diggin guide - Toulouse (France).

Toulouse, southern France, is probably one of the best spots in France for digging records. As a lot of record dealers claim rightfully, the ratio inhabitants/record stores is the most prominent on the French territory. Sure, Paris will provide more quantity and eclectism, but Toulouse ain't bad either.

Starting with the only one with a real "euro bin", Paul Emile Vinyls. A good shop, with a lot of variety. The world music section isn't the best you could imagine though. But across the store, you'll find a lot of discounted items and some interesting pieces in all genres, sometimes pricey ones though. And the shop owner is willing to give more discounts at the cash register. You'll have to go through a bit of negociation to listen to a few records. Expect long chats with the owner.

Anthology might well be the most underrated of the Toulouse record stores. The location is really convenient as it is right next to the Capitole square. The owner is a sweet old guy, who's devoted to his business. Old school rules here, as the owner doesn't seem to use a computer or to know new school tools like Discogs. Every time I went there, he gave discounts on all the items I bought, arguing that nobody would buy the records I was buying (mainly Mediterranean music). The most important crates are French variétés, rock music, with a bit of jazz and soul. The world music often provides good surprises, but is not the most interesting one.

Right next to Anthology, Croc Vinyl used to be a disappointed spot. I think I was blaming the store for being too young. Since then, it evolved in the right direction. When entering the shop, the vinyl section is what you get at first ; in the back, you'll find the CD section. The vinyls are well ordered and the variety is nice. A turntable is available to listen to records.

In the same street (rue des Lois), there's Bullitt, which is quite appreciated by casual diggers. The owner also has stands on local markets, especially on the Capitole market on Wednesday and Saturday, Place du Salin on Friday, Place St Aubin on Sunday, and Place Saint-Cyprien on Monday. This info could change without any notice, of course. I remember buying LP's of Ennio Morricone and Francis Lai on the market stand, then being redirected to the main store, where I found interesting pieces, especially in the discount area. 

In the area of Paul Emile Vinyls, stands the 10-year old or so Laboratoire. I saw it opening and evolving. It was widely about CD's before, now it's all about vinyls. Black music (soul, blues, jazz, reggae) is quite a religion here and the selection is fine. Prices are not always attractive, but the selection is quite wide. 

Not in the same area, there's Armadillo, which is also an old shop I used to go back in the days. As for the Laboratoire, Armadillo is mainly about American music. The guy is mainly about rock (all kinds of rock music) and soul music (ah, Curtis Mayfield was in the air when I entered). Don't forget to visit the jazz section, which is a bit hidden next to the counter in the back of the store. This store is often forgotten because it's not in the same area as the other ones, but it's still located downtown. Prices are ok, I bought a few English rock LP's there. Though I enjoyed digging there, I gotta link to Derek's page (bottom of the post), who didn't have a good experience with the owner. 

Vicious Circle is home of punk and hardcore, but there's also a bit of electro and avant-garde hip hop. One thing you should know about Vicious Circle is that they are true to the vinyl game ; they were already doing it at the peak of the vinyl crisis. 

OCB, Le Comptoir Du Rêve and Gibert Joseph have crates of used and new vinyl records. Don't neglect this option, as you could be struck by a good surprise once in a while. Like a Brazilian press of a Françoise Hardy record for example...

I think I've been exhaustive, but I could adjust this diggin guide in future posts, depending on the evolution of the diggin scene in Toulouse.