Dear digger, to be honest with you, Helsinki is not where you're going to fill your record bag! But if you happen to be there during a "northern lights & heavy metal" trip, it would be a shame not to visit the dozen or so record stores in the city center to drop a few bills. After gobbling a salmon croissant by the sea, here's the route we suggest.
Digelius Music
The name of the joint doesn't suggest a very rock atmosphere, and in fact, we are in a purely jazz/folk/classical universe here, with a good dose of Finnish artists thrown in. The place smells a bit like mothballs, it must be admitted, but remains welcoming and allows you to unearth classic vinyl records with delightful sleeves in the €1 bins. The jazz section seemed particularly sharp to us, and the gentleman at the counter probably won't forgive you for the slightest lapse in taste. See their website.
Kult
Let's be honest right away, given the bones in the window, the boss's piercings, the satanic t-shirts, and the all-black album covers on the shelves, we didn't dare go in to ask for the Belle & Sebastian section!
Levykauppa Ax
The first representative of this chain, here is a classic record store offering 2/3 new vinyl records, 1/3 CDs, and a rather vast selection for those willing to pay a high price (between €20 and €25). Also noteworthy are the many exclusive box sets and some t-shirts, often metal-oriented.
Levykauppa Keltainen
Again, and logically, the same offer for this second store of the brand with the nuclear logo, but with a more impressive stock and some bins of used vinyl records, unfortunately without any (good) surprises.
Green Grass
At this point in the morning, I won't hide the fact that our digger morale is at its lowest. This is the moment not to miss the discreet entrance of Green Grass, which you spot more by the €1 bin outside than by its storefront. In two rooms packed to the brim, Green Grass reconciles you with Finland through the quality of its 100% used vinyl records and its very reasonable prices. Here you'll find the Talk Talk remixes album, rareties from The Selecters, a mint Housermartins for €6, and the kitschy Top Of The Pop records picked from the €1 bins. The icing on the cake is that the owner rounds down to the nearest ten without being asked! Caution: cash only.
When there's no more...
Red Hills Records and Fennica closed, and we also ran out of time to explore Music Hunter, Hippie Shake, Fuga Oy, and other Black & White stores further north. Did we miss something unmissable?
