Cosmos West Records

Expensive, yes. But I found titles just not available anywhere else in the city and I visited EVERY vinyl store over the 5 days I was in TO this summer. I will be back here again.

If you are an amateur record collector, this is probably not the place for you. The prices are high for sure, but there isn’t another place in the city, and maybe only a few in the world, that have this extensive a quality selection of Jazz records. To have this kind of selection of rare used records available at your fingertips, it’s worth paying a bit of a premium. Some prices are too high for sure, but many are quite reasonable for the quality and rarity of the records they offer.

I stopped in Cosmos on a 5 hour whirlwind tour of record shops in Toronto today (went to Pandemonium, Good Music, Cosmos, and both Kops). This is a five-​star shop except for a few issues. They have records that nobody else has. First pressings of Andrew Hill’s Blue Note albums. Japanese imports of free and soul jazz. Private pressings with Don Cherry as a player… what!?!
I bought two records (I didn’t ask how much the Andrew Hill records were, just to avoid the temptation). One was a Hannibal Peterson Japan-​only release for $ 60. That’s cheaper than you can get it on Discogs or Ebay once you factor shipping, and I got to listen to it before buying. So really it was a good deal. The other was a $ 20 Mal Waldron Trio record, import from Germany on Enja. That’s a very reasonable price, I’ve paid $ 30 and more for similarly rare Enja releases.
The only reason I don’t give the fifth star:
1. If an album is over $ 50 then I’d like to have it cleaned. He has a record cleaning machine and the really expensive stuff had been washed from what I could tell, but I’d like to see $ 50 as the threshold for a nice cleaning.
2. Some records were more than I would expect given the pressing. A United Artists era pressing of Jackie Mclean Demon’s Dance was about twice the Popsike average.
3. The turntable at the listening station had some issues. The cuing lever was not functioning, so I had to hand cue. I trust myself to do this (I do it at home), but I hate to think of how many records have been gouged by others.

Way over priced, and the owner is very pushy. Bought a couple of jazz records checked online to see there value and the mark up was 90%. Bottom line STAY AWAY!

For vinyl aficionados, Cosmo West Records is a great place to find hard-​to-​music.
For lovers of jazz, soul, rock, psychedelic and blues, this little shop is a must stop for collectors but be warned: you can easily spend a fortune here. I know, I’ve done this.
Its owner, Aki Abe, is a true vinyl fan who knows his product and scours record shops locally and around the world, buying quality records. He is an encyclopedia when it comes to the type of record, its stamp, the issue, etc. His friendly and welcoming personality invites his customers to ask him questions and once he gets to know your style and interests, he’ll even suggest artists that you might like, which is a great salesman tactic.
While I have heard some people mention that the prices listed at Cosmo West are on the expensive side. Much of their items are rare and limited editions, but it’s certainly competitive to other shops in the area. It’s also a good place to find that one-​of-​a-​kind gem you’ve been looking for.
Be sure to also check out its sister store down the street for hip-​hop, soul, and rap records.