One of the better recordshops in Den Haag if it comes to dancemusic has been Plastic Fantastic on de Grote Markstraat, next to the Bijenkorf. It has recently been renamed to Rhythm Fantastic and now does a good deal in vinyl too (It used to be a CD only shop for years). But vinyl has taken over again and if you like trip hop, beatz, techno and clubhouse, this is one of the shops to go to. 4 SL1210 for your listening-pleasure and Frits & Marc will be most happy to help you out. I've been spending loads of money at PF/RF for the last 5 years. Because it's a small shop the service is good and personal, unlike the two big Plato shops in Den Haag. Apart from dance you also find R&B, dub, wave and pop at RF.

Rhythm Fantastic addition, august '97
Since Rhythm Import Amsterdam has taken over this shop, they gradually got rid of all non-dance music. So you now have to look elsewere if you want to check the new Pennywise or Smashing Pumpkins. Rhythm Fantastic has narrowed things down to house, techno, jungle, triphop and R&B. The service has gone downhill since former shopowner Frits has been fired by the Amsterdam bosses, but is still way better than in most Amsterdam recordshops. Depends who's behind the counter, just like elswere.

Another good shop, especially for used vinyl and dutch trance/techno releases, is Fish Vinyl in De Torenstraat (near that pesky *no-service-what soever* shop Rhythm Import). They only have one listeningbooth (as far as I know) but the staff is friendly and it's likely you always find an old record here that was on your wantedlist for months. The shop is open till around 19.00 h. so even 9-5 would-be DJ's have a change to hop in.

Fish vinyl addition, august '97
Fish Vinyl has recently restyled the shop and is now equiped with more turntables and a very clever 'styles-system' with colours.

Next on our stroll is Dischi Records, in the Prinsenstraat. It's run by DJ Maurits 'Partyclaps' Paardekoper and his nice girlfriend and is specialised in italian house/trance/techno, german techies and small UK techno labels. No majors in sight! Here you'll find very obscure records that you find nowhere else. That's one good thing about the shop. Another good reason to drop by is the luxurious listeningbasement. Four SL1210's waiting for you and just take as many records downstairs as you can carry. I never leave Dischi without a record. Bad for your wallet though..

Then there is Rhythm Import, on the Torenstraat again. In bussiness for years but the service has been bad from the beginning. That is, if your not a DJ or pretend you're one. Even if you spend up to 150 guilders for some 12" they don't bother to help you out properly. New records are often mis-filled so you will have a hard time finding something. RI sells a lot of the more commercial trance/house/handbag stuff, loads of gabber and eurotechno but also has a fine collection of some dutch labels and US import. They do R&B & rap too.

Last on the line is Stad Den Haag/Midtown Records, in the Schoolstraat, oposide the Plato CD-shop. This used to be a gabber-only shop but since a while it's also catching up with the club/house/techno area. It's still 80% gabber/rave and 20% club/techno but the good thing is, if you are looking for a hard-to-find classic you might be lucky here. The staff is friendly though a bit indifferent. Try Jeroen, he's the clubman of the shop.

Via het internet is er een hele goede platenzaak, in Den Haag, je platen kun je via internet bestellen en je kan ze binnen 2 dagen in huis hebben. Het adres is http://www.martianarts.com. ik moet wel erbij vermelden dat je toch op zijn minst een browser hebben die HTML 4.0 of hoger aankan.

Of course IDM-minded Den Haag is still mourning about the disappearance of the infamous (Detroit) techno-shop Hot Mix. A shock most technofreaks never recovered from. You now find a Italo-recordshop in the old Hot Mix hang-out. If you like Italian disco and -eurohouse, it's worth a check.