Phonopolis

Phonopolis has anchored the corner of Bernard and de l'Esplanade since 2010, when founder Nathan Gage relocated his scrappy Avenue du Parc record shop to a proper storefront beside Drawn & Quarterly. Gage opened the original location in 2007 after moving from Victoria with his band Shapes & Sizes, initially selling records from his personal collection to serve a gap in the city's experimental music ecosystem. Jordan Robson-Cramer, who joined early as an employee, took over ownership in 2015 and has continued expanding the inventory since. The current shop stocks new and used vinyl across a deliberately wide range: experimental and local releases sit alongside jazz, soul, hip-hop, folk, and electronic, with a strong 12-inch section catering to the neighbourhood's DJ circuit. The curation remains opinionated without being exclusionary, and the staff are working musicians who know the catalogue cold.