La Fabrique Balades Sonores

The ongoing yuppification of Paris's record shops is visible in La Fabrique Balades Sonores, opened in February 2012 by indie-loving crate digger Toma. Its vintage furniture and 'quirky' touches (plant pots and suitcases as furniture) are a far cry from the dusty shelves and messy stacks of vinyl that you used to find in these places – you'd be forgiven for thinking you've stumbled into a hip thirtysomething's apartment.

Not that we have anything against good presentation; on the contrary, it helps when the selection is this varied. Toma and his team spent seven years bar-hopping and trawling through promotional flyers in search of the Next Big Thing. The result: a compendious knowledge of rock, with an accent on indie and a preference for small independent labels. La Fabrique is thoroughly stocked: CDs and even audio cassettes share the shelf space with vinyl, there's a small hardware corner, and you can even find music-themed books, DVDs and clothes. Purists may balk at all this extra paraphernalia, but everyone else will appreciate the welcoming vibe.

Gigs are sometimes performed on Thursdays.