5 Best Music Stores in Toronto (2026)

Sonic Boom is an independent record store on Spadina Avenue near Chinatown, and it bills itself as Canada's largest, buying and selling new and used vinyl and CDs since 2001. The shop stocks sprawling rows of records across every genre, plus cassettes, turntables and electronics, band merch and apparel, books and magazines, and gift cards. It also runs in-store events, including live record signings with visiting artists. For anyone building a physical-media collection, it is set up as a browse-for-hours destination.

This Long & McQuade branch sits on Bloor Street West in the city's west end, part of the large Canadian musical-instrument chain. The floor covers acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards and digital pianos, drums and percussion, plus pro audio and recording gear, with rentals and a used section alongside new stock. Staff are organized by department, so guitar, drum, keyboard and audio specialists each work their own area. It is a full-line store built for players shopping for an instrument or gear rather than records.

This Long & McQuade is the Scarborough branch on Milner Avenue in the city's east end, and it leans harder into rentals, lessons and service than a pure retail floor. Alongside instruments and A/V equipment for sale and rent, it offers financing, in-house music teachers and special orders that the team will source from suppliers when an item is not in stock. It also keeps the latest hours on this list, open until 9pm on weekdays. Customers describe it as a busy, staff-heavy store where help is easy to find.

Remenyi House of Music is a long-established shop in East York, on Vanderhoof Avenue near Leaside, with roots in a Budapest violin workshop dating to 1913. It carries pianos from names like Yamaha, Fazioli and Bösendorfer, guitars from PRS, Fender and Martin, a deep string department, and what customers call the region's best sheet-music selection, plus gifts, accessories and repairs. The store runs an educator discount program for students, teachers and schools. Two centuries of string experience make it a specialist destination as much as a shop.

Kiavash Music is a specialty shop on Yonge Street in Thornhill, just north of Toronto, focused on Persian and traditional instruments such as the tar, setar and daf. Beyond sales, it handles instrument servicing and repair, including string replacement and converting tuning pegs to mechanical ones, and it runs lessons and an online store that ships instruments and accessories. It doubles as a music school, so buying, learning and maintenance happen under one roof. For traditional Persian instruments, it is a rare find in the area.