Marcus Barnes has written some of the best DJ and artist profiles in the last 10 years. Now he’s turned to profiling shops – record stores precisely – in a new bound-in-print love letter to every town’s most beloved music institution.
Around The World in 80 Record Stores is Barnes’ third book. It serves as a kind of travelogue/testimonial to 80 of the best record stores on Planet Earth, from Kenya to Thailand.
NME has a sampling of 10, from Happyfeet in Prague to Rockers International (“perhaps the last remaining shop selling reggae on vinyl in Jamaica”) to the Jazzhole in Lagos, Nigeria:
Like many of the world’s best record shops this is more of a cultural hub than a mere place to buy vinyl. Kunle Tejuoso has become somewhat of a African music historian through his endeavours, offering up space for local artists to perform and collaborate while also giving customers the chance to hang out and chill in the shop’s cafe area.
The layout is especially attractive and you’ll likely learn something about music even if you never visit half the countries on the list, much less their best record stores.
Around the World in 80 Record Stores is on sale at Amazon for just $11 bucks in hardcover.
Photo via Marcus Barnes/Twitter
