At least they should close the ones that are useless, like Cheapo Cheapo. In the future, robots will set up stalls in every London corner.

Robots selling the Mail on Sunday?

Probably the most depressing, dystopian vision of the future I have ever read.

In a way, robots have taken over London already. You just have to travel through the city every morning. It's like 'They Live' with people in suits and lattes in their hands.

I walked into music exchange for the first time in aeons, last Friday, and their selection of noise/blah blah wasnt as poor as I remembered it. They have that US Girls cdr on Chocolate Monk, some Blues Control, several Dead C albums,a limited edition Circle cd, and various bits and bobs on vinyl too. Still not a big choice, but an improvement from previous selections.

For my money, Honest Jon's is the way to go if you're looking for vinyl of jazz, soul, classic rock, folk, anything like that (it's all new though so be aware that it won't be originals). When I was there I was totally knocked over by it. I'd been spending the last 2 days going to pretty much every famous London record store, and it killed ALL of them for the stuff I was looking for in terms of price, and had a fucking good selection. Like say, I picked up Ayler's 'Spiritual Unity' on red vinyl for £10, 2 Ornette Coleman vinyls for £8 each, and a couple of 4 Men With Beards Tim Buckley reissues for £12 quid each. Just stupidly good. I mean they had like ALL the recent deluxe Sun Ra reissue vinyls for £10-12 each, those Monk's reissues for £18 (I had paid £28 for my Black Monk Time), the Omar Souleyman vinyl for £22 or something like that (it being £34 in a lot of places). I have no idea how the shop exists.

Damn, making this post spurred me to spend money I don't have on an order from them.

where's that?
I think I spent about 150 pounds worth of CDs/vinyl on my England trip this month, mostly at Second Layer and Sounds of the Universe.

it's worth mentioning that they released the reissue of light of saba, which is one of the best albums ever made.

The one on Berwick Street.

Has that shop changed its name again?

There was always a big HMV on Oxford Street. Probably the best place to start.

Sterns is good for world music. They get a lot of internet trade from me.

Odd, I thought I went in there but maybe it was another shop then... or maybe I missed that section because I left within a couple of minutes. It was a shop that had the word "exchange" in the name anyway, but I don't think they had CDs....mainly Dance and 80's pop LPs.
If you walk from Oxford St then the shop I went into is pretty far down the street on the right hand side.

Are we talking bout the one close to somerfield, next to the shop that sells badges, earrings etc? The cds are stocked immediatly when you enter on the right, very difficult not to spot.

No idea, on average I'm only in London about once a year or so.

But it must've been a different shop then, because if they are easy to
spot I wouldn't have missed them.

Oh also, that their delivery is good. I ordered something on Sunday night with no expectation of arriving by Christmas and it was here by Wednesday.

I was in Second Layer today, christ if i were a millionaire id be down there every weekend (Plus id also move to Highgate which is the nicest area ever).

I did a quick calculation of all the stuff i found that i would definitely get if £££s werent an issue and it came to about £250. Theres nothing quite so sad as finding something thats £12.99 and thinking "yeah id probably get it if it were £9.99 but i just cant stretch that far"
Still, lovely place.

Drown yourself in the Thames then. One less sanctimonious, scatterbrained, garrulous Guardian reader for us to make the effort of ignoring.

I didnt search for this thread for you to start trolling. Now agree with everything i say or go away.