Record stores in New York

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

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  1. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    Hi All
    I will be travelling to New York with my wife and daughter, in a few months.
    Am intending to visit some good record(vinyl) stores while we are there.
    If anyone could recommend some that are close by the main city, or are easy
    to get to, it would be greatly appreciated.
    Cheers from Tasmania
    Ek :cheers:
     
  2. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Believe it or not, you are a decade or so too late. Most of the better record stores have shut their doors, and the rest of what remains is a sliver of what used to exist. Maybe some persons here though will be able to clue you in to what is left, and maybe there are some choice spots left. Arnie
     
  3. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Go out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There's Permanent Records, Academy, Record Grouch, Co-Op 87, The Thing, and Captured Tracks - all within a 15 minute (on foot) radius. Lots of great bars where you can check out what you bought afterwards, too.
     
  4. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    We should do a New York Hoffman get together again. I remember we did one many years ago and hit the Greenpoint places. Lots of fun......
     
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  5. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico
    It is Rockit Scientist closed? Can anyone confirm? This used to be a referent place to visit, located on St Marks place, I love that street, very tempted to ex-change my tennis shoes for some old converse the guy have on trade there.
     
  6. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    Thanks mate, So there are bars to play your records! now thats cool
     
  7. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    St. Marks Place is pretty dead music shop wise.
     
  8. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico

    So sad news, I did a search on the net and confirmed that the store is closed now, I remember about three or more other small places that used to sell CD's at nice prices...
     
  9. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    Bleecker St...there's one on one of the side streets about a block or 2 from The Bitter End...I forgot the name of it...also, if you walk east on Bleecker from there there's a similar one right before 6th ave I believe....oh, there's a pretty good one in Hoboken called TUNES about 4 blocks from the PATH station
     
    ekymetal likes this.
  10. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Yup - Bleeker St. Records is the one near 6th - I think they moved over the last year or so. Rebel Rebel is a cool, niche Britpop/glam/dance store further west on Bleeker, too. Generation on Thompson (about 2 blocks south of Wash. Sq. Park) is kind of a sister store to Bleeker, but honestly... I don't think they've changed their CD stock in 15 years. They've got a pretty sizable vinyl collection downstairs, though.

    Rockit Scientist is indeed sadly closed.

    Williamsburg is pretty empty these days (Earwax moved from Bedford to North 8th, I think, but man... they're insanely overpriced) but the big Rough Trade store is actually pretty good. Prices aren't obscene - they're pretty standard, really, at least for vinyl - and they do have quite the selection. And Norman's Sound & Vision relocated from the Village to Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg. Not really close to Rough Trade or Greenpoint's Miracle Mile, but if you happen to find yourself in the area (a long shot for a tourist, I know) it's definitely worth a stop.

    Honestly, eky, I'd just earmark an afternoon for Greenpoint. Assuming you're going to be staying in midtown, it's about a 20-30 minute trip by subway. PM me for details about neighborhood recommendations if you'd like.

    And Todd - I'd definitely be down for a Greenpoint record crawl! We should definitely put something together once the weather becomes a little more bearable.
     
  11. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    Anyone been to this one? it is well rated on the web.

    Any l.jpg
     
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  12. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    It's pretty good and very centrally located - right in the heart of the Village. It's definitely the best punk rock record store I've ever been to, though.
     
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  13. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico
    Someone knows if Virgin Records Mega Store at Times Sq is still open? They used to manage a great selection of new records, besides the enormous amount of CD's with lots of import ones, anyone?
     
  14. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Long gone. Same with the one in Union Sq.
     
  15. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico
    Geez, you know, the wife and I were planning a travel, we have two options, NY and Los Angeles, I was very pleased to choose NY in part of the very nice record stores I visited in the past, I had no idea that there are no more many of them.

    I can't even imagine Times Sq without the big neon sign...
     
  16. Turnaround

    Turnaround Senior Member

    Location:
    -
    As other members have mentioned, Greenpoint, Brooklyn is a good neighborhood for record stores. For a foreigner vising from the other side of the world, though, you will give up two-thirds of a day to get out there (get confused and lost) and get back into Manhattan. Greenpoint is definitely not a tourist area, so you will not be able to mix your trip there with tourist and sightseeing activities. Whether you want to give up that time on your vacation is up to you and your family.

    Greenwich Village has many record stores, like the Generation Records that the OP asked about above. However, I find many of them carry mainly junky LPs or have good inventory in narrow genres. Greenwich Village is a great neighborhood for tourists, though, so you can mix your record hunting in that neighborhood with sightseeing.

    If you are looking for US LPs, Second Hand Rose Music in Union Square has many good ones in good condition. However, everything is priced twice as expensive as they should be -- that's why they're still in the bins. Forum members don't like that store because of the prices. But that is something to consider if you are coming from a country where US LPs are hard to find. It's also in Union Square, which you can mix in with sightseeing.

    Academy Records is also near Union Square. They carry used CDs and LPs, good inventory, and everything is priced well and in good condition. (Unlike Second Hand Rose, good items don't stay in the bins long!) I see a lot of foreign tourists there: husbands looking very excited, and their wives looking bored!

    If you are thinking of Bleeker Bob's (on Bleeker St, just west of 6th Ave), they closed down earlier this year.

    Virgin Megastore Times Square closed in 2009.

    LA has Amoeba Records. When I last visited Amoeba in LA, I just about cried thinking how New York City has nothing like that anymore.
     
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  17. innercircle

    innercircle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monterrey, Mexico
    Good to know that Academy still in the business. :thumbsup:

    Went there some years ago, but Amoeba was nothing compared with the major stores NY had, the next picture is me holding some stuff back there...

    Amoeba.JPG
     
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  18. ricks

    ricks Senior Member

    Location:
    127.0.0.1:443
    Used to go there with my buds as a kid in the 90's, was a great place to get ROIO's back then. I've not been there in well over 10 years. Revolver was right around the corner and Zap not too far away {see Clinton's Heylin's book for the last 2 references}. At times I really miss those days.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2014
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  19. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

    Location:
    New Joisey
    I like Kim's Video & Music on 124 1st Ave (between 7th and 8th St) in the East Village.
    (unfortunately, not centrally located near much else)

    It used to be on St. Marks but moved the few blocks over. I don't remember how it is for vinyl, but it's good for CDs.....especially 60s/garage/psychedelic.

    I'm going there again Friday before a nearby concert.
     
    drasil likes this.
  20. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    this is the one i was talkin about...thanks
     
  21. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    yes, I knew about Bob's...the one I was thinking of was Generation Records which someone posted...I do miss the older stores :(
     
    ekymetal likes this.
  22. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
     
  23. ekymetal

    ekymetal Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tasmania
    Thanks so much for all that info.
    We are going to LA for 3 days, we are in NYC for 12 days ,before that we are Myrtle beach for a family wedding.
    Probably stores close the city area, as you said this is our first visit to the US and from what i have seen on the internet its huge !!
     
  24. AndyNicks

    AndyNicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    Bought many records here in my youth trekking into the city from NJ in the pre internet days of trying to find record shops!
     
    Keith V likes this.
  25. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    As I recall, there was a neat little hole-in-the-wall almost around the corner from where The Path lets out in Greenwich. They had a lot of promo discs and EDM. Anybody know if that place is still surviving?




    Now playing on Ariel Stream: Conjure One - The Distance
     
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