Where to Buy Vinyl in Budapest: Six Record Shops and a Sunday Record Fair
On this page
- 📋 At a Glance
- The Shops at a Glance
- Wave, Révay köz
- Lemezkuckó, Király utca
- MG Records, Üllői út
- Deep, Aradi utca
- Aktrecords, Ó utca
- Neon Music and Musicland, Almássy tér
- LemezPiac, the Sunday Record Fair
- Hungarian Pressings: Hungaroton, Qualiton, Pepita
- Buying Tips: Grading, Prices, Payment, the Flight Home
- A Record Shop Afternoon on Foot
- The Verdict
- 📱 Been to one of these shops?
- Related Articles
Wave, at Révay köz 1 near St. Stephen’s Basilica, has sold records since 1989 and is the first stop for vinyl in Budapest: new and secondhand, with whole sections of Hungarian releases. Five more independent shops sit within a short ride of it, they open Monday to Saturday, and on one Sunday a month the LemezPiac record fair fills the Gömb Aula at ELTE’s Lágymányos campus from 10:00 to 16:00, free to enter.
The shops split neatly by what they are good at. Wave and Lemezkuckó are where you dig for Hungarian rock, jazz and folk, Deep, Aktrecords and Neon Music serve the electronic crowd, and MG Records is the shop for new pressings across the mainstream. A weekday afternoon covers four of them on foot.
📋 At a Glance
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| 💿 New and used, Hungarian sections | Wave, Révay köz 1, District VI |
| 📦 Crate digging, CDs and cassettes too | Lemezkuckó, Király utca 67, District VII |
| 🆕 New pressings, all genres | MG Records, Üllői út 31, District IX |
| 🎛️ Electronic, new releases | Deep, Aradi utca 22, District VI |
| 🎧 Electronic, new and used | Aktrecords, Ó utca 35, District VI |
| 🔊 Ninja Tune, Warp, K7 | Neon Music and Musicland, Almássy tér 8, District VII |
| 📅 Record fair | LemezPiac, ELTE Gömb Aula, one Sunday a month, free |
| 🚫 Skip if | You only want new chart releases; any big electronics chain sells those |
The Shops at a Glance
| Shop | Best for | New or used | Mon to Fri | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Hungarian rock, jazz, hip hop, alternative | Both | 11:00-19:00 | 11:00-17:00 | Closed |
| Lemezkuckó | Digging, Hungarian music, CDs | Both | 10:00-18:00 | 10:00-13:00 | Not listed |
| MG Records | New pressings, Record Store Day releases | Mostly new | 11:00-19:00 | 10:00-14:00 | Closed |
| Deep | Electronic, hip hop, drum and bass | New | 11:00-19:00 | 12:00-16:00 | Not listed |
| Aktrecords | Techno, house, used electronic | Both | 12:00-19:00 | 12:00-16:00 | Not listed |
| Neon Music | Ninja Tune, Warp, K7 catalogs | New | 11:00-19:00 | Closed | Closed |
Source: hours read on wave.hu, lemezkucko.hu, mgrecords.hu/kapcsolat, deep.hu, aktrecords.hu and neonmusic.hu, checked 4 November 2026.
Wave, Révay köz
What it is: A record shop that has traded since 1989 and now sits in a small lane off Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út. It calls itself a record store for new and second hand, and its own site sorts the stock into Hungarian releases, fresh Hungarian jazz and Hungarian hip hop, beside LPs, CDs and cassettes from everywhere else.
Why go: For Hungarian music on vinyl, new and secondhand, under one roof: the shop keeps its own sections for Hungarian releases, Hungarian jazz and Hungarian hip hop. The room is small.
Tip: Looking for one particular record? The shop’s contact page takes requests to reserve titles, so ask before you cross town for it.
The facts:
- Révay köz 1, 1065 Budapest, a short walk from St. Stephen’s Basilica.
- Monday to Friday 11:00 to 19:00, Saturday 11:00 to 17:00, closed on Sunday.
Source: wave.hu and wave.hu/contact, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
Lemezkuckó, Király utca
What it is: The “record nook” on the quiet end of Király utca, a CD shop by name that also sells LPs, cassettes and DVDs, with its own category for secondhand vinyl and long runs of Hungarian music, including magyar nóta, the Hungarian popular song tradition.
Why go: For the hunt. Give it an hour, not ten minutes, and expect to find something you did not come for. Its webshop lists far more titles than the shop holds; the shop itself says that not everything online is on the shelves at Király utca 67, so ask them before you make a special trip for one title.
Tip: Go on a weekday. Saturday hours end at 13:00.
The facts:
- Király utca 67, 1077 Budapest, a few minutes’ walk from Oktogon.
- Monday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday 10:00 to 13:00.
