I am mildly obsessed with music. I love my vinyl record collection–there’s always something really kitsch and exciting when I go to a foreign music shop. What albums will they carry? Who are the employees? So I decided to take a look at some of the best record shops in Paris according to the internet, and word of mouth.
Bimbo Tower is full of gems, from obscure records, to kooky CDs, to interesting literature—and there’s so much! Wall to wall stuffed with interesting sounds and hard to find vinyl records for the collector to oogle at. You’d never know it’s there; it just looks like the remnants of some sort of junk shop that’s now slightly dilapidated. Definitely a must see, this is probably the best record store in Paris.
I also went to Fargo Store in Paris on Rue Folie Méricourt, which was great, lots of indie vinyl and CDs with some other interesting merchandise sprinkled throughout. I didn’t realize that it was also a record label with bands such as Deertick and Andrew Bird, anyway this was a fairly standard local record store.
Another spot I found for the vinyl collector is Plus de Bruit, a slightly less aesthetically pleasing record store. The prices here are great though, the guy who owns this place has been doing so for almost two decades, and that’s really commendable in my opinion. They definitely have a wide variety of products as well, from magazines to video games—I actually found some rarer graphic novels, and some I’ve never heard of too. You’re bound to find some great finds, so be careful how you spend your euros, because you’ll end up with a giant stack! I even found some records from the 1950s in this store, how crazy! Tres chouette!
I still have yet to go see a true French concert, I’ve seen some live music and street performances, but I really need to hit up a true show and just check out the scene. I like all kinds of music, so I’m sure it won’t be hard to figure out a good place to go, France has a pretty big electronic scene, so that might be my best bet at this point.
