The best record shops in Bangkok

Avid vinyl connoisseurs tend to be hush-hush about this “secret” music shop located above Black Amber barber shop in Thonglor. The majority of merchandise focus on legendary gems from the ’80s and ’90s, with some indie records from local Thai artists. Lower your expectations if you wish to find Lady Gaga or Ariana Grande here.

This shop mainly focuses on rolling out new releases for collectors who constantly update their home catalog. However, you can still hop over to this shop for vintage discs as well as record players from well-known brands like Crosley, Lenco, and Rega.

For years, Garage Records was a cloud shop specializing in Britpop. Now, it’s a physical store catering mostly to fans of, say, Oasis or Blur. The compact shop has a moderate collection of around 500 LPs and is frequented by ’90s kids who grew up during the heyday of alternative music. The fact that most of the albums sold at Garage Records are original pressings is a bonus.

Garage Records is open by appointment only.

Hall of Fame Records used to have several branches, its reach extending to the outskirt areas of Bang Kapi and Srinakarin, but now there’s only one walk-in store in Fortune Town. The store carries an extensive catalog of records that cover everything from international artists to Thai hits. Pre-loved records are also sold here on a discount.

Set one floor above Chand on Soi Sukhumvit 31, More Rice is a vinyl store founded by music veterans who are passionate about listening to music from this analog medium and also runs a record label of the same name. The shop focuses on promoting work by Asian artists. Aside from vinyl records, it also sells accessories and spinning gear such as turntable weights and cartridges. Sorry, no actual rice is available for you to eat. 

All the hip kids are well aware of this record store, which has been around for over 40 years. Thanks to its steady update on what’s in the mainstream and whatnot, Nong Taprachan is one of the go-to hangouts for avid collectors. The shop also hosts live gigs by local artists from time to time.

There’s no beating around the bush with the name of this shop on Soi Pradiphat 19. Pongsakorn “Nok” Diteepeng is behind this record haven, which sells both vintage and contemporary albums—some of them rare, most of them at a decent price. What’s better, Record Shop is a good source of exclusive LPs and even cassettes featuring music by modern Thai artists.

Situated on Soi Sukhumvit 31, this charming record store is owned by Chatchawan “O” Suradetch who is also behind popular music bar Alonetogether. Both the shop and its owner are well recognized among Bangkok’s collectors, who always stop by to get a new addition to their LP collection at home. Recoroom is particularly heaven on earth for fans of jazz and blues music.

Sip cold beer after browsing through shelves upon shelves of records from the ’90s at this record shop-cum-restaurant. The house specializes in 12-inch single records, which are considered precious finds among collectors. Pop in even if you just want to chill.

Owned by an avid music collector who goes by the name of Mr. Puk, this shop is one of the city’s biggest sources of vinyls—both for mainstream or indie artists. Half of what’s on display are albums from the ’60s to the ’80s, including rare finds that go for B10,000. You can also engage in fun conversations with Mr. Puk and his daughter, who would be more than happy to help boost your musical knowledge.