Tower Records has relaunched

Then the thread just became forum members posting " Hey ! I used to shop there ! We had one downtown, across from Vanderbilt, then a second when they built Opry Mills Mall, on the burial site of Opryland ! "

Why I remember when...

 

Yeah, hadn’t thought of that. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Hopefully they’ll pull through and I’ll still make it there one day.

 

It used to be good, but the prices have become ridiculous over the last 6 months - year. Just before it closed about 3/4 of their vinyl was priced far higher than online and at independent stores. A lot was over twice the price. Their stock range is only OK in my nearest branch. Not bad, but nothing special. It'll be interesting to see how they come back after lockdown. If things don't change it'll be bye bye HMV before long. I hope not, but as things were then I wouldn't miss them. I would only be sad to see it go through bad management and that some good people would lose their jobs. The staff are great, I can't fault them.

 

Nice, I only remember Record World there. Maybe HMV moved in.

 

This.

I got a catalog from Montgomery Ward in the mail last week - similar deal.

 

Found a lot of great stuff at that Annex. They were selling vinyl for a while and I got Bowie Ryko vinyl for a buck a pop.
Amazingly, Other Music opened right down the block and did quite well for a long time. They even outlasted Tower.

 

Yes but the H.M.V. Was closer to the MUNSEY PARK side....if that makes any sense.that "mall" was cool.....I remember buying vinyl there at a store called "NEWBERRY'S" Back in the mid/late 70's......

 

Yes....the reason why I loved the now gone H.M.V. here was their willingness to deep discount c d.'s which is why I suppose they went belly up....rent is a major issue here obviously.

 

I went there five or six times in the early 2000’s and it was absolutely one of the best record stores I’ve ever been to in the world, if not the best. Hardest part was arriving in the US and explaining to customs why I had 60 new CDs in my hand luggage

 

I remember Other Music, too- great store. There was also a high end Audio store, I think on the same block, that sold Shindo and other tube gear and the Stereo Exchange around the corner on Broadway.

I'm starting to get nostalgic for NYC.

 

I went to Tower Records every Saturday morning. I always enjoyed that, as I always found something cool to buy .

But I'll never forget one Saturday: I was looking at some SACDS, and the guy next to me was too. So, he fishes 2 disks out of the bin, the same title, The Carpenters Forever (or something). One was the Redbook Cd for $9.99 The other was the SACD for 29.99. Exact same title, same songs, same art, etc. He shows them to me and says "Can You Believe The Balls on These MotherXXXXXXs?". I had to laugh because he was right. To me, thats the real reason that SACD never took off with the buying public, the perceived value simply wasnt there for the price asked.

 

If you wanted a vinyl only website why not call it Licorice Pizza?

 

Sounds about right. If Caiman owns the website, they are simply trying to revive the brand based on its legacy as a once prominent music retailer. I doubt it goes anywhere or gains any traction, unless they decide to sell music cheaply to compete with Amazon, Bull Moose, etc.

 

I remember my first time in Ireland about ten years ago and couldn't believe Tower was there! I remember purchasing a few compilation CDs that you would never find in the states.

 

that’s an independent that bought itself out from the sinking ship

 

I am a former Tower Records employee. While I prefer small independents, I love to hear this!

 

When I was in college in KY, we would make the drive down to Nashville to the store near Vanderbilt. When I moved to Michigan for grad school, I worked at the store in Ann Arbor from 99 until they closed in 2000 or 2001, can’t remember for sure. When I moved to DC in 2002 I would go to the store in DC a LOT. A lot of fond memories at those stores for sure.

 

It seems amazing now, the amount of prime real estate given over to music retail back in the 80s/90s in London, between Tower, HMV and the Virgin megastore. Huge places. I used to love visiting all of them!

 

My maternal great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland. Nothing ever got through to them.

 

The Ann Arbor store closed in 2000. They had a pretty great CD cutout/clearance bin. All sorts of import Americana stuff and lots of U.K. re-issues for cheap. There never seemed to have any employees on the floor, they were either at the front counter, in the back room or moving between the front counter and the back room. They got pillaged by shoplifters. When I saw many copies of a German CD of the Phil Collins album "Both Sides" with Japanese price stickers in that clearance bin for $4.99, I had an idea they had some inventory management issues.

 

It breaks my heart that I can’t visit those shops anymore, London’s West End just isn’t the same

 

Agreed. I'd go into the one in Glasgow back in the day, mainly because they had a decent jazz and import section. You'd look at their 'mainstream' rock section and see the first Crosby, Stills & Nash cd for £15 and 100 yards up the road Fopp had it for a fiver. Plenty of examples like that.

 

I remember going into Tower Records NYC one day in the Late 1980.s and they has racks and racks of Folkways cutouts/overstock.
If I knew then what I know now ...

 

Are you not thinking of the Lincoln Center store? They had a huge classical section - I don't think it was temporary - I used to shop there frequently for years.

 

In fact, the Montgomery Ward catalog owner is Colony Brands, who has many different catalogs: https://www.colonybrands.com/companies/brands-affiliates/catalog-brands/