The recent growth in popularity of Raman microscopy has been nothing short of spectacular. This growth is still accelerating due to the continued increase in performance coupled with significant reductions in cost. And now the size of the spectroscopic part of the system has been further reduced so that the entire system mounts on top of a microscope; the final result is a substantial increase in the performance/price ratio over the last few years, dramatically reducing the barrier to entry for the acquisition of a Raman system. A large proportion of analytical chemistry laboratories now own at least one Raman microscope or are about to purchase a one due to the quick return on investment this technique brings. We briefly revisit the advantages of the Raman technique highlighting applications from the pharmaceutical products, biomedical research, forensic analysis, contaminant identification and materials analysis including polymers, oxides and nanomaterials. These developments include rapid imaging using fast scanning and detector technologies that allow full Raman chemical images to be obtained in times two orders of magnitude faster than just a few years ago. We will also review the critical components that make up a typical Raman microscope and how, with the use of new state of the art components, Raman microscopes have shrunk in cost and size while offering much easier use and improved performance. The components reviewed will include CCD and EMCCD detectors, filters, lasers, fast scanning devices and rapid imaging software.