Rough Trade New York moving to ?

Nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia and reminiscing. I don't sense any entitled attitude from @jjhunsecker post, boomer or otherwise.

But you don't need to be a boomer to know things were better in the past. But that is to be expected as it was a different marketplace back then, for new and used, and those days are gone.

Even that Fopp location isn't as good as it once was. When it was an independent it was far better. But they ran into cash flow issues due to expansion. They used to have a huge store on Tottenham Court Road, which was incredible.

But you are correct in that there are still some good to great options, in most large cities, these days (I've been shopping for records a few times in NYC). Plus, the selection of those big stores has largely moved online, so although the in store experience might be gone, access to titles is still there to a certain degree.

 

I agree that's a drag indeed...

 

The Tower Records retail space on 4th and Broadway remains empty after all these years- perhaps Tower in Japan can open a New York branch? ​

 

The owner is probably happy to write off the loss on their taxes.

 

Has anyone here ever shopped at Village Revival Records?

Pitchfork has a new piece about the store and owner:
Inside the Unlikely New York Record Store That Sells Vinyl to the Stars

 

Heading up next month with my daughter, who has inherited my love of “vinyls.” We visited Rough Trade and Village Revival last year. I gleaned JRC, Stranded, and Generation from skimming this thread … any additional recommendations? Places with classical in addition to jazz and rock would be appreciated especially. Thanks.

 

If you are looking for classical be sure to check out Academy Records on West 18th Street - large used selection on both vinyl and CDs. They also stock jazz, rock and other genres too

 

Added to the list! Thanks

 

Don't know about classical, I'm not fan, sorry to say. But during last year, prices for rock there tripled and quadrupled. Along with any of at least a little uncommon, not even that much rare stuff, which became non existent there.
A shame really, during 2017 – 2019 I've scored lots of great records there, usually at decent prices. Stuff like "Y/B Parlophones", "Pink Islands" and lots of various import pressings. It's over now, today, I guess they're catering to rich out-of-town kids, mostly selling common stuff at triple prices. You will not see me there.

 

I happened to walk by the Rough Trade store in Manhattan today for the first time today. I was in a rush and not prepared to go record shopping (it was raining and I had a baby stroller) but I stopped in for a few minutes. The store was more interesting than I expected. They had seven or so crates of used LPs and 4-5 times as many new LPs. They had an orginal copy of the classic Michael Hurley/Holy Modal Rounders for $40 which seemed a very fair price. They were playing Karen Dalton on the stereo. I was expecting a store much more geared towards tourists but was pleasantly surprised. I dont think I will make special trips here but will stop by again when in the neighborhood.

 

Thanks for recommending Academy Records. The store on W. 18th was well-stocked, organized, and friendly staff. After I filled my bag there with vintage Phillips and Angel pressings I eventually got to their E. 12th location and scored a 2018 Tom Petty vinyl boxset compilation. Westsider Rare Books on Broadway and also W. 72d also worth visiting for classical music (and books).

 

Rockefeller Center. Yeah, I am sure their prices will be really good in that location.

 

This was perhaps the most disorganized and chaotic appearing store I have ever entered. I ran out of there after 15 minutes. But others might like that type of environment, so to each his own,,,,

No matter what anyone thinks, I still maintain that it's a shame that in NYC, outside of possibly one or two Barnes & Nobles locations, it is almost impossible to find a place where you can walk into on release day and buy the new John Mellencamp CD or the new Stevie Nicks box set or Elvis in Hawaii ( I know, as many will say, you can just order online, but that's not quite the same....)

 

When I was in NYC back in April, I really didn't get as much record shopping in as I'd hoped. We stayed within walking distance of the Academy Records on 18th, so I hit that up a couple of times and picked up some nice scores.

Went to the newer Rough Trade location at 30 Rock and found it a little disappointing, to be honest. Not necessarily the store's fault, and almost certainly down to the location, but when I stopped by it was positively packed with large tourist groups/families who weren't interested in actually buying anything, but rather gawking with comments like, "they still make records?". On a Thursday morning around 11, it was nearly impossible to negotiate my way around the shop. My other main complaint, and certainly the shop's fault, is that I'm primarily a CD guy and they only stock the CDs on a few shelves with only the spine visible. It's annoying and a literal pain in the neck to find anything when they are stocked like that.

