Piccadilly Records

There are a few things Manchester could never really be described as. It’s not the cleanest nor the greenest city in England, and it’s also never been the quietest. From rock & roll and Northern Soul, to weightless ambient grime, driving techno, jazz and indie, this is a town that has built its reputation on music, live gigs, underground nightclubs and the record collections of its residents. Perhaps more than anywhere else, Piccadilly Records guides, educates and informs the tastes of locals, first opening its doors in 1978 and remaining at the vanguard of vinyl and CD culture ever since. 

Manchester’s most famous record store, the post-punk sound that emerged from our hometown in the 1980s really helped establish Piccadilly as a national institution and the envy of many other places. At that time, it was peddling rock, pop, indie and alternative, and as the 1990s moved in so too did new management and an even broader selection, incorporating the emerging electronic dance and rave scenes. Moving to its current location in 1997, today the dedicated, friendly, and knowledgeable team have bagged this place a number of illustrious accolades. Music Week’s Best Independent Record Store, Best Record Store at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards, one of the Observer’s World’s Best Shops, and the Guardian’s Best Record Shops. 

Oh, and did we mention Piccadilly ranked number one in the Independent’s rundown of the UK’s 50 finest indie record stores? OK, enough bragging, you get the gist. An absolute essential if you’re into anything musical and find yourself shopping in the Northern Quarter — which you almost definitely will — expect to unearth new releases, reissues, rarities and obscurities across funk, soul, house, Balearic, psychedelic, metal, rap, folk, indie and just about any other form of popular tune you can think of right now. Finally, visiting in the run up to Christmas or just after New Year also means picking up a copy of the shop’s iconic End of Year Review booklet, an indispensable resource which has now evolved into an accompanying compilation album sold on CD and vinyl alike.