Record stores in New York

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by ekymetal, Mar 19, 2014.

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  1. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    nobody says CBD in New York, dude...this isn't Sydney ;-)

    but seriously, if you are going through Los Angeles, I would make Amoeba on Sunset Blvd. a priority over any record store here in New York
     
  2. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    It's mate not dude !
    What do you call it ?
    We are in LA for 4 days, is it hard to find ?
    Still keen to find some in New York as we are there for 12 days .
    Cheers for the comment
     
  3. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    half my family is Australian and for those within who've relocated to the states I've had to devote ample time to getting them to stop calling strangers "mate" lol

    as for CBD, I dunno, nobody really uses terms like that for New York City since basically the whole of Manhattan is known for being the commercial area and Manhattan is just known by Uptown, Downtown, Midtown, Lower East Side, Upper West Side, SoHo, etc., etc., etc. like, if you go up to someone in Manhttan and ask them where the CBD is, they'll probably assume you're looking for either free condoms or a cop.

    and don't sweat it, Amoeba is very easy to find
     
  4. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    That's going to be hard it seems second nature .
    Will anyone be offended if I do call them mate ? Lol
     
  5. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    @motionoftheocean
    Where do you locally for your records (vinyl) .
    To be honest I have no idea what to expect when we get there !
     
  6. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    nah, you can get away with "mate" just fine. couple that with your accent and people will likely expect it. the CBD thing is potentially a problem because frankly, I don't think most people here would know what it means.

    to come back to Amoeba vs. the NYC options, seriously, it's not even close. the Princeton Record Exchange is an excellent store, though about 1/10th the size of Amoeba and a bit off the beaten path. I tend to doubt you'll want to detour your trip through Princeton, NJ, beautiful though it is. but if you're to confine yourself just to Brooklyn and Manhattan, Amoeba annihilates anything we've got here.
     
  7. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    It's huge I checked it out on the web , bloody hell. You would needs days to look through it !
    Nothing like that here, were would you start to look !
    I won't mention CBD again lol
     
  8. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    For NYC. I go to the still-in-business shops I've mentioned in this thread, primarily: Generation Records, Bleecker Street Records, Other Music, Rebel Rebel. That's about it, I guess. There's a store called Vintage Vinyl in New Jersey that's pretty good but my wife and I don't get there too often as it's a bit out of the way and not quite good enough to warrant the driving. The Princeton Record Exchange is far and away the best record shop anywhere near but that place warrants a day trip.
     
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  9. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Manhattan is not a great music buying city anymore. I like Academy on 18th St. Bleeker Records on Bleeker and Kims downtown I think it is around 1st Ave and 7th Street.
     
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  10. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    That could be Rebel Rebel. A good specialty store for Glam , Punk and New Wave. If buying music is s big part of your vacation plan then take the Subway ride out to Greenpoint Brooklyn on one day. Since Brooklyn is happening now it is worth the ride and you can find a good place to have lunch with the Mrs.
     
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  11. Cassiel

    Cassiel Sonic Reducer

    Location:
    NYC, USA
    Since I don't see it anywhere in this thread, I'll just toss in a mention of Downtown Music Gallery (http://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/Main/index.htm), which is in Manhattan (Chinatown - so a visit can be combined with a neat tourist experience). They have more CDs than vinyl, and their focus is experimental music/jazz/improv and unusual music, although they have some of the more adventurous/arty rock and pop artists (the owners, who are swell guys, by the way, are really into Canterbury bands). Definitely worth a visit if you have any tastes that are left of center.
     
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  12. velvetmornin

    velvetmornin Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Durham, NH
    i visited "Other Music" last fall when I was in the city, along with several others, but Other was my favorite. I found Phil Ochs' "Pleasures of the Harbor" NM and a reissue of the Monks' "Black Monk Time", also NM. Don't remember how much I paid, but it wasn't much. Very cool.
     
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  13. cc--

    cc-- Forum Resident

    Location:
    brooklyn
    I think Academy on E. 12th is probably better than any of those for an all-purpose used-and-some-reissues (like Sundazed) vinyl shop. Other Music is good for new sh!t on CD and vinyl and for more esoteric reissues (though as I found this morning, their new jazz section is rather small). Near Academy is A-1, on E. 6th, which specializes in funk, r&b, and hip hop, and the remaining Kim's is nearby as well, on 1st Ave.
     
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  14. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I so miss the days of The Golden Disc, Footlight, Subteranean, Revolver, Bleecker Bob's, etc. etc. Is House of Oldies still in the Village?
     
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  15. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I've never seen it open.... dating back to the late '90s. But it's still there.

    RE: Amoeba LA. GO. It's fantastic. Very centrally located, too, as it's smack dab in the middle of Hollywood.
     
