Kops Records

Cool place with good selection of new releases, but also some vintage rarities. They happened to have a lot of blues when I was in. Prices were better than other shops I hit in Toronto.
Purchased some random Enja discs, but not super exciting artists. I’d definitely visit again next time I’m in Toronto — even if they don’t have anything the Koreatown location is awesome for grabbing dinner afterwards!

Shame about the serious neglect of electronic music, especially considering enthusiasts of electronic music buy more records than anyone else. Otherwise a good store, they sell nice portable Numark players for about 120 dollars and have a good blues section as well as some well-​priced 90’s hip hop records.

Having a new record shop in the neighbourhood has brought me much joy! This is the second location of the family owned business.
While Sonic Boom is a huge and forever awesome Annex spot, this is totally different. Kops is a small and carefully curated shop a few minutes away in the great and ever evolving Koreatown strip. They have a good selection of Rockabilly, Psych/​Garage, interesting compilations and rare presses. The owner is knowledgeable and has shared some interesting and freaky tidbits with me (e.g. Rockabiliy singer Ray Smith shot himself in front of a live audience). There are a few other people who work there, including the owner’s cute and shy son.
There’s a listening station in the store if you want to check something out and bargain bins to dig through outside in the front if you feel like kopping some cheapies.

I mostly come here for jazz records, but have also come away with the giant fold-​out Black Moses by Isaac Hayes ($ 35), an original (if scuffed) copy of Johnny Cash’s first Sun LP (also $ 35), and a mono Pet Sounds ($ 65). I’ve found dozens of CTI records, all in excellent condition ($ 8-​$ 20), as well as early Blue Note, Riverside, ECM, and Impulse pressings in varying condition and prices. Occasional recent reissues of classics are sprinkled throughout. It’s true, prices are a few dollars more than other stores or online, but then there are many things I’ve found here that are hard to find in excellent condition and I’ve been willing to pay the difference for the convenience of having them right in my hands.
Overall, in addition to the usual 60s-​80s suspects, there is a particular emphasis on blues, soul, rockabilly, country, and Canadian folk and rock, with a wall of rare records priced from around $ 30 all the way up to $ 1000 for a third state mono Beatles butcher cover. Look for a couple bins of records that would normally be priced $ 25+ if they didn’t have a few too many scratches and/​or damaged sleeves. There’s often really good stuff in there, if you’re willing to put up with some surface noise and a water-​damaged cover. There are hundreds of 45s in the back too, all reasonably priced.
Two final things: make sure to ask for sleeves for your (non-​bargain bin) records when you pay, and watch out for a certain smarmy employee who only likes «pre-​1965 Stones». I shouldn’t have to explain further.