There is a moment in every person's upbringing, when they suddenly realize, physically and metaphorically, that there is more to music and the culture that surrounds it, than what is on offer at Woolworths. In Walthmastow, one of the places this might be discovered is at Cavern Records. They sell chart CDs, of course - a sign says from £8.99, but they do this in a shop which has the kind of atmosphere that hasn't been planned in some corporate boardroom. A little shabby, yes, and not quite orderly, but not self-consciously so in the contrived kind of way that places that try too hard and charge too much so often do.

The music - I say music, not CDs, because although there are many, many CDs, it is still possible to buy 12" singles for use on genuine turntables - is not sold in a place that could just as easily be put to use as a Carphone Warehouse or a Burger King. The shop has some soul. Some of it is not hip. Yes, they have a rack of children's sing alongs, and they sell discount classical music recorded in the old eastern block for £3.99, and they have sections of easy listening as well as world music, chill-outs, club mixes and instrumental. ("Massive sale on selected items", "Don't get mugged at HMV - try our prices first".) But in close proximity, they also have Jazz and Reggae and Rock and Pop and genres like Ska. They supply the kind of music that could lead to a pretty good night out. They also have a lot of DVDs for sale at £5.99 or 2 for a tenner for the stay-at-homes.

The music played in the shop is genuinely eclectic - you know its not being played because some corporate diktat requires that something is to be plugged from a playlist. They seem to play things because they like them.

Cavern Records (Tel 0208 503 7997) is a genuine music shop of the old school, where the owner will get out from behind his counter and walk around among his customers and talk to them. The shop has a large yellow and red sign over the front and shouldn't be missed on market days because they often play music out to the street. This is not annoying in the way shops which play such music often are. It gives this part of the market a cool, bohemian sort of vibe. For the benefit of the deaf, it is opposite shops like Orientex, Mr Zhong, and Benny Dee, and between Fashion World and the Pop In Cafe.