hifi and record shops in New York City

Check out: Finyl Vinyl, 208 E.6th St., NYC 10003. Between 2nd and 3rd Ave. Phone: 212-533-8007.

Unfortunately, NYC is heading the way of the rest of the nation when it comes to record shops, big and small.

In the last couple of years many of the specialty shops in the Village and East Village have disappeared.

The big retailers like Towers, Virgin, and J&R are still around but with noticeably less inventory.

Yeah, there's still small shops and it's probably better than most big cities. But, I hear that Boston, Ma. is better.

Depending on where you are in Manhattan, some of the hifi shops and their associated tube stop are as follows:

Sound by Singer (Union Square ... 16st; between Broadway & 5th) - take the N or R tube to 14ST - Union Square or the F train to 14 ST.

Stereo Exchange (Soho - Broadway & Bleecker Street) - take the R train to Prince Street.

Lyric Hi Fi (Upper East Side - Lexington & 82 Street) - take the 4,5, or 6 to 86th Street

Innovative Audio (Midtown - Lexington & 58 Street) - take the F train to Lexington Avenue - 63rd Street or the R or N or 4 or 5 or 6 train to 59 Street/Lexington Avenue

J&R Music ... (City Hall - Park Row) - take the R train to City Hall or the 2 train to Park Row or the E train to Chambers Street. J&R is the block long supermarket for CD's; mid-fi audio; computers; iPods, etc. Best prices too. If your wife is coming along, J&R is also down the street from Century 21 ... which is the discount clothing mecca of lower Manhattan.

Regards, Rich

Colony on Broadway. If it is, it's at Colony...