Colin Palmer pays a visit to a treasure trove of audio delight on black plastic, open for less than five years but a gem of a shop for south Wales record buffs, and hears more from its proprietor Ed Daw.
Once written off as yesterday’s fading, forgotten format, vinyl has not only survived but flourished, remaining the music medium of choice for a significant part of the listening public – not only baby-boomers, but all ages. The long-playing record has undergone a revival over the past decade: 2023’s statistics have it as the biggest-selling physical format in the United States.
Vinyl isn’t just a medium, it’s a statement. For audiophiles, the sound quality is unparalleled – warmer and richer than digital – and for those at the less expensive end of the scale, collecting and playing vinyl is also a way to express identity: a ritualistic act that says something about who we are and what we value. Every record a collector acquires comes with a story of its own. This is the story of one such collector who turned his lifelong passion into a business.
Located on the city’s Whitchurch Road, Cardiff Record Exchange is a brick-and-mortar shop predominantly dedicated to vinyl. Home to thousands of second-hand LPs and 7” singles, with prices starting at 50p and reaching the high hundreds for serious collectors, the stock takes in most genres you could think of: classic rock to classical music, and everything in between.
When owner and proprietor Ed Daw started buying and selling records at car boot sales and record fairs, around 15 years ago, he was working at The Wallich, Wales’ leading homelessness charity. Later working in the NHS mental health services for an eight-year stint, during this period his supplementary income derived mainly from selling classical records online. He’d advertise in Record Collector magazine, rent a van then travel up and down the country to buy a collection.
“Most of the market for selling classical records was over in China,” Ed recalls, standing behind Cardiff Record Exchange’s counter on a rainy day, just before the shop opens for business. “Collectors were prepared to pay thousands of pounds for single records.”
When the buying and selling started to take up most of Ed’s time, he decided to leave the NHS and start his own business, dealing in collectible records on a full-time basis. During the pandemic, Ed made the bold decision to open his own Cardiff shop, doing so in late 2020.

Cardiff Record Exchange’s stock is now mostly sourced from collections brought to the store from their original owners. “The joy of it is that I don’t have to drive up to Grimsby to buy a record collection!” Ed says. “People will come to me.” But the work doesn’t stop there. “All records over £10 are cleaned on a specialist vacuum machine,” explains Ed, “then placed in anti-static inner sleeves and properly graded. I’m fastidious about the quality and condition of records that I put out.”
Customers visit from far and wide. “Cardiff is apparently a really big holiday destination – which you don’t really think about when you live here. I’ve had people from Colombia come in the shop and spend a couple of thousand pounds. People from America, Australia, all over the world really.”
And after eight hours in Cardiff Record Exchange, playing music all day, Ed relaxes at home listening to Tom Waits and Neil Young. “I also love punk music and obscure strange stuff… the great thing about having a shop is I can listen to all sorts of things that I wouldn’t ordinarily expose myself to!”
Whether listening alone at home or sharing with customers and friends, vinyl creates community and connection. It’s about the stories behind the music, the memories of buying that first album, and the joy of rediscovering old favourites. It’s not just about the music, though, but the experience – the feel, the look, and even the smell of vinyl records. Take a trip to Cardiff Record Exchange and join the crate digging renaissance.
Cardiff Record Exchange, 71 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff.
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words and photos COLIN PALMER
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