This page is currently "sponsored" by Hard To Find Records, who sent me a free gift for sticking this link on my site. That's nice of them. Didn't need bribed, as it's a fantastic place to find tunes that are... well.... Hard to Find. Click on the logo aboveDo.

I know what you're thinking though. A few of you are thinking "Daft Bugger - I know HOW to buy records!! Why's he wasting space with a page like this?!?!" Fair enough - I'll see you lot on the next page!

It's a good idea to read magazines that you trust first. The better ones have a couple of people reviewing the same record, learn who to trust and then take their advice. I'm not saying die by their advice, but it's a good start. Try listening to specialist radio shows, like Pete Tong and Judge Jules etc, keeping in mind what it is you want. Try to tape the shows, and listen to them again later on because sometimes you get distracted and miss the hook that makes a tune perfect (and let's face it, sometimes they say the title and artist a bit too fast - you need to hear it again to get what they said).

When it comes to actually buying the tunes, I know it's been said before, but if you're planning on paying £5 - £15 for a record, even if the hype is huge, or your trusted reviewer loved it, listen to it first. All of the good places either have a listening post, or if you speak to them nicely, should have a deck sitting in the back somewhere. Don't feel as though you have to rush your choices just coz there's a guy standing behind you waiting to get on after you. Remember it's quite a lot of money you're about to spend. Listen to as much of the record as you can, check for scratches and dirt on the record, (there's some real gimps out there who don't now how to treat unsold records) and make sure it doesn't have a hole in it; What I mean is that a tune can be beautiful, but then in the middle it all goes to mush. For some ungodly reason, the artist decided to kill everything, and play twenty seconds of a car alarm going off. If you knew it was gonna be there, then fine, but if it's the first time you have heard it, check the whole thing out.

I mentioned before the lack of manners that can sometimes occur in the bigger stores. Please try to put the records back where you found them, in the same state you found them. And remember that though a lot of the listening posts may use really cheap decks, that's no reason to start messing around with them. A lot of the places won't replace broken decks, and these people are screwing up the chances of vinyl making a huge comeback. (sorry, felt like a vent again)



If you are going down the CD route, and you're looking for commercial stuff, try getting the compilation CD's that are kicking about nowadays. Obviously, go for the unmixed ones, it's a bit pointless trying to use them. The unmixed albums have the tunes on them that everyone's heard, and because you want to play the tunes people know, you won't need the extra mixes that you get on the single. It works out really cost effective that way, 30 tunes for £15.

The other option of course is mail order shopping. You can find a lot of these guys on the internet, and they carry huge back catalogues, so if there's something you're looking for, chances are it's about somewhere. There's a growing number of on-line record stores on the net right now, here's a few I like:-

Juno The great thing about this site is the RA samples of some of the tunes on sale. So if you're not too sure about what you think you're buying, you can check it out here first. In my opinion, this is the best on-line record store in Britain - BY A LONG SHOT!

Hard To Find Records Their site is REALLY big. There's not just the list of over 35,000 records on it, but also a huge store where you can buy your decks, mixers, slipmats, cases, bags, gadgets, headphones, clothing - basically everything you'll need to be a Dj (except a job!!)

Dance Music Finder I've not actually used this site to buy anything from, but it's an alright site. Virtually everything they have in stock, HTFR have too, but you never know when one of them will be sold out. They didn't give me a free gift, so that's all they're getting!!

Replay Records These guys are good. the best thing about them is that not that many people know about them, so the tunes you can't find in Hard To Find etc, might well be stuck in here somewhere. The only thing I'm not too sure about with this lot is that it's not a Secure Server when giving your details on-line, but you can order over the phone anyway.....

Dat Records Owned by 1200s.com and are the Music Store of 1200s.com specializing in Vinyl. Check it out.

HMV There's a lot of people who don't think it's cool to shop at a main street store, but think about it, with all the stores these guys have all over Britain, they're gonna have some good sources for tunes you thought were lost forever. I got my copy of Dana Dawson - 3 is Family from them, a tune which I thought was dead and buried.

Tower Records - Kinda the same as HMV. A lot of people are put off because it's a major chain, but they do have a large selection.

Check out my WEBSHOPPING page for more links to more places.

I know that this IS going to sound silly, but the other thing to think of is what you are going to buy. Yes, I know, by now you have your own style, and you'll be buying records that fall into that style, but there are a few other categories you should think of.

Really it comes down to the age of the record. This then falls into where and how you are playing. You've grown up with certain tunes over the years, quite possibly the ones that actually made you want to be a DJ, so obviously you want to own them for yourself. This is great, it means that all the old tunes you love are now yours to play and mix with. BUT, if you are considering working as a DJ, how many places will be happy for you to play the older tunes? I got out of it by working on a night that deals with the decades anthems, meaning I can play whatever I want, but you might end up spending a lot of money on tunes that you won't be able to play live.

Then there are the brand spanking new tunes to think about. If you don't have a working DJ job yet, think hard about the tunes you are buying, don't buy anything JUST because it's the big tune at the moment, you'll play it once or twice at home, include it in a couple of tapes, then demote it to the back of the record box because its initial appeal has now completely worn off. This happened to me when the DJ Sakin & Friends tune came out. Everyone was going mad for it in Scotland, because of the Braveheart sample, so I bought it, played it a couple of times, and now everyone is sick of it. It might get pulled out in a year or so as a reminder, but with only a couple of plays, I wish I'd bought a tune that I liked to play outside of work more. Of course, you aren't automatically going to know what tunes are going to stand the test of time, some might surprise you into lasting a while, but you should be able to tell, because the one's that will die soon will feel like a compromise when you buy them.

All this though, is aimed at the budgeting DJ, one who doesn't have enough money to buy a hundred records a month, then leave them at bay for the rest of the year. I know that all records have a life expectancy on them, I'm just saying that it's important to buy tunes that you know you'll drag out for your OWN enjoyment, not just that of the dancing crowds!