This Saturday (April 18) is Record Store Day. That means hundreds of locations across the UK will be abuzz at the weekend with rabid vinyl collectors looking to get their hands on special editions and rare copies.
Of course, it’s great to support record stores all year round, but the locations having a special day in the calendar to shift exclusive copies along with their usual collections provides a much-needed celebration of the art of physical media collection, particularly in the age of streaming.
Record Store Day has been running since 2007, with this year shaping up to be another huge one with more than 300 participating independent shops in the UK & Ireland.
It’s important to note that the special RSD stock, including limited vinyl released just for the day itself, so if you wish to get your hands on one, you’ll need to head out to your local record store on Saturday to purchase a copy.
In some instances, remaining stock will be permitted for online sale by the record stores from Monday (April 20), though in many cases, copies will sell out on the day itself.
London participating record stores for RSD 2026
Below is a list of all the record store days within 12 miles of Central London, as noted on the official Record Store Day website. These stores
- Rough Trade Vintage
- Sounds of the Universe
- Rough Trade Denmark Street
- Sister Ray
- Reckless Records
- Phonica Records
- Honest Jon’s Records – Lower Stable Street
- Raven Records
- Flashback Records (Islington)
- Rough Trade East
- Flashback Records (Shoreditch)
- Dash The Henge Store
- World Of Echo
- Pure Vinyl Records
- Lion Vibes
- Lion Records
- Rough Trade West
- Honest John Records (Portobello Road)
- Peckham Soul
- Stranger Than Paradise
- Maestro Records
- Next Door Records
- Next Door Records 2
- Soul Brother
- Flashback Records (Crouch End)
- Casbah Records
- Dreamhouse Records
- Level Crossing Records
- Revolution Records Penge
- Books On The Rise
- Raven Retail
- Eel Pie Records
- Banquet Records
- Roan Records
- Cruisin Records
What special releases are coming this year for Record Store Day 2026?
To get an extensive view of all the different varieties of records coming this year, you’ll need to take a proper browse of the Record Store Day website. There are quite simply too many to list out in full here!
But, there is, as always, a beautiful crop of vinyl ready to find a place in your collection, from some exciting names that include (-deep breath-): The Rolling Stones, Bring Me The Horizon, Charli XCX, Blur, David Bowie, Mark Lanegan, Fleetwood Mac, Bad Brains, The Cure, Black Sabbath, Gil Scott-Heron, CMAT, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Doors, Talking Heads, Robert Plant, PinkPantheress, Courteeners, Jeff Buckley, The Who, Madness, The Human League, Van Halen, Ramones, King Crimson, Misfits, Dijon, Kae Tempest, Lucy Dacus, Steely Dan, The Kinks, Dinosaur Jr, Ethel Cain, Pavement, Stone Temple Pilots, Napalm Death, The Orb, Divorce, Faithless, Slint, The Everly Brothers, Grateful Dead, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Weezer, Kodaline, Peter Gabriel, Sonic Youth, Primal Scream, Self Esteem, Scott Weiland, TV Girl, Wolf Alice, Ziggy Marley, and many, many more.
These all range from 7″ EPs of old demos to live recordings to new studio recordings just for Record Store Day. Make sure you head out to peruse the shelves this weekend, and try not to check your bank balance when you arrive back home – it only comes around once a year, after all.
Record Store Day 2026 takes place across the UK on Saturday, April 18. Find out all you need to know about Record Store Day on its official website.
