New York Record Stores

[Eric]

Howdy all - I am travel to New York tomorrow and looking for record store recommendations.  I will mostly have time in the Village while the wife/kids are hitting book stores.  Really dating myself, really, but find myself a little lost since the demise of Tower Records 😎

[Chuck Nessa]

Not in the Village but I always check in at the Jazz Record Center and Downtown Music Gallery.

[T.D.]

I'm no less dated than the OP, but back in the day I used to visit Academy Records on W. 18th St. for classical CDs.

They're still around, added a vinyl branch (and have an annex in Brooklyn), I've made some online purchases but don't know anything about the current physical shops.

[Mark Stryker]

52 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Not in the Village but I always check in at the Jazz Record Center and Downtown Music Gallery.

Definitely go the Jazz Record  Center. Not that far from the Village and Fred has very fair prices. Last time I was there I got the Louis Armstrong Decca 1934-45 set and some Ellington broadcasts that I didn't have. Plus, a great selection of books there. 

[sidewinder]

16 minutes ago, Mark Stryker said:

Definitely go the Jazz Record  Center. Not that far from the Village and Fred has very fair prices. Last time I was there I got the Louis Armstrong Decca 1934-45 set and some Ellington broadcasts that I didn't have. Plus, a great selection of books there. 

I’ve only been once but there were a bundle of Mosaics on overhead display - alas, too heavy. There was also a box of collectible LPs including fine Norgrans and early Blue Notes. At the prices on offer (not cheap at the time but a bargain now) I should have filled my boots and paid excess baggage.

2 hours ago, Eric said:

Howdy all - I am travel to New York tomorrow and looking for record store recommendations.  I will mostly have time in the Village while the wife/kids are hitting book stores.  Really dating myself, really, but find myself a little lost since the demise of Tower Records 😎

I remember that Tower branch, on Broadway I think, which used to be a Sam Goody’s. That place was like a black hole - you could get lost for hours and never get out.

[ghost of miles]

1 hour ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Not in the Village but I always check in at the Jazz Record Center and Downtown Music Gallery.

This.  

24 minutes ago, Mark Stryker said:

Definitely go the Jazz Record  Center. Not that far from the Village and Fred has very fair prices. Last time I was there I got the Louis Armstrong Decca 1934-45 set and some Ellington broadcasts that I didn't have. Plus, a great selection of books there. 

Love that place so much.  And glad you scored the Armstrong Decca 1930s/40s set, with IMO some of the best notes Dan Morgenstern's ever written (which is saying something, given his always-high standard).  

[jlhoots]

Fred bought a bunch of my vinyl collection 20+ years ago. Wonder if he still has any of it.

[clifford_thornton]

2 hours ago, Eric said:

Howdy all - I am travel to New York tomorrow and looking for record store recommendations.  I will mostly have time in the Village while the wife/kids are hitting book stores.  Really dating myself, really, but find myself a little lost since the demise of Tower Records 😎

East Village jazz LPs: Academy on E 12th; A-1; Stranded (maybe).

Union Square: Academy on W 18th

Chinatown: DMG

Flatiron/Midtown: JRC

Brooklyn: Academy Annex in Greenpoint (Oak St); Human Head (Williamsburg); Earwax (Williamsburg)

DMG, 18th st both good for CDs, other places less so. JRC CD bins seemingly haven't been restocked in years.

[Larry Kart]

In the past I've had good luck at Academy -- classical and jazz.

[kh1958]

I like the Jazz Record Center best (for CDs and LPs and discographies), and also the Academy on E. 12th (for LPs).

[Eric]

Thanks everyone and enthusiasm for Jazz Record Center in particular.  I have been there before, but was a long, long time ago.

 

 

[sgcim]

8 hours ago, sidewinder said:

I’ve only been once but there were a bundle of Mosaics on overhead display - alas, too heavy. There was also a box of collectible LPs including fine Norgrans and early Blue Notes. At the prices on offer (not cheap at the time but a bargain now) I should have filled my boots and paid excess baggage.

I remember that Tower branch, on Broadway I think, which used to be a Sam Goody’s. That place was like a black hole - you could get lost for hours and never get out.

I went in there at about 3:00pm and wound up leaving after midnight! They had weird hours; I didn't know when they closed, but I felt like I went into a time warp.

[T.D.]

3 minutes ago, sgcim said:

I went in there at about 3:00pm and wound up leaving after midnight! They had weird hours; I didn't know when they closed, but I felt like I went into a time warp.

And there was the Annex behind the main shop...Other Music, which sold a lot of weird/avant-garde stuff, was almost right across E. 4th St. from the Annex iirc.

At the peak of the CD brick and mortar shop craze, Tower also had a massive branch near Lincoln Center (which was particularly strong on classical). J&R Music World on Park Row had a good selection of jazz CDs in those bygone days.

[Eric]

7 minutes ago, sgcim said:

I went in there at about 3:00pm and wound up leaving after midnight! They had weird hours; I didn't know when they closed, but I felt like I went into a time warp.

Yeah that was similar to my experience at that Tower - maybe early 90s?.  Almost all CDs at the time and I was on the hunt for Japanese imports - with a focus on Blue Notes.  I remember simply being floored by the number of titles they had - things I had only read about on the backs of jackets or printed inner sleeves - or had never seen at all.

3 minutes ago, T.D. said:

And there was the Annex behind the main shop...Other Music, which sold a lot of weird/avant-garde stuff, was almost right across E. 4th St. from the Annex iirc.

At the peak of the CD brick and mortar shop craze, Tower also had a massive branch near Lincoln Center (which was particularly strong on classical). J&R Music World on Park Row had a good selection of jazz CDs in those bygone days.

Yes, I preferred the one in the Village, but Lincoln Center was good too.  I think I still dream about those places

I also remember seeing Pete Townshend in there once, just browsing the racks.

[clifford_thornton]

just to clarify, Other Music was not related to Tower but an independent store founded by Antietam/Codeine drummer Josh Madell. 

[T.D.]

1 hour ago, clifford_thornton said:

just to clarify, Other Music was not related to Tower but an independent store founded by Antietam/Codeine drummer Josh Madell. 

Sorry, didn't mean to imply anything.

I never know who was behind Other Music, but it clearly had nothing to do with any corporate chain. 

[Eric]

Hey everyone - I have the good fortune to be headed back this weekend.  Thanks again for all the recommendations!

[Dmitry]

On 8/25/2022 at 1:50 PM, T.D. said:

Sorry, didn't mean to imply anything.

I never know who was behind Other Music, but it clearly had nothing to do with any corporate chain. 

Look for the documentary film on the Other Music store. It's an OK little film, traces them from beginning to their end. It was an interesting store, the labor of love kind. I'm sure they made almost no money on their best days.

31 minutes ago, Eric said:

Hey everyone - I have the good fortune to be headed back this weekend.  Thanks again for all the recommendations!

I'm sure you know what you want to do in the city, but here's the jazz calendar for this month.

http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr202306.pdf

 

[Eric]

8 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Look for the documentary film on the Other Music store. It's an OK little film, traces them from beginning to their end. It was an interesting store, the labor of love kind. I'm sure they made almost no money on their best days.

I'm sure you know what you want to do in the city, but here's the jazz calendar for this month.

http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr202306.pdf

 

Wonderful - thank-you Dmitry.