Paris. Began as suitcases of records on market stalls.

Shop: Balades Sonores
Address: 8 Rue Pierre Picard
Town: Paris, France
Established: 2004
Formats: Vinyl, CDs
Crates: Indie, Rock, Electronic, Jazz, Soul, World, Punk
In the shop: Buys collections, In-store gigs
Opening hours: Mo-We 12:00-19:30; Th-Sa 11:00-19:30

Esther and Thomas started Balades Sonores in 2004 as a roving operation, packing suitcases with dusty records and selling them from market stalls and street corners around Paris, before taking a permanent shop on Avenue Trudaine. It has become a local institution and an informal meeting point for musicians in the city, and the stock is put together to reflect the range of what Paris actually listens to rather than any one scene. There is now a Brussels shop as well.