Fountain Records

Fountain Records is a vinyl store in Stretford, formerly known as Reel Around The Fountain. The new shop is smaller but it’s a nicer location and you’ll still find all the coolest albums, all the cult underground hits, the rock canon and the alternative classics. It’s recommended by Marc Riley from BBC 6 Music – and is a Confidential Guides top pick too.

Fountain Records offers a completely different browsing experience to most other record stores. Everything is pure gold. No sifting through eighties landfill here. It’s the sixties to the nineties which are the main focus and there are fewer Smiths LPs than you might imagine.

It’s not a place to come and search for a diamond in the rough. You aren’t going to find a first press of Abbey Road for a quid. However, if you’re a real vinyl aficionado you can buy treasures like early Belgian and Australian pressings of Pink Moon, My Bloody Valentine rarities and even an original Are You Experienced. Be prepared to pay for it. We’re talking three figures…

And despite the fact that owner Nigel Young knows the full gamut of zip sizes on all the different pressings of Sticky Fingers (you won’t be able to ‘pull’ a fast one) it’s not a snobbish place. Or maybe only slightly, and in a good way. You can chat for ages about music and leave with records to cherish and something even more special, a spark re-ignited for the music you love.