Having come of age to a walkman-delivered soundtrack of golden-era hip hop jams I’m a sucker for the romance and mythology of New York city. My own time record shopping there was an all too brief period in 2007 and I’ve been itchy to get back ever since. The following look at some of NY’s lesser-documented digging spots, contributed (again!) by Noise In My Head’s Michael K hasn’t helped. A libation of gratitude to him.

New York City – the big smoke. The birthplace of hip hop and disco and many booming generations of DJ culture. A great spot for you and thousands of record buyers. Things get competitive and shops have a fast turnaround. If you’re looking for a digger’s guide, the comprehensive breakdown over at Discogs’ International Record Store Index is an essential starting point. Though on a recent trip I observed that this is getting a little outdated so here’s a walk-through of some new or neglected second hand dealers. I’m again avoiding covering the A1 and Academy institutions as they’ve been documented so many times before. However, they’re still worth hitting daily!

I never walk out of this East Village spot empty handed. Ideal for buyers of soul, jazz, disco and hip hop, with splatterings of soundtracks, latin, rock, libraries etc. Crammed dollar bins beneath the racks. Scored a Brazilian lazy disco LP while my wingman filled a bag of soul LPs for practically donuts.

They have a sister store in Jersey which I’m yet to visit but some of the records warehoused here are listed on their discogs profile  (if there’s anything of interest they’ll apparently send it over to this East Village location). Barely a block away from Academy (415 East 12th St) which never disappoints.

 Big City Records, 521 E 12th St, Manhattan, NY 10009

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

Specialising in Latin, soul, jazz and rock, Rubbergard lies quietly in the back alleys a few minutes walk from Jinbōchō station. It offers a premium selection lovingly curated by an enthusiast of the Central and South Americas. The beautifully fitted out store is refreshingly open with two listening stations sitting comfortably in the centre and ‘Nice Price’ boxes littering the floor.

Here I salvaged many smooth groove Brazilian relics as well as some hot Japanese discs which the owner kindly recommended – the Nadja OST 7″ (light funky!), Akira Sakata – Tenoch Sakata 10″ (mental avant-electronics on the Better Days label) and Toshiyuki Honda – Opa Com Deus LP (recommended pseudo-Brazilia). Check out their website which is updated regularly with new arrivals.

Rubbergard Records 1F, 1-38-6 Kanda Jinbō-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

I had great memories of discovering this store by accident in the final hours of a previous visit to Osaka. Three years later, it certainly lived up to my recollections. This is an absolute must for fans of progressive rock with sections marked for French, Italian, Dutch, German, Japanese and general Euro. Strange continuity of prices in this department so keep flicking for random bargains.

I also got heavily amongst their AOR (always a hidden spot for Balearics!), industrial, French, Brazilian and Latin records as well as their expansive offering of J-pop and black music. I should have pillaged through their 45s but sometimes it’s hard to find the inspiration required to look through 1000s of 7”s with Japanese only sleeves and no English shortcuts. Very happy to find Pecker’s 10” here, recorded in Jamaica with Sly, Robbie, Augustus Pablo and ‘Minnie’ Yoshida.

No listening station but the owner will let you listen to one record on shop speakers – make it count!

Maru Ka Batsu Records & CDs, Yotsubashi Shin-Kosan Building 1-5-2, Kitahorie, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan

If you’ve got a J-Rail pass and time permits, consider jumping a train to Kobe. I had much success here only a flat battery prevented me from documenting the experience. Heaps of amazing and cheap stores within close vicinity of Motomachi station, some of which were located in a long mall under the rail tracks including one that was like playing Tetris with floor to ceiling columns of records (it was a wonder how the owner actually got in and out everyday). Hangesha  was a great boutique of cosmic, electronic, outer funk, psychedelic, wave and general weird, while Rhythm Kings was the motherlode of world music covering all corners of the globe. This day trip from Osaka comes highly recommended! Just be prepared as most stores are cash only.

Whoa! Plakhane is a super nice store. Air conditioning, polished floor boards, great racks, listening table, sweet Turkish cuts! Thought I was never going to find it and had almost given up after a good half hour of fruitless laneway wandering, then I found it opposite a kind of car park.

The dude behind the jump was playing crazy records the whole time. He even picked out some funky Turkish jams for me after I asked him if he could recommend any.

Found a Turkish record here for a lovely price that was at the top of my wantlist. Happy customer! Recommended store.

Plakhane, Hocazade sokak 22, Beyoğlu Istanbul, Turkey

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

The store majors in jazz, soul and disco and understandably (given its location) holds many interesting European interpretations of these genres. Crates of Italo, lots of quality mixed 7″s and other obscurities at nice prices make the store well worth a visit. Very organised and just the right amount of records in the boxes…don’t you hate it when they’re packed too tight?

With a cute little player for listening and helpful store owner Marcus Juandó chillin’ behind the counter with cigarette in hand, you’ll be starving for some tapas after a long session here!

Discos Juand0 C/ Giralt el Pellisser, 2B 08003 Barcelona