New Zealand Music Features — Record Stores

"You want a bit of competition, do you? I'll give you competition, since you won't last a month”. In response, Murray Shaw of Lo-Cost Records began setting his prices lower and lower. “I just remember trying to get people to come in here” he says. “And it really pissed him off cause I was selling new CDs $10 cheaper than him”. Lo-Cost Records not only survived the month, but the next 32 years, and are still offering the lowest prices for vinyl in the Wellington region.

“You don't come in here to get something quickly and get the hell out” says Creeps Record Parlour owner Apa. “You come in here to relax”

The carefully-curated bins of vinyl at Rough Peel Music have been a destination for collectors on Cuba Street in the country's capital for many years through thick and thin - with owner Paul Huggins holding down the fort. 

Jeremy Taylor has been working at the iconic Slow Boat Records store in the capital for over 22 years. A shop that continues to hold its ground as one of the go-to spots in Aotearoa for music-lovers.