Used LP Stores in New York City

I plan to be in NYC towards the very end of September with my wife. Since we have many activities planned, I'll only have a very limited opportunity to search for used 60s/70s classic rock/soul LPs.

After searching the archives, it appears that a number of the most highly recommended stores have gone out of business. Is the Academy LP store still in business and is it my best chance of finding something interresting? Does anyone have any other suggestions for used vinyl? Remember, I may be able to hit only one or possibly two stores at the most.

Thanks for helping me get my vinyl fix while in NYC!

 

Can a Gort kindly repost this thread in the Music Forum and not the Hardware Forum? Sorry, I forgot where I was when creating this thread!!

 

I'm interested in this as well...haven't been to NYC in more than 10 years, but I may go in the next year or two and record stores are high on my "to do" list!

Dale

 

I lived in NYC from 1988 to 1994 and I was so disappointed in the number of record stores in the area selling decent used vinyl. And that number was ZERO.

 

Anyone been to Colony in Time? I went there for a brief time......thousands of useds--------hmm.......the prices were definitely steep though.....

 

Used record stores are but non existant in NYC. There are a few stores that have LP's but expect to pay 3-4 times the value for the album and it will not be in Mint condition. Enjoy NYC for the food, shows and museums but for LP shopping look elsewhere (like LA)

 

Done!

 

There was an abundance of used record shops in Manhattan in the early to mid-90's and It was great fun shopping for records then. Greenwhich Villiage had several. I was last in NYC in '02 and many were still there but the amount of vinyl verses CD's had dropped.

 

Do not despair. there are several places in NYC to find used vinyl. You may not get a bargain but you probably find what you are looking for.

Acadamy, 12 W 18th for classical, 77 E 10th for Rock/Jazz, should be your first stop. they are the best.

Rockit Scientist 33 St Marks is also great. Lotsa 60's Garage/Psych and 70's Punk/New Wave. Good 60's - 70's Soul selection too. Very knowlegeable, helpful staff.

Generation Records at 210 Thompson is also good, especially for punk. Afterwards stop by Artuo's on Houston for great Italian food.


Bleeker Street records at 239 Bleeker is also really good and very ecelectic. Around the corner is Subterrean at 5 Cornelia, tiny but fun - the perfect place to find NY style rock.

Enjoy

 

Granted, a lot of the old stores are gone, but there is still a lot of great vinyl in NYC for those willing to look a bit:

Jazz Record Center - Part museum, part record store, but a great selection of clean, used jazz records. Some things here can get pricey, but it's worth a look, and for my money, it's second only to Chicago's Jazz Record Mart for Jazz vinyl buffs.

Mondo Kim's, Rockit Scientist, and Other Music - Kind of a nice East Village run. Kim's is legendary for poor service, but they have lots of indie, prog, and electronic-oriented vinyl. Rockit Scientist and Other Music can be hit or miss, but I have found great new and old vinyl at both.

Gryphon Record Shop - I don't know if it's still called this, but it's still there on the Upper West Side. Lots of classical lps, many sorted by conductor.

Academy Records Annex -- Actually in Williamsburg (Brooklyn), but well worth the short trip. Huge selection of used (and some new) vinyl of all genres. Lots of good Jazz and Rock. You can easily spend an hour or two here browsing. On my last trip, I took home all of the Ellington Carnegie Hall concerts on mint vinyl for less than $20.

Sound Fix -- If you make the Williamsburg trip, this is a friendly little indie-oriented store with a good vinyl selection.

Virgin Megastore -- Yes, I know, but I have found a surprising number of new imports here, along with the occasional Classic Records issue and most major label new release vinyl.

 

^ what he said! In Hell's kitchen there is Future Legend (796 9th Ave), very small selection, but worth it! I bought Morph The Cat for less than $20 in great shape. I also scored the RHCP "Stadium Arcadium" DELUXE vinyl box for $24. AWESOME!

Also hit the pawn shops, there is one on the corner of 43rd and Ninth Ave that has a lot of vinyl.
Another vote for the Virgin Mega store, not cheap but decent selection.
cheers.....

 

There's also House of Oldies on Carmine Street, just a few blocks away from Bleeker Street Records. The owner is a bit of a troll, but the prices are ok.

There's also Bleeker Bob's, either on W3 or W4 in the Village off of 6th Avenue.

 

is "Downstairs Records" still open? It was on 42nd St. and had moved around the block to 41st St. It used to be near the Subway Sation (hence the name of Downstairs!),but I don't know if they're still open or not (it's been 17 years since I last visited/Lived in N.Y.C.!),so I'd wouldn't know! Michael Boyce

 

Moved

Still in business, but on Long Island now.

 

Finyl Vinyl is still open, even though you'll sometimes have to move bags and newspapers out of the way to go through the racks. It may be worth a look, if you're in the St Mark's Shops/Academy area anyway. I really like the owner, he's an interesting guy but the place isn't always open so you may want to call first.

