Hi,
For used records the Greenwich Village area is excellent.That is above or uptown from lower Manhattan were your hotel is.
For new & used audio gear the city hall vicinity has J&R records/audio...
There are scores more through out the boroughs but Manhattan has the best selection.
Uptown/Midtown Manhattan has the musical instrument district on 47/48st & Broadway.That's were the famed Brill Building is from the Phil Spector era.The Yellow pages phone book is another good source.
Anyway, enjoy your visit in NYC. |
j&r music world is a trip...you can walk there. as far as used records, go the village(not what it used to be)...kims music and video is great, and has lots of import cd's and dvd's.....i'm afraid hi end shops are not what they used to be either. |
Glad you asked...being from CT I'M IN THE CITY quite a bit. ones that are worth mentioning, ZAPP records 258 Bleeker st, yes uptown from where you'll be staying. To make a long story short...there are about 5-8 GREAT stores on Bleeker street ,then for your "old school hip hop" around the corner on 3rd ave there's Fat Beats (it's on the second flr so pay attention or you'll miss it) you WILL Not believe what they have. Accademy records 10 W 18th st. another excellent choice. Then to top all those off there are a number of mom and pop shops all thru-out the Village (btw that's where ALL these shops are) so keep your eyes peeled.
Audio equipment not so aubundant there was a phenomenal shop on Broadway (also in the village) the Stereo Exchange, they are still there,but they don't sell used gear anymore..just Home theatre,,they told me about 5-6 years ago that they don't sell used gear in the store anymore because of Audiogon,,. how ironic,,,believe me, having gone to this store back thru out the 80-90's they were like a candy store,totally unbelievable!! I guess Audiogon is sort of a blessing and a curse,,,I'll stop here because these stores are more than enough to keep you occupied,give me a holler if you need me to be more specific.
And by all means let us know what you find.. |
Check out the Stereo Exchange at Broadway and Houston, village area. Lots of used gear in addition to new stuff. Watch out, the sales people are rather pushy. |
Hold on a minute,there is no high-end audio in J&R,not even used.There is no even mid-fi audio equipment there.Why in a world are you reccomending it?I doubt that Elf73 wants to look at a couple of Cerwin Vegas with a chipped side or your basic home theater JBL or Mission.There is some selection of used high-end in Sound by Singer (16th str & 6 ave)but they will never admit they sell used gear .They will offer it as demo at a little discount.
Record stores to visit: Other Music (Broadway & East 4th)-they sell what you like,Kim's Video on St.Marks between 3rd &2nd ave (second floor has lots of vinyl in great variety),Academy music (East 10 street between Broadway and 3rd avenue-you'll definetly like it)sells only vinyl.All these stores are 3-5 minutes apart from each other.While you are at Kim's,cross over to the opposite side and walk to your right and you'll see Rocket Scientist,a good record store for Prog/Psych which also sells stuff like Kraftwerk and Residents and a bunch of rare grooves.A lot of hard to find imports in there.
While you are in Other Music,check out In Living Stereo on the same block,a little high end audio store with very friendly people.
All of the above (except Sound by Singer,which is another 10-15 min.walk further up Broadway)is about 20 minute walk up Broadway from where you will be staying.Considering that you will pass J&R on your right side,take a look and keep on walking,but i would bypass it altogether. |
There is a good shop on west 72nd street. It used to be called "Gryphon" but changed it's name to "72nd Street Records". It's between Broadway and West End Avenue on the north side of the street. They have a window display of records and books, all used.
FiveTable |
Hi Elf:
I don't know of any shop for used hifi audio gear in NYC that is worth a visit. The shops with the best gear: Sound by Singer (Union Square Area), In Living Stereo (Village), Innovative, Stereo Exchange ... sell new. Harveys is only worth a visit if you are into HT and want to drop 40K, otherwise they won't even spend the time on you. J&R Music unfortunately is a joke when it comes to hifi gear ... not even decent mid-fi gear. It bothers me to say this as I have lived in NYC all my life (50 years). I used to be able to walk into a dealer and buy a piece of equipment with a decent discount. It all stopped when hifi stopped being a popular hobby.
Regards, Rich |
Hey Tiger,Stereo Exchange no longer sells used gear.They made a switch to home theatre around the year 2000.I miss their large section in the back where they sold equipment on the left and speakers on the right side.Actually,the high end minded people from old SE formed In Living Stereo in a place that i believe,was the original Stereo Exchange in the 70s. |
Awesome, thanks guys. A lot of help. I've always wanted to go see/check out Greenwich village. Only been to NY once before and I took the double decker bus tour.. a great way to see other major cities in the world by the way... I love being a tourist in New York City. Wicked...
