NYC Record Stores

A question came up about record stores in NYC and here is some good information from Anthony at the KBD Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kbd/

"ACADEMY RECORDS - Williamsburg Brooklyn, 96 N. 6th St. (718) 318-8200 -
also locations in East Village at 77 E. 10th St. & Chelsea at 12 W. 18th, but the bklyn store has more punk. Very good store.

PASSOUT RECORDS - 131 Grand Street, between Bedford & Berry, not a big store but cool. They also have live punk bands performing for free. My band played there once. Fun.
http://www.myspace. com/passoutrecor dshop

GENERATION RECORDS - 210 Thompson Street, (212)-254-1100 - Lots of vinyl of all kinds, but I often wish they would stock more real punk rock stuff and less of today's hardcore that I'm not so interested in. They have a display case and a wall in the basement for rare punk 7 inches though.

BLEECKER BOB'S - 118 West 3rd Street. (212) 475-9677. One of the first shops to ever carry punk rock, worth a visit for the historical value alone. Ever see the Sex Pistols movie, "D.O.A." where they interview a punk rock record store owner? That's Bob. Often crtiticized for being overpriced, but once in a while you can catch an item you know should be worth more going for less than you expected.

Not to be confused with BLEECKER STREET RECORDS - 239 Bleecker Street, an affiliate of Generation Records, above, some punk, but much less than there really should be.

ROCKIT SCIENTIST - 33 St. Mark's Place - (212) 242-0066. Better for Mod, Psych, and Beat records than they are for punk, but what punk they do carry is usually 70s/80s and/or KBD oriented, and they carry a fairly nice selection and some nice items.

OTHER MUSIC - 15 East 4th St. - (212) 477-8150 - Very small punk selection, but if you are also into oddball, experimental, progressive, indie, and that sorta thing, you might want to check it out.

ST. MARK'S SOUNDS - 20 St. Mark's Place - This used to be one of the most important punk rock record stores in the city, and now it's virtually worthless, but I always love to go inside for a minute or two to gaze at the impossibly rare and beautiful Plasmatics poster they have hanging up by the door that's been there since 1979. No other reason to go in there though, if you ask me.

EAR WAX RECORDS - 218 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn - I 've been told this store is very good but I was only ever in it once. Didn't get anything at the time. I probably need to go again before I can give an honest assessment.

STRIDER RECORDS - 22 Jones St. between 4th and Bleecker. (No punk, but ok for oldies. Do not enter the HOUSE OF OLDIES unless you crave being treated like a worthless peice of fucking shit.)

I've heard there are new stores that have opened up, but don't remember the names and haven't been to them yet.Many of the good stores I used to go to have gone out of business in recent years. I am glad these remain. Sometime you might want to plan a trip that can coincide with the WFMU Record Fair. It's a great fair for getting good records. Also, there is a New York Punk Rock and Underground Record Fair that should be happening about once a year. Justin's sure to be seen at that one! http://www.myspace. com/nyundergroun drecordfair Not sure when the next one is though, but the last one was in May.

Hope this helps you out in some way."


Then Justin added this update:

"Tony's list is pretty solid. A couple notes:

Academy's East Village location moved to 415 E. 12th St. (between 1st Ave
and Ave A).

Stider has lost their lease and will be kicked out soon, if they haven't
left the space already. Call ahead if you plan to visit: 212-675-3040.

And some additions:

Kim's Video and Music (East Village: 124 1st Ave., between 7th St. and St.
Marks Pl.) - The last of the Kim's empire. Ok for new stuff, but Academy
in Brooklyn has a lot more. Used section is pretty small.

Gimme Gimme (East Village: 325 E. 5th St., between 1st and 2nd Ave.,
212-475-2955) - Open Fri, Sat and Sun only. Used only. Many genres
including punk. Also see Tropicalia in Furs across the street at 304 E.
5th St, which is best known for Brazilian records, but has some punk.

Justin
CollectorScum. com"