Vinyl never really left Ottawas Hintonburg neighbourhood, and The Record Centre has spent more than a decade proving it. Founded in 2011, the independent record store has grown from a single storefront into two connected locations on Wellington Street West, with the main shop at 1099 Wellington and a second space, known as Record Centre Too, just down the block at 1112 Wellington, together giving the business enough floor space to stock a genuinely deep catalog rather than a thin greatest hits selection.
The shops core business is new and used vinyl records spanning classic rock, jazz, and progressive music alongside countless other genres, with inventory that ranges from well loved vintage pressings to brand new releases, limited editions, and special box sets aimed at serious collectors. Alongside the records themselves, The Record Centre stocks hi end audio equipment, from turntables to speakers, making it a destination not just for people building a record collection but for anyone assembling or upgrading the system they play that collection on. Used records are graded with detailed condition notes, a practice that matters to collectors who want to know exactly what they are paying for before a purchase, whether that is a common reissue or a harder to find original pressing.
The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 4pm, hours generous enough to accommodate both weekday browsers on their way through Hintonburg and weekend crate diggers with more time to spend flipping through the bins. Hintonburg itself has become one of Ottawas most walkable, independently minded retail strips, and a two location vinyl shop anchoring a stretch of Wellington Street West fits naturally into that neighbourhood identity, drawing repeat customers who treat a visit less like a quick errand and more like an afternoon spent digging through stock that changes constantly as new collections and consignments come through the door.
What sets The Record Centre apart from a typical used record shop is the combination of scale, shipping reach, and its own editorial voice. The business ships records across Canada, offering free shipping on orders over 200 dollars, and reaches customers well beyond the country entirely, with US orders shipped via FedEx at a flat 45 dollar CAD rate, meaning collectors far from Ottawa can still access the shops curated selection. The business also runs its own blog, using it to spotlight specific collections, musical themes, and new arrivals, giving the store a voice beyond the retail floor and helping it build a following among vinyl collectors who may never set foot in Hintonburg but still follow what the shop has in stock.
Since opening in 2011, The Record Centre has positioned itself as Ottawas premier vinyl destination, a claim backed by the breadth of its two location footprint, its mix of new and vintage stock, and its parallel focus on the audio gear that turns a record collection into a real listening setup. For collectors hunting a specific pressing, casual listeners rebuilding a collection from scratch, or anyone looking to pair records with quality sound equipment, the shop offers a one stop destination in the heart of Hintonburg.
In short, The Record Centre is Ottawas long running, two location vinyl and hi end audio shop in Hintonburg, combining new and used records across every genre with turntables and speakers and nationwide shipping for collectors who cannot visit Wellington Street West in person.
