Cosmos Records

When I was younger, I used to dismiss Cosmos as the unnecessarily expensive record store — and I never bothered frequenting this place too much. Now older and wiser, I really appreciate Cosmos — staff are super knowledgeable about pretty much every record in the shop, the selection is really well curated and there are seriously tons of gems in here. Side note: the shopkeeper there that day (not Aki) told me that they source many of their records from a dealer in Ohio.

Just down the street from hipster-​haven, AKA, Rotate This, you’ll find Cosmos. Two locations actually: The original and the new one down the street.
Unlike Rotate, this place is about music rather than image or snobbery. if you want an education, you’ll get one here — without eye-​rolling, snickering or any general try-​hard bull shit you’ll find at Rotate.
This place is basically mecca for soul, funk, psyche, brazilian, latin, afro, jazz and hip hop collectors. It’s world renowned in fact. But even given its international repertoire, you’d never know it based on the friendliness of the staff. Zero attitude. Always.
But, truth be told, this is likely not the right fit for an amateur collector. Yes, the prices are high. BUT, that’s what these records are worth. They’re rare. So the prices reflect that.
But, if you’re a huge nerd like me, and records are basically your heroin, Aki is the most reliable dealer in town.

Awesome selection. One of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m partial to their selection of rare groove, funk, soul and hip hop so I immediately fell in love with this place. I however wasn’t in love with their prices. Certain records were priced okay but overall they were too expensive. I still picked up a couple things and I’m sure everyone could find something but it’s definitely not a place I could frequent often.

Really fantastic record store with cool vinyl selection and a helpful store owner with an encyclopedic knowledge of music.
I’m not a DJ. I’m not a huge collector. I’m a regular gal who loves music and enjoys finding gems, those rare diamonds that you can listen to over and over.
You should check it out.

Best record store in town. Among the best on the continent actually. Aki, the store owner is a record connoisseur. I wish i knew where he sourced his vinyl from. Private estates I bet. I think he actually flies around doing deals. Anyway, the place is pricy, but where else are you going to find an original pressing of «Weldon Irvine — Spirit Man» or «Bill Mason — Gettin off» on the shelf?
I’ve picked up some of my favorites albums at this place. Things like:
Rusty Bryant — Friday Night Funk for Saturday Night Brothers
Clifford Coulter — East Side San Jose
Jimmy Mcgriff — Stump Jiuce
among others. Keep in mind, these records were picked up 5 – 10 years ago when you couldn’t get these albums on CD.
I mainly go there for jazz/​funk records but he also specializes in all kinds of obscure latin jazz, soul, funk and hip hop stuff. Check it out.
Yet to check out the new store. I will have to one of these days.

This is the original Cosmos location and thank God it was not destroyed during that massive Queen Street fire (it was only two shops away from getting hit). There’s a reason they opened a second, larger location as this little nugget is incredibly tiny. Popping up the stairs to the two listening stations can get very cozy when you’re sharing the space with another crate-​digger.
This shop is mainly for the collectors and DJs out there. Many famous people have rolled through in the past years, including Madlib and MF Doom who were featured on The New Music during their visit. The people who work here are no joke — they know their records and they know them well. You’re not likely to get much of a deal here and if you are looking for some classic funk or soul expect to pay from $ 40 to $ 300 dollars for a single record. I have bought many great classic hip-​hop 12-​inches here though for about $ 10 – 15 which is completely fair. They have dollar bins but those records are in there for a reason. On the lower shelves they have some nice albums but usually in poor condition. But if you’re not obsessed with near-​mint copies this is your chance to get some Al Green and Curtis Mayfield for under 10 bones.
Staff are amazing. They will usually be playing new arrivals on the sound system so you might hear some great tunes in the process. If you get to know the staff well enough (which is not hard for repeat customers) they will throw you some tax-​free breaks if you pay cash. Be knowledgable though… Don’t drop $ 100 on a record unless it’s worth it because Cosmo’s (like most record shops) are notorious for jacking up the price because there’s always going to be some young chump willing to drop a bill on a Dilla sample.