Part of the City’s cultural heritage, this record store is worth a visit not just for a rummage through its staggering collection – a selection from an archive of more than 100,000 records – but as an excuse to scope out Galeria do Rock, the iconic shopping mall that houses Baratos Afins.

The shop, which has a healthy complement of foreign musicians amongst its clientele, is packed with records covering rock and Brazilian music, plus a solid selection of albums from new, up-and-coming bands.

Beyond selling vinyl, owner Luiz Calanca also runs the Baratos Afins record label, which, during the ‘80s and ‘90s, re-released cult records such as Tropicália and Os Mutantes albums. Calanca produced and launched new solo albums by big names like Arnaldo Baptista and Lanny Gordin, as well as São Paulo punk bands like Ratos de Porão and As Mercenárias. 

These days, he’s still a producer and can often be found curating interesting cultural events or manning the turntables at clubnights. ‘I reinvest all the profits in culture,’ he jokes.

The records on sale are all top quality, one of the reasons for the store’s success, with some priced as low as R$20. ‘Those are the ones I have lots of copies of,’ he says ‘though most people tend to look for the rarer albums.’ 

• Read our round-up of the best São Paulo record shops