Vinyl Exchange

Vinyl Exchange probably has Manchester city centre’s biggest selection of second hand vinyl and certainly the most varied.

On the ground floor, it’s mainly pre-loved CDs and a small selection of new vinyl. The second hand CD collection is extensive and divided into different genres but it’s the basement vinyl haul that gives this record store its reputation.

It’s an eclectic collection. This means it can get crowded on weekends because there’s less space for customers if you’re dedicating racks to krautrock and contemporary psychedelia as well as all the usual genres.

But the breadth of what’s available is what makes Vinyl Exchange such a fantastic place, particularly if you’re fond of the more niche musical offerings.

Most record shops either focus on the rock and alternative canon or whatever dross somebody’s sold off recently. However, a good half of the stock at Vinyl Exchange is dance orientated. In the city that brought us the Haçienda, that’s too important to overlook. From techno to electronica, club classics to rave or drum & bass, you’ll find it all here.

This is a place for collectors. Labels fess up to sleeve damage and the like whilst offering info on reissues, limited editions, early numbered pressings and deluxe 180gm releases. An original Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York will cost you a hundred quid. The big surprise is that the first album by The Darkness sells for not far off that amount.

From Alice Coltrane to Godspeed You! Black Emperor or a favourite Chic 12”, Vinyl Exchange is a good place to find what you’re looking for.