Bridge Street below Revolution Bar. If you know your stuff or want to talk to guys who really know their music go here. This town needed this as other records shops are so limited.
• Spiral Archive is shite, extremely overpriced and the shop stinks a bit too! The boss pretends to be into all kinds of "alternative" music yet listens to Radio One all day - he's basically trapped in the seventies and must make a pretty penny flogging ancient Buzzcocks and Adverts singles at outrageous prices to impressionable greebos!
• Spin a greb and spiral archive
• Spiral archive is cool, and of course Spin a disc, for all your cd, vinyl and gig ticket needs and wants fulfilled.
• Spinadisc (Jo Wylie's always raving about it) on Abington St + the usual multiples in the Grosvenor Centre and further down Abington St.
• Spiral records is the best record shop in town, most CDs are only a fiver, might take a bit of searching and maybe more than one visit to find what you're after though, and look out for promotional copies of singles that only have one track and should really be free
• spinadisk is probly the best, good range as well
• HMV, Spin-a-disc and Virgin...virgin is a bit expensive but it has A LOT OF STUFF.
• Pied Piper and Spinadisc
• hmv, virgin megastores, pied piper, spinadisc
• Spinadisk has to be one of the best music stores in northampton town. It has everything you want whatever you are into, and is cheap, and the staff are always smiley and helpful.
• spnadisc are good, as are pied piper, although he's unfriendly. For proper alternative stuff go to spiral archive
• spinadisc
• Pied Piper on Wellingborough Road is excellent, the owner compiles a price guide to second hand records so he knows what he's doing - all you losers thinking he'll buy any old rubbish you find lying around in your bedroom (like the Bros and 2 Unlimited CDs you bought before you decided to dye your hair and hate your parents) in the vain hope of furnishing you with your weekend cider and hash money, think again! The market also has some good record stalls, mostly on Thursdays and Saturdays.
• Spinadisc! I know Tom who works in there!
• Spinadisc (the lovely Jo Wiley was a frequent visitor in her youth and often mentions it), HMV, Virgin, Our Price.
• Spun Out (gold street), Spinadisc (abington street), Sidewinder (wellingborough road)
• Vinyl Underground - above Watts furniture store on Abington Street! It's hidden away, through some double doors on the top floor of Watts, it's full of loadsa rare electronica, funk, house, hip hop. If you want real underground wax, it's the only place in Northampton to go.
• Vinyl Underground is the only decent record shop. Spinadisc is ok.
• spin-a-disk, virgin record store (top of the grovener)hmv
• Spinadisc is basically Steve Lamacq, only a shop. Very unattractive staff, especially the Weezer guy with the braces. However, their 3 for £20 offer is always great, with a shedload of Smiths, Who, Dylan, and other dead people on offer.
• Spinadisk is great, shame about the v.high price of singles though.
• Spiral Archive, Pied Piper and Spinadisc....Virgin and HMV tend to be quite over-priced at times.
• Pied Piper with its vinyl heaven Wellingborro road
• HMV...overpriced, too busy, virgin... full of townies, spin a disc....keep away.. full of crazy young kids... buy off the internet..loads safer
• There is a record shop around college street mews
• Spiral Archive near M+S, Spinadisc's ok....Pied Piper for older stuff.
• Pied Piper and Spinadisc are still the only viable alternatives to the over-commercialized corporate juggernauts, even if their stock tends to be extremely variable.
• Pied Piper is a fine shop, even if the owner is extremely miserable. He knows his stuff, but Jesus Christ, a smile wouldn't go amiss from time to time!
• Pied Piper rules. The owner is a bit of a miserable old git, but anywhere that sells obscure seventies CDs for a fiver is okay by me!
• virgin is very expensive (£16 for a White Zombie CD?), HMV is the best mainstream store, but of course its gotta be spinadisc or pied piper records (welly road, just before the crown and cushion but on the other side).
