Oxfam Music

There’s no shortage of charity shops on Byres Road in the West End nor Victoria Road on the South Side, each worth exploring in their own right for that prized chance find. But the Oxfam Music stores on both thoroughfares have developed a special reputation among music fans – vinyl nuts in particular – both as two of the best stores in the city for flipping the racks to a great soundtrack, and as valued, gig-posters-plastered music community hubs where you’re liable to bump into other likeminded souls during an afternoon’s browsing.

Being a charity store, there’s no telling what might be in at any given time, so make the ‘just arrived’ section your first port of call. All records are inspected upon arrival, stickered with a condition rating and priced accordingly, so you can have confidence in your purchases. They know their stuff here, so don’t expect to be coming away with armfuls of bargain rarities.

Oxfam Music can be a good place to find odd bits and pieces of second-hand music hardware too – they take donations of everything from stereo separates to PA equipment, guitars and keyboards. The Victoria Road store also stocks books and comics (there’s a separate Oxfam Books branch at the top of Byres Road).