Three independents worth seeking out: a big English bookshop, a record store that has been on Utrechtsestraat since 1955, and one genuinely alternative space - that last one for those who want it.
Skip the Scheltema on Koningsplein and the mainstream chains if you want something other than bestsellers and airport reads. The three below are the interesting ones.
Two Americans started it as a bargain bookshop in 1972, and it has been fiercely independent and family-run ever since, on the Spui since 2006. Three floors, and by its own (believable) claim the best-stocked English-language bookshop on the continent, with a deep magazine wall, games, and a coffee corner upstairs. Easy to lose an hour here.
Find on Google Maps →Concerto has been on Utrechtsestraat since 1955 - one of the few record shops in Amsterdam that has survived long enough to become a fixture. It has one of the largest and most varied selections in the city: new and second-hand vinyl, CDs, a strong jazz and classical section, and staff who know what they are talking about. The kind of shop you browse for an hour and leave with something you did not expect to find.
Find on Google Maps →A volunteer-run shop that opened in a squatted building in 1977 and has never lost the spirit. It specialises in radical and political titles, zines, and small-press material with a distinctly left-anarchist character - the kind of content you will not find in a chain and that we are not here to endorse. We include it because the place has genuine character and a kind of integrity that is rare. Go knowing what it is: an alternative space with a point of view. If that is not your thing, skip it.
Find on Google Maps →The American Book Center on the Spui. Three floors, independently owned since 1972, and by its own (believable) claim the best-stocked English-language bookshop on the continent. Deep fiction and non-fiction sections, a strong magazine wall, and a good games section. Easy to spend an hour in.
Concerto on Utrechtsestraat. In business since 1955, with one of the largest and most varied selections in the city: new and second-hand vinyl, CDs, strong jazz and classical. One of the places Amsterdammers actually use.
Fort van Sjakoo near Waterlooplein. Volunteer-run since 1977, radical and political titles, zines, small press. An alternative space with a distinct political character - worth knowing about if that is what you are looking for, but not for everyone.