A few doors up from Big Papa Records in the city’s vinyl epicentre, Galeria Nova Barão, is The Records, a store dedicated to punk rock and hardcore. One of the shop’s walls is plastered with posters and copies of the fanzine Pest Zine, while records line the shop’s shelves, including a rare 1986 pressing of the 1984 album Victim in Pain (R$100) by the New York band Agnostic Front, with the second cover – released after the original sleeve art was banned. 

The owners, themselves long-time collectors, have two of their own labels – Nada Nada Discos and Spicoli Discos – which launch new punk bands and cheaper re-releases of punk classics. ‘The original records cost on average R$250, but ours are R$50,’ explains the friendly Alemão, who co-owns the store together with Mateus Mondini and Kalota. 

Their re-released classics include the single ‘Miséria e Fome’ by the paulistano punk rock band Inocentes, originally released in 1983 (R$25). September 2012 saw the launch of another classic of the local punk movement, the single ‘Violência e Sobrevivência’ by the group Lixomania. The number of copies released may be small – between 300 and 1,000 – but it’s enough to keep fans happy. New contemporary releases include singles by punk bands Futuro and Veneno Lento.

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