Here are 10 lost but not forgotten record shops in Toronto.
Sam the Record Man
Before Sam's became the de facto example of iconic Toronto retailers lost to changing trends in media consumption, it was a record shop - and a good one at that. As much as the signs and location were hallmarks of the flagship store, during the good years the selection was too.
A&A
When A&A bit the dust in 1993, it wasn't on account of the digitization of music and video. On the contrary, Sam's won the battle for market share when the two Toronto-based shops expanded all across the country. At one point the company had over 250 stores, many of which were absorbed by Music World.
Ed's Record World
There was a time when the area around Yonge and Eglinton was teeming with record and book shops, though none were as popular with the high school kids as Ed's Record World, which ultimately closed in 2007 after having moved a couple blocks south on Yonge St. Before its demise, it was stacked with hard-to-find imports, and much-loved owners Ed and Jonathan were fixtures.
Tower Records made a brief foray into the Canadian marketplace when it opened a flagship location at Yonge and Queen streets in the Jamieson Building (now home to an Atmosphere sports store) back in the mid 1990s. There was lots of talk that Tower would kill local competition at that time, but by 2001 the experiment was over.
Peter Dunn's Vinyl Museum
The Vinyl Museum had locations all over the city, but the one at 355 Yonge St. right near A&A and Sam's was probably the best-known. Lots of tales still circulate from these stores, including the wild variance in quality of the merchandise on offer and the owner's tendency to inscribe biblical verses on the sleeves of records. The Vinyl Museum shuttered in 1999.
The Record Peddler
The Record Peddler was another one of Toronto's independent music shops that boasted multiple locations. The main one on Queen West closed at some point in the 1990s only to return again in a different spot. The last store closed in 2001, but the business moved online where it still exists in the form of an Ebay store. Owner Ben Hoffman also ran the label Fringe Product.
Records on Wheels
This store is somewhat famous for what it ultimately became, which is eOne Entertainment. Yes, this massive distribution company has its roots as a record shop at 629 Yonge St. Run by Vito and Don Ierullo, the shop eventually moved further south before shuttering when the company became ROW Entertainment, the precursor to eOne.
When Hits & Misses closed in 2012, it was a hit to punk and hardcore record collectors in Toronto, who had been frequenting the shop (in various locations) for 20 years. Vinyl was just starting to make its big comeback, but the niche focus and Queen West rent conspired to force the longstanding shop to close.
Sunrise Records
A recent casualty of the changing music and entertainment landscape, Sunrise still has a few stores kicking around but the end is nigh. Once a go-to place for concert tickets (I remember many trips to the Yonge and Bloor location for this purpose), the remaining downtown stores were mostly just collections of t-shirts and other memorabilia.
Vortex
Vortex started life in Kensington Market before becoming more popular on Dundas near Church. There might have been another location in there that I've missed, but the only one that I ever shopped at Yonge and Eglinton, which lasted until the end of 2015. When owner Bert Myers announced his retirement, thousands of record collectors shared stories about his legendary stock and helpfulness.
Share your memories of Toronto record shops of yore in the comments.
by Derek Flack via blogTO
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