Located off of St. Denis just south of the Mont-Royal metro, L’Oblique is a cozy and peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of its neighbouring street. The store is split evenly between vinyl and CDs (there’s even a tiny, nostalgic section reserved for cassettes and eight-tracks), and it’s also a ticket outlet for upcoming concerts. There’s a heavy presence of local music-the walls are decorated with posters from releases by local label Constellation-and a small, but well-curated catalogue of independent, folk, punk, and alternative releases. (4333 Rivard St.)

Aux 33 Tours (At 33 RPM) has the largest selection of new and used vinyl you’re likely to find in Montreal, including lots of rare records that are proudly displayed along its walls. This is the place to go if you want the picture disc Czechoslovakian import of that Frank Zappa LP you’ve been searching for.  The store also carries a large amount of Japanese pressings, which are known for their superior everything (sound, production, and packaging), concert tickets, and hundreds of used records for only a couple of bucks. Releases that received four stars or more on Allmusic.com are marked with a sticker indicating its score, making it easy to see if the recording you’re holding received critical acclaim. (1379 Mont-Royal East)

Owned by Nathan Gage, bassist of Shapes and Sizes, Phonopolis first opened on Parc in 2007 before moving to its current, bigger location at Bernard early last year. It remains the go-to place in the Mile End for vinyl and concert tickets, and it’s also one of the only shops in the city to host in-store performances from up-and-coming artists, including Braids, Jennifer Castle, and the Wooden Sky. The store boasts a good selection of new and used records, including large classical and world music sections, and there are weathered gems to be found in the $5 used and discounted stacks in the back. (207 Bernard West)

Sound Central is a record store and hobby shop in the Mile End. The staff’s musical tastes are passionately skewed toward heavy metal, and the store’s shelves are loaded with memorabilia, magazines, Nintendo video games, eight-tracks, and cassettes. Metal fans will be thrilled with Sound Central’s doom metal, stoner rock, and sludge collections, all of which have plenty of shelf space. Don’t miss their bargain record crates either-albums sell for as little as four for $1, and come in both 33 and 45 RPM. (4486 Coloniale)

Primitive Records, just up the street from Beatnick, has an inviting collection of mostly used vinyl and CDs. The homely brick interior and immersive sound system might remind you of the first time you stumbled upon your parents’ vinyl cache. It specializes in classic rock, funk, and soul, but also dedicates plenty of floor space to used cassettes, 45s, and the latest vinyl releases. (3828 St. Denis)

Beatnick is a maze of both vinyl and CDs, a hidden gem among the many quaint shops in the lower Plateau. Weaving through the store is an experience; entire rooms archive enormous amounts of music that span almost every genre imaginable. Nearly every bit of the store is filled with crates of new, used, and rare records-audiophiles and casual listeners alike can easily immerse themselves in the experience of digging through long-lost artifacts, unopened original pressings, and staggering amounts of new releases. (3770 St. Denis)

Atom Heart has been at the centre of Montreal’s electronic music scene since 1999-if you’ve been clubbing at 1234 or Metropolis, chances are, you bought your ticket here-so it’s no surprise that its vinyl repertoire focuses heavily on new techno, trance, ambient, and dubstep releases as well. And if clubbing isn’t your style, Atom Heart has plenty of new and used CDs, and makes speedy request orders, too. (364 Sherbrooke East)

Cheap Thrills is a hop, skip, and jump away from McGill’s downtown campus, making it the ideal place for a quick (or lengthy) browse before, between, or after class. Most of the space is dedicated to new and used vinyl, but there’s an ever-diminishing collection of CDs, a huge selection of secondhand books, and the store carries tickets for most of the promoters in town. Rock, jazz, folk, metal, soul, funk, experimental, and more can be found here, with a mixture of recent and classic releases. You can always expect to find (and hear) the interesting and unexpected. (2044 Metcalfe St.)