Well, probably not. Dim Sim goldmine, sure.  But I did walk out of this textbook music stall with the 12″ dub mix of Womack and Womack’s Life Is Just A Ballgame; the 7″ of Thinking of You by Paul Weller; Tom Tom Club’s The Man With the Four-Way Hips 12″ (already owned but couldn’t leave it behind); Fashion Fabrique; Capella Heylom Halib (for old times’ sake) and the Amii Stewart/Mike Francis outing pictured below. Unfortunately it’s not Mike’s finest hour.

Really feeling the collage vibrations here. It’s like being inside a giant 1980s high-school folder or something. Not what you’d call well-organised, but definitely worth a rummage once you’ve stocked up on witlof.

Collector’s Fair Memorabilia, Stall 255, Corner aisle F and East aisle (opposite Claypots) South Melbourne Market

Round and Round is almost two shops in one – Joe from the late Toot Toot records also has a large portion of his stock there. As well as being in really close proximity to some awesome Middle Eastern pastries, Round and Round is a great place to shop if you’re into prog – rather than being all thrown in together, it’s split up by style or nationality. You won’t find Gong filed next to Goblin here thank you very much. The shop is also excellent for ambient, experimental, noise, techno, and electronic. Note the rave section – a dig through here can be rewarding in ways you might not expect…

Round and Round also has a thorough selection of jazz, soul, indie, grunge etc. It’s very well curated and contains everything one would expect in a quality record shop. The disco selection is small – but they don’t pretend to specialise. As well as my stroll down rave memory lane, finds here included a copy of Lalo Schifrin’s Towering Toccata.

Other key points about Round and Round are its regular in-store gigs (check their website for updates) and its knick-knack heavy decor. Definitely a shop to keep coming back to.

Round and Round Records, 513 Sydney Rd (near cnr of Blyth St), Brunswick, Victoria 3056 Tel: +61 3 9380 5095

Thankfully not some concoction from Masterchef but a great record shop in Prahran. Established by owner Dave Reitman almost a decade ago, Licorice Pie has become a key destination for locals and out of towners alike – if I happen to be showing a vinyl-loving visitor round town I make sure I take them in for a slice.

Licorice Pie has a solid selection across dozens of genres from classical to funk, soul, punk, Krautrock, psych and beyond. Anyone with a bent for Brazillian, Afro  or reggae variants will be very happy here. Also a worthwhile dig for Australian oddments, disco, electronic and library. The section at the rear features a trove of LPs  and 12s at bargain prices.

This is the kind of place you’re bound to find something whenever you come in. Scores from my last visit included Savannah Silver Band Pure Silver LP, Eddy Grant Timewarp 12 and More Sex Stories OST.

Licorice Pie, 249A High Street, Prahran 3181 Victoria, Australia Tel +61 3 9510 4600

Warren however had to let the business go a couple of years back. Thankfully it didn’t disappear or get turned into a convenience store. It was taken over by Paul and Renae, a husband and wife team who obviously recognised the shop to be a true record lover’s paradise, and renamed it accordingly.

The main change that anyone familiar with Warren’s will notice is that the shop is now considerably easier to navigate. The vast array of 45s, LPs, 12s and even old 78s is still there, but arranged in a much more user friendly fashion. Record Paradise also now carries  books, CDs and DVDs plus the odd vintage turntable and some replacement stylii.

Record Paradise is a great example of what fresh energy and love can do to a business. Warren’s was truly awesome, but perhaps a little intimidating to the uninitiated. Record Paradise is still a goldmine, but you won’t spend quite as long or get quite as dusty finding what you seek.

Record Paradise, 100 Chapel Street (almost at corner of Carlisle) St Kilda. Tel 03 9534 9344.

Record Paradise also holds a garage sale – more like a mini record fair – in Brunswick every so often. Here you’ll find about 10,000 records plus books, CDs and tapes. The next one is on Sunday August 7 from 10am – 4pm at 15 Union Street Brunswick.

The selection is mainly rock and pop, but there are several crates of 12s and loads of 7s. You could get lucky.

One criticism might be the prices are just a little high for some of the stock, but that said I was happy to part with $15 for a Gino Vanelli LP that yielded at least one Balearic gem. Nice crate of 70s Bollywood too – could find some Burman or Bappi if Krishna is smiling upon you.

Lost and Found Market 12 Smith Street Collingwood, Victoria 3066

Tel 03 9419 4477

Vinyl Solution reminds me of the record shops where I used to waste time (mine and the management’s) as a kid. It’s in a nondescript suburban shopping precinct but inside there’s enough eye-popping goodness to keep you occupied for hours.

Vinyl Solution is comprehensively stocked and really well organised. No flicking through random crates here. Proprietor Glenn is of the “a place for everything and everything in its place” school and it works.

Glenn has also catalogued his stock and put it online for mail order, providing as much info on each item as possible: condition, country of manufacture, track listings etc. This guy is thorough!

But don’t just use the website if you’re a local. Make the trip to Cheltenham and marvel at this Aladdin’s cave. Bring your wants list. Seriously, I almost didn’t want to share this place as I have found so much gold here I wanted to keep it quiet…

Vinyl Solution Records 5/10 Park Rd Cheltenham, Victoria 3192 Tel 03 9585 0133

Northside specialises in a lovingly curated selection of what an ethnomusicologist might call “the music of the African diaspora”. We call it a crate-digging paradise. It’s located in the heart of Fitzroy, but you won’t find hipster jams and nu-disco here.

While Northside’s focus is very much on soul, Latin, reggae, jazz, hip hop, Afrobeat, funk and their associated variants, this is a shop to check no matter where your preferences lie.  It’s not unusual for entire collections to turn up here, but naturally they get ransacked quick smart. The disco selection is small but good and the library crates are always worth a punt for some Bruton or KPM nuggets.

Nice-price gems are often found in Northside’s bargain crates so don’t be afraid to get on your knees and rummage. Proprietor Chris sends out a weekly bulletin of recent arrivals (new and secondhand) which also contains a mini gig guide to Melbourne’s soul/funk happenings. They stock Grado carts and can hook you up with a guy who reconditions vintage turntables. Northside is the real deal.

Northside Records 236 Gertrude Street Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Tel 03 9417 7577

I discovered The Searchers one morning circa 2008 while loitering near the corner of Smith and Gertrude waiting for a cheese and tomato toasty from Dr Java. Having only recently opened, the shop contained just a few shelves of secondhand books and some bins of used records. A noncommittal browse yielded instant results (a Supermax LP from memory) so I kept coming back.

In the intervening years proprietor Damien has developed The Searchers into a solidly stocked secondhand dealer.  While the books outnumber the records these days, the selection of secondhand vinyl and CDs is well curated and accurately priced – unlike some other Smith Street dealers I could mention.

The Searchers is also a genius example of DIY shopfitting – Damien constructed all the shelving and racking himself, complete with rolling library ladder for those top-shelf items.

93 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065. Tel: (03) 9939 0096