 

So next week one of the most anticipated CDs of the year- the Stones's "Hackney Diamonds" - is being released, and with the exception of 3 Barnes & Noles locations (which will probably have 5 or so copies in each)- it will be impossible to walk into a store on release day in NYC and walk out with a copy of the album in hand

And that is a damn shame (I know many will say "Just order online",,,but that doesn't guarantee getting it on the first day )

 

“Impossible […] with the exception...”

So, possible?

 

Possible to buy one of maybe 10 copies of the CD that will be available in the whole of New York City ,,,

We USED to have stores that would have had hundreds of copies of a major release on sale on the first day. Now we have scraps

Wish me luck in snagging one of them

 

And it the Barnes & Nobles in NYC are anything like the ones around here, the website listing that they have it in stock has absolutely no bearing on whether they'd actually be able to locate it once you step in the store. Been burned way too many times by seeing they had something in stock at my location only for the befuddled staff to have no idea where it it.

I think the larger point is still valid and really sad. I noticed last week that even the abysmally tiny CD section at my local Target has been removed. It's now an abysmally small K-Pop only section.

 

Not the same Academy. Different owners. East 12th and Brooklyn are affiliated, but the West 18th store is not.

 

Interestingly, here in NYC one of the Barnes & Nobles locations has been "updated", and they carry vinyl mainly (usually at $25-30 each), and the ONLY CDs they carry are K-Pop groups and artists

 

Corporations are not in the habit of leaving money on the table, which is how they got to be corporations. If somebody could make money selling Rolling Stones CDs in Manhattan in 2023...they would be. The fact that they're not tells me all I need to know.

 

It all came down to real estate- 2 of the best stores in NYC- J&R Music World and the Virgin Megastores in Times Square and Union Square- closed down in order to sell the properties because the real estate they were on became too valuable

LA and SF have massive Amoeba outlets- NYC has bupkis

 

But if they were still selling CDs in 1990s numbers, they would have still been valuable as record stores. But they're not, so they no longer exist.

Stores that sold buggy whips and whale oil were super profitable too, until they weren't. Then that land became more valuable as real estate. And real estate will always be more valuable per square foot on an island than in a city that can sprawl.

 

I've stumbled upon this thread after most of the mishegos has transpired and I enjoyed all the disparate points of view. Thanks to all for an interesting discussion. I am a lifelong New Yorker. I lived through all the changes, including the bad times, (Ford to City - Drop Dead; Headless Girl in Topless Bar : among NYPost classic front page headlines about NYC). I am fortunate in that I have been able to stay in this City as most every acquaintance from childhood elementary school have moved away - I grew up in Queens, not Jamaica Estates(!) but in far more working class neighborhood. I love this town.

New York City is one of the financial capitals of the world so just as money is the life blood of every great city so are the tenants of capitalism imbued in how this place lives and works. Every recollection described by those in this thread is true and correct. And so too is the uncertainty the comes with the dynamism of how rapidly and unsettling the changes can be as this town morphs into what it needs, or thinks it needs, to be at this moment in time. I'm not happy at local storefronts closing to be replaced by yet another bank ATM, or chain pharmacy, or mobile phone branch. But this too shall pass. The half-life of anything here is a fraction of what it might be anywhere else.

NYC has a thriving record community. If one wants to participate - gotta learn the lay of the land. I go to all the same local places you do. I don't go as often for my interests, but that's my choice. I buy on-line with RoughTrade or artists sites. One old record shop not mentioned was Colony which was near the Ed Sullivan Theater. Whether you thought highly of them or not, now that shops like that are gone, you miss them. Yes, it would be nice if NYC had an Amoeba like SF, but we can't fit a place like SF Amoeba into the way NYC lives and breathes. Heck, parts of greater L.A. to me looks like Old Country Road in Nassau County in the 'burbs where I lived before moving back to the City.

Thanks for the memories, gentlemen. Everything looking back is usually remembered better than it really was.

 

You're probably right

Meanwhile, on October 20th, I'll have to hope I can snag one of the few copies of "Hackney Diamonds" available at retail sale in New York. Wish me luck...