Source: lemezkucko.hu, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
MG Records, Üllői út
What it is: A vinyl shop and webshop on Üllői út, close to Corvin-negyed metro station, selling new pressings across rock, pop, electronic, hip hop and jazz, with a large Hungarian section. The shop writes about Record Store Day releases on its own blog, and limited editions turn up on its shelves.
Why go: If the record you want is a current release or a reissue, this is where it is most likely to be in stock. The flip side is the selection: it is broad rather than odd, so collectors after obscure secondhand pressings do better at Wave or Lemezkuckó.
The facts:
- Üllői út 31, 1091 Budapest.
- Monday to Friday 11:00 to 19:00, Saturday 10:00 to 14:00, closed on Sunday.
Source: mgrecords.hu/kapcsolat, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
Deep, Aradi utca
What it is: The electronic music shop of the Aradi utca crowd, run by deep music kft., with a catalog that runs from house and techno to drum and bass, breakbeat, hip hop and funk. It takes part in Record Store Day every year and posts the details on its site.
Why go: For new electronic releases sorted by genre, and for Record Store Day, which the shop takes part in every year.
The facts:
- Aradi utca 22, 1062 Budapest, a short walk from Oktogon.
- Monday to Friday 11:00 to 19:00, Saturday 12:00 to 16:00.
Source: deep.hu, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
Aktrecords, Ó utca
What it is: A record shop in Ó utca, behind the Opera, which describes itself as one of the longest-running record shops in Hungary with an electronic music range. New stock arrives every week, the used section changes all the time, and the shop is also the Hungarian reseller of Carhartt WIP and Obey clothing, so expect racks of streetwear beside the bins.
Why go: Techno and house twelve-inches are the core, with ambient and a little else on the side, so pop fans will find little. Come with a list of labels, not a vague mood. The used stock is not listed online, so the only way to browse it is in person in the shop.
The facts:
- Ó utca 35, 1066 Budapest, between the Opera and Oktogon.
- Monday to Friday 12:00 to 19:00, Saturday 12:00 to 16:00.
Source: aktrecords.hu, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
Neon Music and Musicland, Almássy tér
What it is: The shop of Neon Music Hungary, a distributor since 2002, which has run its own store with Musicland on Almássy tér since 2010. Ninja Tune, K7 and Warp are its main foreign partners, and by its own account it has the widest choice of their records and CDs in Hungary.
Why go: If your shelf at home leans toward those labels, this is the room in Budapest with the most of them. Musicland, which shares the shop, also organizes the LemezPiac record fair. Plan around the hours: it opens on weekdays only.
The facts:
- Almássy tér 8, 1077 Budapest.
- Monday to Friday 11:00 to 19:00, closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Source: neonmusic.hu, address and hours checked 4 November 2026.
LemezPiac, the Sunday Record Fair
Once a month, on a Sunday, LemezPiac turns the round hall of ELTE’s Lágymányos campus into a record market: vinyl, CDs and music rarities on long rows of tables, with free entry. The organizer, musicland.hu kft., calls it Hungary’s largest record fair. Doors are open to buyers from 10:00 to 16:00, through entrance II of the Gömb Aula at Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, by the Buda end of Petőfi Bridge.
| Date | Note |
|---|---|
| Sunday 15 November 2026 | Signing by Napoleon Boulevard and a record launch with signing by Moby Dick |
| Sunday 13 December 2026 | |
| Sunday 17 January 2027 | |
| Sunday 14 February 2027 | |
| Sunday 14 March 2027 | |
| Sunday 18 April 2027 |
Getting there: trams 4 or 6, or bus 212, to Petőfi híd, budai hídfő, then about five minutes on foot; tram 1 to Infopark, about ten minutes on foot; or buses 107 and 154 to Egyetemváros-A38 hajóállomás, a minute from the door. Drivers get a free 300-space car park in front of the building.
Worth knowing before you go: the fair only provides the room. Every sale is between you and the seller, and the organizer takes no part in it, so look the record over at the table. The house rules also make you liable for any damage you cause, a scratched disc or a torn sleeve included, so handle other people’s stock the way you would want yours handled. Children under 14 need an adult with them.
Source: dates, venue, hours and directions read on bplp.hu, bplp.hu/category/idopontok, bplp.hu/helyszin and the house rules, checked 4 November 2026.
Hungarian Pressings: Hungaroton, Qualiton, Pepita
Most old Hungarian records you will meet in a Budapest crate came out of one company. The Hungarian state founded its record company in 1951 under the name Qualiton, renamed it Hungaroton in the mid-1960s as exports grew, kept the Qualiton label for Hungarian music, gypsy music and operetta, and launched Pepita, Bravó and Krém for pop in the 1970s. The 1970s and 1980s were the label’s peak, when big Hungarian pop acts sold past 100,000 copies of an album.
What that means in the shop: a Pepita sleeve usually holds Hungarian rock or pop of that era, a Qualiton one Hungarian music, gypsy music or operetta, and a plain Hungaroton label anything from Bartók to jazz. Print runs were large, so the common titles turn up in every crate; the records worth real money are the scarce ones, not the old ones. A heap of 1950s shellac or a stack of well-loved Hungaroton classical boxes is rarely worth more than the pleasure of owning it.
