The Best Bars with Vinyl Records in the World

There is a particular quality to bars that still spin records. The ritual of pulling a sleeve from the rack, lowering the needle, and letting the crackle fill the room signals something different from a playlist shuffled by algorithm. These are bars where the music is chosen with the same intention as the drinks list — and where staff will stop mid-shift to play a track they've been thinking about all week.

We've tracked down 14 of the best. They range from a basement in Tokyo where the bar owner has 30,000 records sorted by pressing year, to a New York cocktail room where the turntable sits at the centre of the bar like an altar. What they all share is an understanding that music and drinking are not background and foreground. They are the same thing.

New York

Good Room

Greenpoint, Brooklyn · $$ · Open Thu–Sun from 10pm

Technically a club, but the front bar operates as a record bar most evenings — resident DJs playing vinyl only, no digital. The speaker system alone justifies the trip. The back room runs house and techno until dawn, but the bar up front is where the serious collectors congregate. Order a low-ABV spritz and stay close to the booth if you want to see what's on the deck.

Turntable Bar

Lower East Side, Manhattan · $$ · Open Wed–Sun from 6pm

The record collection here runs 4,000 deep, spanning soul, jazz, reggae, and classic rock. Guests can request records at the bar — the bartenders will pull them and cue them up between sets. Drinks are straightforward: a tight cocktail list of 8, good beer on tap, no elaborate garnishes. The point is the music. We recommend getting there before 9pm to actually hold a conversation.

New York's vinyl bar scene is concentrated in hidden gems across Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. For the full picture of where to drink in Manhattan, see our New York bar guide — but the best record bars rarely appear on the obvious lists. They find you.

London

Brilliant Corners

Dalston, East London · $$ · Open Tue–Sun from 5pm

Named after the Thelonious Monk album. The sound system — a custom-built Klipschorn rig — is the best in London by some margin. Jazz, soul, and funk play at volumes that reward listening without preventing conversation. The drinks list is short and excellently composed: natural wines, draft sake, a handful of cocktails. No DJ on weeknights, just records chosen by whoever is behind the bar.

Kristiansen's

Bermondsey, South London · $ · Open Fri–Sat from 8pm

A proper underground find. The space holds 30 people at a push. The owner has been buying records since 1989 and plays from a collection that rewards deep listening — Ethiopian jazz, Brazilian funk, Scandinavian soul. Drinks are beer and wine only, served cold. Arrive before 9pm to get inside. This is one of the best hidden gem bars in London and barely anyone knows it exists.

Tokyo

Tokyo has a listening bar culture unlike anywhere else in the world. The term "listening bar" is taken seriously here — Tokyo's hidden gem bars include venues where talking loudly is as frowned upon as taking calls, because the music is the primary experience.

Bar Samboa Listening Room

Ginza, Tokyo · $$$ · Open daily from 6pm

One of the originals. The owner has curated 30,000 records organised by label and pressing year. Guests sit at the bar on high stools facing the speakers — not each other. Whisky is the drink of choice, and the selection runs to 200 bottles of Japanese single malt. This is where you go to hear a 1958 pressing of Kind of Blue exactly as it was mastered.

Jazz Bar Basie

Ichinoseki, Iwate (day trip from Tokyo) · $$ · Open daily from 6pm

Three hours north of Tokyo but worth the journey. 10,000 jazz records, including original Blue Note pressings bought directly from New York in the 1960s. The owner, now in his 80s, still runs the sessions. At volume, through vintage JBL speakers, it sounds like the band is in the room with you. A pilgrimage for anyone serious about jazz.

Berlin and Amsterdam

Mobius

Neukölln, Berlin · $ · Open Wed–Sun from 7pm

A wine bar that takes vinyl seriously. The two rooms are connected by a shared turntable that alternates between jazz, soul, and ambient depending on the night. The natural wine list focuses on German and Austrian producers, priced reasonably for the quality. Berlin's hidden gem bar scene includes dozens of spaces like this that never appear on travel blogs.

Plato's

Jordaan, Amsterdam · $$ · Open Mon–Sat from 4pm

A brown cafe that moonlights as a record bar on weekends. The shelves are floor to ceiling with albums — customers are invited to pull records and make requests. The owner, a former record shop employee, specialises in Dutch and Belgian pressing rarities. Jenever and craft beer are the drinks to order. Amsterdam's craft beer bars rarely have this kind of music programme alongside them.

Los Angeles and Chicago

Gold Diggers

East Hollywood, Los Angeles · $$ · Open daily from 4pm

Part recording studio, part hotel, part bar — and all of them excellent. The bar runs vinyl sets every evening, with guest DJs spinning soul and funk on weekends. The cocktail list is LA-influenced (citrus-forward, seasonal) and well priced for the quality. A residency bar in the truest sense: the artists upstairs are usually the DJs downstairs.

Sonotheque

West Town, Chicago · $$ · Open Wed–Sun from 7pm

Chicago's longest-running vinyl bar, with a pair of Technics 1200s behind the bar and a resident DJ roster that rotates weekly. The room is deliberately designed for listening: low lighting, no TVs, a bar that runs along one wall facing the speakers. Strong cocktail programme with a focus on classic formats done properly.

Paris and Lisbon

Le Carmen

Pigalle, Paris · $$$ · Open daily from 6pm

The house of Georges Bizet, converted into one of Paris's most beautiful bars. The music policy is vinyl only until midnight, after which the DJ switches to digital for the late crowd. Soul, nu-jazz, and bossa nova dominate. The cocktail list is ambitious and seasonal. This is the bar we send friends to when they want Paris's best cocktail bar atmosphere with music that rewards attention.

ZDB

Bairro Alto, Lisbon · $ · Open Tue–Sat from 4pm

An arts space with a bar attached, or a bar with an arts space attached depending on who you ask. The gallery walls rotate every few weeks. The turntable is permanent. Vinyl sets lean toward post-punk, fado, and African music — a genuinely Lisbon mix. The drinks are cheap, the crowd is local, and the afternoons here have a quality that longer evenings rarely match.

How to Find More Vinyl Bars

The vinyl bar world does not publicise itself. Most of the best places have no Instagram presence, no listings on Google Maps, and no reservations policy. They survive on word of mouth and returning regulars. The best approach in any new city is to visit a record shop during the day and ask the staff where they drink. Record shop employees know every vinyl bar within walking distance, and they will tell you honestly which ones are good.

For city-specific guides, our music lovers guide to New York and guides to live music bars in New York cover the full range of music-focused venues. The overlap between vinyl bars and jazz bars is significant — if you enjoy one, you will almost certainly enjoy the other.