  16. Cassiel

    Cassiel Sonic Reducer

    Location:
    NYC, USA
    It was the last time I looked, but I wouldn't recommend that place over any of the other suggestions; it's organized about as well as a flea market and the prices are insane.
     
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  17. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Indeed!
     
  18. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    There was a store in the East Village years ago that was pretty cool. It moved locations every time I visited NYC, not sure if it's around or exists anymore. I don't remember the name of it. But the owner was a cool guy who used to brag about his Marantz 7 and McIntosh MC60s, he had owned since 1968.
     
  19. Turnaround

    Turnaround Senior Member

    Location:
    -
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2014
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  20. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    A big fan of Academy Records, here. The one on 415 E. 12th Street was mostly classical when I was there last a few years ago, but the on at 12 W. 18th street has a lot of jazz, pop and rock, also they had an impressive selection of rockabilly if you're into that.

    You can check them out at www.academy-records.com

    No, I don't work there, but I pulled their card out of my wallet for the addresses.
     
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  21. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    It is true and I have a sentimental attachment to Sounds so I still shop there. I just think it is a not nearly a good as it used to be. Still it is worth a visit.
     
  22. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico
    Absolutely and you can also do a walk on the stars walking luminaries, is near by it. Or if you are a toy lover as I am, you can also do a short trip to the Meltdown place, they have a very nice of toys, and if I recall correctly there is also a Borders near of Amoeba.
     
  23. edb15

    edb15 Senior Member

    Location:
    new york
    Wow, it's been so long since I've been on record shopping expedition I didn't know a lot of places (like Gimmee Gimmee, who had the most interesting stock) are gone. I have high praise for both Academy locations, which work on a turnover model--no screaming bargains because they know what they have--but fair prices on choice stock. I occasionally duck in Other Music or Generations.

    Y'all missed In Living Stereo, just a block south of Other Music, which is pretty decent by today's standards, and has a good stereo (naturally), plus you can go across to check the tubes, horns, and Naim in the adjoining hi-fi shop.

    Uptown but overpriced are a couple of bookstores, one on broadway, one on 72nd (or is that 79th) west of broadway. Also Mercer Books has vinyl.
     
  24. christopher

    christopher Forum Neurotic

    I still have some LPs with Golden Disc price tags on them. That was a great shop with a friendly, knowledgeable staff.

    Later, Chris
     
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  25. ubertrout

    ubertrout Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    It's a bit jarring to realize that J&R's music store will be completely closed by the time you arrive. If you'd have come a year ago it still would have been in good shape and almost as big as Amoeba (although in fairness, they were more focused on CDs). I'll caveat all my recommendations by saying that I don't do vinyl, but of course see it when browsing for the stuff I prefer.

    If you have 12 days in the city, taking one to see Brooklyn and while doing so, stopping in Williamsburg and Greenpoint is not a bad idea. Williamsburg is easy to reach from Manhattan (10 minutes from Union Square), and has a number of good stores near the L train stop. I didn't see Pop Fuzz mentioned but I'm fond of it, even if the stock is variable. Rough Trade is new and sleek and...not cheap (this may just be because I've gotten used to closeouts and cheap used discs). And frankly, I didn't care for the hipster vibe there one bit. But if you're in the area you might as well check it out. You might want to try to go out there on a Saturday and get lunch at Smorgasburg, which is only a few blocks away.

    Greenpoint takes a while to get to from Manhattan, but isn't so hard to get to from Williamsburg (it's not physically far from Manhattan, but the G train that goes there doesn't enter Manhattan). It's not as gentrified as Williamsburg, although it's getting there as folks who were priced out of Williamsburg proliferate. I haven't been to Academy's annex location there, but their old location in Williamsburg was pretty big, and I understand that the new one in Greenpoint is about the same size. Academy Annex is pretty much all vinyl. Greenpoint is a cool place...historically it's been very Polish, but that's been shifting. Still a good place to get Polish food.

    In Manhattan...lots of small stores with overpriced merch. I don't get the sense that you're into classical, but if you are you should check out the Academy stores in Manhattan, Westsider Records, and it might even be worth the 1.5 hour trip to the Princeton Record Exchange. Otherwise the suggestions I've heard are pretty good. If you look on a map you'll notice that most of the stores recommended are situated in the West Village, and you could potentially hit all of them in a day, depending on your browsing speeds.

    If you're in Chinatown then you're likely near Downtown Music Gallery. Use a map if you want to go there; most locals wouldn't find it without one.

    As people have noted, Tunes in Hoboken isn't bad, and is pretty easy to get to from Manhattan using the PATH subway line.

    There are some decent record stores all around the NYC suburbs, too. You'll need a car and some patience to hit them, but it would be doable. Depends on priorities.
     
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