204 E 6th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-8007

I don't think anyone mentioned the Academy Manhattan location that has used Rock vinyl. It's at:

Academy LPs (pop/rock/jazz LPs)
77 E. 10th St.
New York, NY 100003
212.780.9166
HOURS: Tues-Sat 12-9, Sun 12-6

There's also the A-1 Record Shop which is my favorite for Vinyl

439 e 6th Street
Ny, Ny 10009
212-473-2870

And Mercer Street Books and Records:

206 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-505-8615
Open 10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. Daily

 

Thanks for the great feedback. I be checking these out!

Chuck

 

Not a bad selection of jazz and vocals, either. I found a six-eye Columbia mono of Dave Brubeck's Time Out and some gray-label and 9-o'clock rainbow Capitol Sinatra.

Paul

 

I like the owner of Finyl Vinyl also, the guy is real eccentric, and knowlegable about music. One day we spent a little time discussing tube rolling. The prices are a bit high but I've made a few purchases there.

Bleeker Street Records basement is pretty good, and there are few other record stores around the corner on Jones Street and Cornelia Street. Academy still is my favorite. NY is not the great vinyl mecca it once was. I think Gryphon Closed, rent is too high. Happy Hunting!

 

My favorites are Academy (in Manhattan), Bleecker S, Generation (downstairs), A-1 and Finyl Vinyl. All are expensive compared to other regions due to NYC rental rates.

There are some good shops on Long Island if you have the time and transportation (such as Infinity in Massapequa Park).

 

I've found good things on a regular basis at Academy and they don't price to display; they price to sell. I've heard that their shop in Williamsburg Brooklyn is much bigger than the one on East 10th Street, but I've never gone over there.

There's also a good vinyl shop on East 5th Street between 2nd and 1st Avenues... north side of the street. I can't remember the name now... Gimme Records... Gotta Have Records... something like that. He's not open all week long though - I'm thinking weekends only.

Also in the East Village is a deejay-oriented shop on East 6th between 1st and Avenue A (I believe) that specializes more in funk, Latin, etc. That place is a bit pricier. [EDIT: this is probably A-1 at 439 East 6th Street as listed by Danny above].

Maybe somebody here can help out with the actual names of the shops .

But be forewarned, none of these shops offer a fraction of what Amoeba has.

 

Yup! That's the place. I actually find it to be a bit cheaper than both Academy and Finyl Vinyl. There is are a few new addition bins to the right as you walk in, and then the Rock and Alt Rock are in the corner near the front window. I think they probably have lots of good Soul albums there - though I haven't really gone thru those racks. BTW - depending on how much time you have, and how much you like to walk, you can probably hit Finyl Vinyl, Rockit Scientist, Academy (Rock/Jazz/etc) and A-One all in one day.

If you're heading down to Bleeker Street Records, you can do that, Bleeker Bob's and Generation (which is actually owned by Bleeker Street Records) all in an afternoon. Also near these is House of Oldies (a bit too rich for my blood) and there's another shop near House of Oldies which has dance stuff and 12"ers but not much Rock, but I forget what it's called.

Edit: Actually a quick note about Bleeker Bob's. The racks are arranged not alphabetically but by styles and genres - so sometimes it's a little tricky to find stuff there. For example Nick Lowe is in the same section with Dave Edmunds as opposed to alphabetically in the Rock section. They're kind of exprensive as well (and grumpy) but it's worth a look if you're going to Bleeker Street Records.

 

I agree House of Oldies is overpriced, I have bought there as a last resort. The place with all the dance remixes and 12" singles near them on Carmine St. has now disappeared. They catered to the DJ market so thay may have moved to an outer borough.

 

Yeah, I like to go in there to buy stuff, but it's also cool to talk to the guy for a few minutes. He's funny, he acts as if he's not paying any attention, but then if you pull something out of the racks that he likes you hear an "ooooh" coming from behind the counter.

 

Oh, good to know. They close down so fast it's hard to keep track.

I agree about House of Oldies - they do have great stuff in there if you're looking for something specific and you don't mind dropping a little more than you should have to.

 

We’re all creatures of habit and I tend to stick to Academy CD's on 18th Street and a weekly Academy Vinyl/Saint Mark’s trawl these days. Most of my non-Internet purchases seem to be from the used CD racks at Kim’s Underground. Walking the extra 6 blocks to A-1 just doesn’t seem to happen.

I’ve been in that shop several times and I bought a Don Covay album there once (they are soul/funk oriented) but I always seem to be short on time when I pass that shop... meeting my wife at an Indian restaurant or on my way to meet friends at Manitoba’s or something. Same with this shop I mentioned on East 5th Street. We passed there a month or so ago and I went in. I hit the Country section and found a George Jones album that I didn’t have on vinyl – A Picture of Me (Without You) - for $7.00. I was impressed that he had several other George Jones albums in the bins including Sings Like The Dickens from 1964, which is one of my very favorites. I think that was priced at $10, which is extremely reasonable.

I’ve got to make an effort to go down to both of those shops when I have a few hours to kill… maybe this weekend.