Source: label history read on hungarotonmusic.com/en/about, checked 4 November 2026.
Buying Tips: Grading, Prices, Payment, the Flight Home
Read the grade, then look anyway. Shops and fair sellers who grade use the collectors’ scale: M (mint, sealed or unplayed), NM (near mint), VG+ (light signs of play), VG (audible surface noise), G (well worn). The letters are a seller’s opinion. Pull the disc out, tilt it under the light and look for scratches you can feel with a fingernail, a warp seen edge on, and seam splits or water damage on the sleeve. Where a shop has a deck, ask to play the track you care about.
Prices follow the collectors’ market. Budapest sellers know what a record fetches online, so a famous rarity costs here roughly what it costs anywhere. The better hunting is in the middle: Hungarian pressings of Hungarian music, which fill the bins in town and are harder to find abroad. A new reissue and an original pressing of the same album can be far apart in price, so check which one you are holding. Current prices for new stock are on each shop’s own webshop.
Pay in forint, and carry some cash. At the fair you buy from private sellers, so bring forint in small notes in case a table cannot take a card. In the shops, if you are building a big pile and want to pay by card, ask at the counter before you start.
Carry the records in the cabin. Records belong in hand luggage, upright and packed tight so they cannot slide. Take each disc out of its outer jacket and carry it in its inner sleeve beside the jacket, which stops the jacket seams from splitting in transit. Keep them away from radiators, sunny windows and parked cars. A hard shopping bag or a tote from home makes the walk between shops easier on the corners.
A Record Shop Afternoon on Foot
Start at Wave after it opens at 11:00, walk up Andrássy út to Aktrecords in Ó utca, then on to Deep in Aradi utca and Lemezkuckó on Király utca, all within a few minutes of Oktogon. Finish at Neon Music on Almássy tér before 19:00. Lemezkuckó closes at 18:00, so do not leave it to last. MG Records on Üllői út is a separate trip, a few stops on the metro. On a Saturday, start at Lemezkuckó (10:00 to 13:00), then go on to Wave (open 11:00 to 17:00), then Deep and Aktrecords (12:00 to 16:00). Neon Music is closed on weekends.
Our guide to Ecseri flea market covers the other place to hunt for old records, among the porcelain and military badges. For hearing Hungarian music live after a day of buying it, see Budapest’s live music bars and clubs or the House of Music Hungary in the City Park.
The Verdict
Wave has sold records since 1989, and the city’s record scene still looks like it: small rooms, each with its own specialty, close together. Go to Wave and Lemezkuckó for Hungarian music, Deep and Aktrecords for electronic, MG Records for anything new, and if you are in town on the right Sunday, spend the morning at LemezPiac.
📱 Been to one of these shops?
Opening hours and fair dates change. Tell us what you found and we fix the page.
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Good to know
Which record shop in Budapest should I visit first?
Wave, at Révay köz 1 near St. Stephen's Basilica, is the easiest first stop: it has sold records since 1989, stocks both new and secondhand vinyl, and keeps separate sections for Hungarian releases, Hungarian jazz and Hungarian hip hop. It is open 11:00 to 19:00 Monday to Friday and 11:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, closed on Sunday.
Are Budapest record shops open on Sunday?
Not the six on this page. Wave, MG Records and Neon Music say they are closed on Sunday, and Lemezkuckó, Deep and Aktrecords publish hours for Monday to Saturday only. Neon Music closes on Saturday too. On a Sunday, go to LemezPiac, the monthly record fair in the Gömb Aula of ELTE's Lágymányos campus, open 10:00 to 16:00 with free entry.
When is the next record fair in Budapest?
LemezPiac, organized by musicland.hu kft. at the ELTE Gömb Aula, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, publishes these dates: 15 November 2026, 13 December 2026, 17 January 2027, 14 February 2027, 14 March 2027 and 18 April 2027. It runs from 10:00 to 16:00 and entry is free. The organizer lists the dates further into 2027 on its own site.
Where can I buy secondhand vinyl in Budapest?
Wave and Lemezkuckó both sell used records alongside new ones, and Aktrecords keeps a constantly changing stock of used electronic records. Deep and MG Records lean toward new pressings. For the most tables in one place, go to the monthly LemezPiac fair, which its organizer calls Hungary's largest record fair, where private sellers bring their stock.
What are Hungaroton, Qualiton and Pepita records?
They are the labels of Hungary's state record company. It was founded in 1951 under the name Qualiton, renamed Hungaroton in the mid-1960s, kept Qualiton for Hungarian music, gypsy music and operetta, and launched Pepita, Bravó and Krém for pop in the 1970s. Many of the old Hungarian pop and jazz LPs in Budapest crates carry one of these labels.