About the audio stores, I had a feeling that would be the case. And to be completely honest, as I am just an average working stiff, I doubt I would have bought anything because of the variety of gear and deals on Audiogon and Canuck Audio. I'll go to the MET or Guggenheim instead.
I just got back from London. It was pretty short notice, and I didn't do much research, so this is by no means an authoritative opinion, but I checked out a couple of used record stores briefly, and it's pretty pricey. Compared to Canada anyways, and the records are in terrible condition.
Did go to Virgin Mega Store (it's called something else now) and bought some cool old school funk and reggae compilations.. but I'm sure you have all this and more in NYC...
Thanks again everyone.
And because of the dollar, we're no longer like Mexico to you guys, but if you have a chance, Vancouver in the summer is worth checking out... cheapest quality sushi in the world. Very good looking women too, I can't get any but you guys might have better luck...
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I second the Other Music, Academy and Kim's recommendations. |
I am bummed to learn that Stereo Exchange no longer sells used gear. I used to love to visit there when in "the city". As someone else said, the salesman would be on you like flies if you demonstrated any interest in anything, but it was fun to browse. Also, no one mentioned Lyric HiFi, which makes me think they must be gone too. I bought my very first "high end" speakers from Mike Kay, about an eon ago. (A pair of IMF Studio speakers, if you want to know.) I would have thought Lyric of all businesses would have survived the devastation wrought on brick and mortar audio stores in the last several years, because of their wealthy clientele who could not be bothered to shop for used or bargain equipment. |
The Lyric website is still operational, listing its two locations. I suspect Lyric is alive and well catering to the clientele you mentioned. |
Lyris is alive and well,still 100% high end. |
For the NYC residents to confirm (I moved to LA in 1997)
Toys from the Attic in Westchester or Fairfield county ( a short day trip by car) was always a good call for used high end gear. Also, there was a 2nd floor shop in (I believe) Flishing,Queens. Manhattan is more a "new gear" kind of town.
Good Luck
Marty |
Actually, I think Toys from the Attic is (was?) in Rockland county.
Marty |
Toys From The Attic - 914 area code - Westchester. ?Mt. Kisco? |
Toys from the Attic is in downtown White Plains, NY. The high-end gear used to be upstairs with pro music and instruments downstairs, but it's been a few years since I last visited. They (TFTA) are just down the block from Lyric Hi-Fi's store, where Dan M will treat you well if you tell him you're a 2-channel guy.
HTH |
Thanks everyone. I spent the day in Greenwich Village, walked from the Mariott in the financial district. NYC is definitely a walking city like no other. Great way to spend an afternoon.
Went to all the stores you mentioned Overhang. Kim's, Rocket Scientist, Other Music and Academy on 10th (though they only sold classical Vinyl, tons of CDs though and packed). Couldn't find Zapp records, or Fat Beats or anything on Bleeker unfortunately..
Other Music was very cool. Excellent selection of good music.... they were playing a CD called Nigeria: Discofunk, I wished I bought it now. Thought I'd wait until it was released on vinyl..picked up another compilation by the same label: Soundway records.
Bought used John Mayall, Bob Marley, James Brown live in NYC, Heavy Funk James Brown covers, Amy Winehouse, Nigeria Special: Modern Hi-life.... the price was actually not that bad. Cheaper than London by a little, and a lot cheaper than anything in Vancouver (everything decent is listed as an import, with a corresponding inflated price).
Other Records was my favorite store. Nice that Living Stereo was right next door. I finally got to listen to a SET amp, and devore speakers (which I've been really curious about lately, heard the 9s though not the gibbon super 8s), and a Shindo Garrard 301 w/lenco idler (?) to boot (30-40K system... I think).... 1st side of some Santana record. Nice people... checked out Stereo Exchange and Sound by Singer too... if I was to spend my money in an audio store, I think I'd go to Living Stereo.
Thanks everyone.. if anyone is visiting NYC, walking around Greenwich is a good idea.. super easy.
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Academy Records on 10th street sells only indie and psych vinyl.The one on 18th street sells classical but i never mentioned it.sorry you missed it,might catch up some other time. |
Actually, the one on tenth sells just about everything but classical. I've bought a lot of good jazz and classic rock albums there- they have a good variety. |
