Best Record Store In New York

try Acadamy records and cds 18st between 5th and 6th ave.

Academy at 12 W. 18th St (between 5th and 6th Avenues) was ALL classical the last time I was there two years ago. Well worth the visit. Has always been my first stop.

J&R Music at Park Row (City Hall area). R train to City Hall, E train to World Trade Center, or #2 to Park Row. We are talking CDs and very limited vinyl.

Best regards,

Rich

Bleeker Street Records has decent vinyl. all music

Thank you for the responses! I will be sure to check out the Record stores mentioned above. I am primarily looking for a store that has a really good vinyl section. Does Academy Records have any Jazz, or is it all Classical as mentioned above. I listen to Jazz about 70% of the time and Classical the remaining 30%. Thanks again for the recommendations above!

Regards,

Rick

Academy Records
12 W. 18th St. (between 5th and 6th Aves.)
New York, NY 10011
212.242.3000
FAX 212.242.3160
orders@academylpcd.com
Open seven days a week, 11am-7pm

**********************
Academy LPs (pop/rock/jazz LPs)
415 E. 12 ST. (Between 1st Ave and Ave A)
NEW YORK, NY 10009
212.780.9166
Monday Through Sunday 12:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Do yourself a favor by getting on a train and going to the Princeton Record Exchange in New Jersey.They have a great Jazz lp selection and the prices are far more fair than any store in NYC.Classical selection was so so.Princeton had a huge Jazz lp section last year at this time and it was a trip that i would make again.The stores in NYC had pretty dismal and overpriced Jazz sections.Also try the Jazz Record center in NYC.Lots of marginal lp's at high prices,but nice people.

J&R, great selection, great values. If you spend over $200, and ask they will generally ship it out for free.

Met a guy at a record show in Florida. He handed me his card, info below.

Colony Records - 1619 Broadway(corner 49th st)NY,NY. Can be reached at 212-265-1260.

So this might be another source to check out, although I do not have any first hand experience with this store.

If you like jazz, you gotta go to Downtown Music Gallery. It's not that big but they have got all the good and hard to find stuff. The owners really know their stuff and they even have free in store concerts of some of the best jazz artists in the world.

Next time I'm in New York it would be at the top of my list.

Is Colony Records still in business?
J&R Musicworld is the last "full catalog" record store in NYC. Sad!

For jazz, the best address is:
Jazz Record Center
236 W. 26th St.
Suite 804 (take the elevator to the 8th floor)
Thousands of used and new LPs and CDs. Also choice of DVDs.
The owner, Fred Cohen, is friendly and knowledgeable.

If you find yourself in Philadelphia, try Philadelphia Record Exchange on S. 5th St. They have a very good selection of used vinyl at reasonable prices in all categories of music. It isn't NYC, but it's close enough. The last time I was in Academy Records, the selection was next to zero. Princeton Record Exchange has a pretty good selection of jazz and rock and I was there just 6 weeks ago. Of course, all of these places have a varying amount of vinyl as they buy and sell. It's the luck of the draw and usually requires several visits in order to come up with really great finds. Used vinyl stores are often cherry picked by on-line dealers who sell on ebay or on their own websites at premium prices.

This is not a recommendation for everyone but if your jazz tastes run to free jazz, improvisational jazz, and modern jazz, as well as modern classical, and the late 60s and early 70s progressive scene, there is one place that is absolutely the best place on the planet on a per square foot basis (because it is a small basement shop): The Downtown Music Gallery (now in Chinatown). Check it out:

http://www.dtmgallery.com/Main/index.htm

Think Andrew Hill, Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, Keith Tippett, Anthony Braxton, Soft Machine, Terry Riley, Phillip Glass, King Crimson, X-Legged Sally, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Brotherhood of Breath, Robert Wyatt, Last Exit, Peter Brotzmann, Mathew Shipp, William Parker, Larval, Gunter Hampel, Misha Mengelberg,..."that" sort of thing.

You've never seen most of the stuff nor heard most of the artists, but they've got stuff playing all the time in there and I've picked up many things just because I was there and heard something playing. I've spent a couple of hours in there on more than one occasion. A real treasure.

Thanks for all the info! All of the places above look great! I will be in New York for a few days, so I should be able to visit most of these shops! Thanks again for all the recommendations!

I remember years ago when I was with CBS, there was a record store in the Village area of New York. But I can't recall the name of the store or if it is still there. Do remember always had a great selection and prices were very friendly. Scooped a lot of great vinyl there.