Music, and by extension – audio, has always been a big part of my life. From back in my high school days playing the guitar with friends during our lunch break, to my college years listening to music on my daily commute to school. I’ve grown to appreciate audio a lot and, being a collector of things, it only made sense for me to delve into the world of vinyl records.
Vinyl? Isn’t that some archaic and outdated technology from the yesteryears of music consumption? Yes, actually. Vinyl, while experiencing a decline starting from the 1990s due to the advent of CDs, have been experiencing a resurgence in popularity due to the millennial and Gen-Z demographic falling in love with the warm analog sound vinyl gives and the tangibility of owning the media that they pay for. The Philippines is not immune to the resurgence of vinyl with multiple record stores popping up online and around Metro Manila. And so, I decided to go on a vinyl shopping spree around Manila to see what these stores hold.
The first store I went to was “The Grey Market Records”, specifically their Katipunan branch. Unfortunately, they did not allow the taking of photographs of and in their store so I will instead try to describe the store experience to the best of my abilities. I found The Grey Market Records through their online store in Shopee and on their Instagram page and it was chock full of vinyl records being put up for sale so I was wondering what kind of record store would have hundreds if not thousands of listings. I think it’s safe for me to say that The Grey Market Records have one of the biggest vinyl selections I have seen so far. Countless LPs line the shelves and boxes located on the walls and the center of the room. Each box has its own number with a store-exclusive classification system. The store also sells record equipment such as speakers, turntables, cleaning equipment such as an anti-static record brush, cleaning fluid, and even an Okki Nokki; a vinyl record cleaning machine worth tens of thousands of pesos. As a courtesy, I decided to buy a record from their extensive selection and I ended up purchasing a copy of Joji’s “Smithereens”, a sadboy classic and Joji’s third studio album. I also found other vinyl that I might get through their Shopee page or, if I can ever visit again, in person.
The next store I went to is “Backspacer Records”, a record store located in Pasig City. I found Backspacer Records while looking for OPM vinyls and, as it turns out, they are one of the shops that carry exclusive OPM vinyls.
Their store had a very cafe-like vibe where people can chill and hang around. They even had an island table on the middle of the store for people to lounge around.
In terms of records, they have a plethora of OPM vinyl in stock and even signed vinyl adorning the store walls.
Unfortunately, at least for me, those signed vinyl were not for sale so I picked up an unsigned copy of Zack Tabudlo’s “Episode” and a copy of RADWIMPS “Forever Daze”.
The last record store I went to on this excursion is a store called “Ted Ellis”. When I first heard about this store, I thought it was a one-person online business but color me surprised when I learned that they have a physical store.
From the looks of things, I could say that their store was very 2010s coded. It was sleek, almost minimalist in design but still carried a vibe that felt at home with a consumerist hobby like music. They carry a lot of new music and artists such as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and other contemporary pop artists like them.
So, of course, I went and looked for some records I’ve been searching for. One is Lauv’s “i met you when i was 18”, an album that still gives me good vibes and feelings. The other record I got was Troye Sivan’s “Bloom”, an album from an artist my friend and I love listening to. I also got a 7’ vinyl single of APT by Rose and Bruno Mars to keep with the times and a copy of Ed Sheeran’s “X” on CD, one of my favorite albums of all time. I could’ve gotten more but the state of my wallet at this point said otherwise.
Of course, in order to listen to vinyl, you would need equipment that can play the music and bring it to an audio device like headphones or speakers. So, I went to one of my favorite stores, “Egghead Audiohub” now known as “Egghead Hi-Fi Gallery”, to view their latest merchandise.
I’ve known about Egghead for about 7 years now as it’s where I get most, if not all, of my audiophile equipment. From my first IEMs to my latest headphones, I got it all here. Unfortunately, the branch I usually go to closed down during the height of the pandemic so I now go to their sole branch in Shangri-La Plaza.
Egghead boasts a wide selection of high end audio equipment from expensive headphones, to even more expensive amplifiers, to even more expensive headphones to turntables and even a small selection of vinyl records.
Audio has always been a big part of my life and will continue to do so until I leave this Earth or my hearing leaves my body. And as long as those two things haven’t happened yet, I will continue listening to the music I enjoy and sharing my love for music and audio to the people around me.