• Try Pied Piper records in Abington - a hidden goldmine of low-priced classic cut CDs!
• Sidewinder Records down the Welly Road. Yes, all the music in there is dreadful, but it is run by a Jamaican guy who insists on speaking about everything in a rudeboy patois. Including his asthma.
• Spinadisc is the only option for obscure stuff although The Virgin store aint bad either
• Pied Piper is brilliant for second-hand stuff, the second floor is vinyl heaven! If you're after something obscure from the sixties or seventies, chances are you'll find it here.
• spinadisc
• Heheh, gotta be Spinadisc. I got 3 Smiths albums for £20...how good is that? And HMV...despite the abundance of trendie slappers there is a good selection and their sales are just WICKED
• Spinadisc's about your only choice now they've turned Our Price into a V-Shop (bloomin' mobiles!) - yes I know they still sell a few CDs but not much.
• Spinadisc sometimes has decent offers, other than that it's all the standards - Woolies, Virgin, HMV, etc.
• spin-a-disk is the only place to get any decent alt music, good punk/goth section, well its better than hmv!
• Spinadisc is getting worse in my opinion- it used to be a fantastic place for electronica, Rephlex and the like, but now seems to have been won over by standard 4/4 house and garage. Bah! Having said that, there are a couple of listening decks upstairs, and you'll find some real prizes in the second hand vinyl section every now and again. The downstairs area has a well-kept 'post-rock' section, which is a very bad name for an area covering Tortoise, Godspeed, Sonic Youth offshoots and a lot of similar material. They also have a decent selection of goofy 50s/60s stuff, and a good jazz section - smaller than HMV/Virgin, but tending to be better kept. Screw HMV/Virgin, by the way. Pied Piper on the Wellingborough Road is a great 2nd-hand shop, especially for vinyl. You can pick up some fine LPs for next to nothing. Be sure to check the reggae/dub singles on the counter, and the bargain selections upstairs.
• Spinadisc is good (they've got them in Rugby and Coventry as well) otherwise it's the boring chains (Virgin, Woolies, WH Smith, HMV)
• Pied Piper on Wellingborough Road is a great place, especially if you like older or obscure music (as I do). I got Pink Floyd, Goo Goo Dolls, Springsteen, Bangles, Kennedys, Heart, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and dozens of other classic albums there at VERY reasonable prices.
• For most of your musical needs, there's HMV or Virgin Megastore (the latter is my personal choice). If you're into alternative stuff, check out Pied Piper Records. The word is *obscure.* Spinadisc is okay, but the staff seem to think they're God's gift.
• Spinadisc = Class shop, RATM, Goth, Club, Rave upstairs tee-shirts and hoodies galore. HMV = OK bit too full and trendish, go in with a hoodie on and you will get the funniest looks in the world. Market Dude = Guy on the market sells live tapes A-Z, badges, some wierd Tee shirts, wall posters, Nirvana Manson and Green day calenders and those kool badges
• Pied Piper - great for second-hand stuff, great for vinyl.
• Don't go to spinadisc, the majority of the staff are complete fools, they think that they are part of the musical elite. But hey, they dont know anything about music!
• Spinadisc is OK and PIed Piper down the Welly Road
• SPIN-A-DISC is just the best record store ever, a goth section (fairly sparse) a heluva lotta records for £7.50 (i got sonic youth, ministry, bauhaus, stone templepilots, red hot chilis manics...) and if you are into alternative music have a chat with the metalheads/freaks/goths/weirdos outside (me included) cuz we are kool!
• HMV, spinadisk, ourprise.
• Spinadisc = fab for club imports. Virgin = cheap and cheerful!!
• Spiral Archive
• Spinadisc on the Abington Road is a great record shop with a selection of quality T-shirts. There are often many Goths loitering around outside though, for some reason, which is OK if you like that sort of thing.
• Spin-a-Disc is rad. Loads of rap and tons of other stuff like Rage Against the Machine.

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