We were fortunate enough to spend a week in Italy recently, based in Rome, and as always I made a point of checking out as many record stores as I could. Rome doesn’t have the same vinyl reputation as the top tier cities like Tokyo, London, and Berlin, but it has at least 20 shops so I had plenty of opportunities.
Overall I was surprised by the quality of the used releases I looked at – not quite on the level of Japan, but generally speaking everything was in relatively good condition. I also noted a lot of live, unofficial releases, something I didn’t see as much of last year in London and that are pretty uncommon here in the US. As for prices, I found them reasonable for the most part – things seemed in line with Discogs and reported sales on sites like Popsike. As an added bonus, everyone I spoke to in these shops was pleasant, and all of them spoke at least enough English that communicating was not a problem at all.
Welcome To The Jungle Record Store
Via Monte Zebio, 44A, 00195 Roma
This was my favorite record store in Rome, and one I almost passed on visiting. However, we had no plans for our last full day in the city and hadn’t explored anything north of where we were staying near Porta del Popolo, so we took advantage of the nice weather and strolled the quiet residential streets of Della Vittoria to Welcome To The Jungle.
Upon entering it was clear the shop was pretty small and stocked almost exclusively with new releases… at least until the woman working there told me they had used records upstairs. I figured the space above would be about the same size so I wouldn’t need too long to browse, but when I went up the stairs I found myself outside again, then a second set of stairs led me up to what I presume was originally a full apartment and now comprised the “used” portion of the store. And it was impressive. If you’re a jazz fan, Welcome To The Jungle is a must-stop – one entire room was given over to jazz, as was a part of a second smaller room, and there were separate sections not only for Japanese pressings but even a subsection for Japanese Blue Note releases.
Rock is more my jam so I spent most of my time in that room. The alt, indie, and darkwave bins yielded some interesting finds, many of them Italian pressings. At the end of the day I grabbed the unofficial Guns N’ Roses record Appetite For Destruction Alternative Album, a picture disc of live Led Zeppelin from the Europe 1970-71 tour, and Afrodisia Città Libera’s 1985 Stati D’Ansia, a record I’ve seen described as the pinnacle of Italian post-punk. Overall the condition of everything I looked at was excellent and the prices were fair – you probably aren’t going to find any bargains here, but you also won’t need to wade through a bunch of filler.
Transmission
Via dei Salentini, 27, 00185 Roma
Located a short walk from the Roma Termini train station (and near Ultrasuoni Roma below), Transmission is a must-visit for rock fans. The shop was packed with records – the bins well organized and stacks overflowing onto the floor. The rock music is subdivided into various sections – rock, punk, metal, darkwave, alternative, etc., and I found a number of interesting items, including a handful of unofficial live records. There were smaller bins of jazz, reggae, electronica, as well as a healthy selection of Italian artists.
Of all the stores we visited, Transmission is the one I probably would have liked to spend more time at – I feel like digging would be rewarded here. The prices were quite reasonable and the records I looked at were all in very good shape. But alas, it had been a long day and my feet were hurting, so after about 20 minutes I came away with three records – two unofficial Led Zeppelin records (Spare Parts and The Hard Way To Heaven) and Statico Senso, the 2001 release by Italian hardcore band Contrasto.
Ultrasuoni Roma
Via dei Marsi, 24a, 00185 Roma
Like Transmission, Ultrasuoni Roma is located near the Roma Termini train station. Unlike Transmission, however, Ultrasuoni specializes in electronic music. Separate sections broke things down a bit – house, techno, Italo-disco, etc., and a two-turntable listening station is available, which is helpful both for regular customers like me as well as DJs. I grabbed records by Italian producers Adiel, Cosimo Damiano, Dove Quiete, and Lamanna, all of who are new to me.
Goody Music Srl
Via Flaminia, 27, 00196 Roma
Like Ultrasuoni, Goody Music specializes in electronic music and also sells DJ equipment. The shop is relatively compact, but the bins are deep and full of interesting treasures, both new and used. I only walked out with one record, Lorenzo Fortino’s chill 2020 release Spazio Ai Veri, though I could just have easily left with a dozen. At the end of the day, there was only so much room in my bag.
Radiation Records
Via di S. Francesco a Ripa, 168, 00153 Roma (multiple locations)
Radiation Records has multiple locations in Rome, but we only stopped into the one in Trastevere. This is definitely the best spot I found for punk music, with a large selection of new and used releases including some higher priced items on the wall. There were also healthy sections for metal, new wave, and Italian hip hop. Finding things I wanted to buy wasn’t the hard part, it was whittling those options down to a reasonable number. At the end of the day I grabbed the recently released 1983 concert by CCCP Fedeli Alla Linea called Altro Che Nuovo Nuovo, 1982s Stop Jap by Japanese OG punk band The Stalin, and an experimental album titled Vago Libero by Lamusa Il.
Sleeve Records
Via dei Banchi, 15r, 50123 Firenze
We made a day trip to Florence on the high speed train, though had to cut it a bit short due to the rain (which we did not dress for…). However, we did have enough time to pop into the lovely little Sleeve Records, a small but well-curated store. The owner is a super nice guy and we got to chat a bit, and he helped me pick out some records by Italian artists – Wyxmer’s 1992 metal album The Syre Of, Lorenzo Morresi’s house record Music For Closed Airports, and a live 2XLP from the 1989 Arezzo Wave festival. You won’t need a lot of time to see everything in the shop, but it will be well-worth the stop, I promise.