New York: Manhattan: West Village

Last updated September 1, 1997
 

Bleecker Bob's
118 West 3rd Street
between MacDougal and 6th Avenue
(212) 475-9677
Semi-institutional post-sixties punk/rock/metal store. Not a Top-40 kindaı place. Amidst the mostly vinyl selection are assorted singles, boots, and collectibles, and a smattering of CSs and CDs. Hardcore, punk and ska wonderland. Some zines, tees and posters. Expect to pay tip-top dollar for things (recently $200 for 'No New York?'- $8 - $50 elsewhere). Hairy, sometimes surly staff who've been known to bark at you as soon as you walk in the door. John who works there is a good ARCpal and always donates time to help us with our record sales.

Culture Records
31 Carmine Street
(212) 633-6226
Mon-Sat, 12-9,; Sun, 2-8
Reggae outlets, they come and they go hereabouts. Specializing in African, calypso and reggae, Culture's been around for at least a year.

Decadance Inc.
119 Christopher Street
(212) 691-1013
After Vinyl Mania, this place gets a lot of votes from DJs as a top provider of dance tracks. Small store, so the stock is forever moving ahead of the times.
Discorama
186 West 4th Street
(212) 206-8417
Mainstream compact discs in the West Village at reasonable prices. Cluttered, crowded and OK.

Fat Beats
406 6th Avenue
(212) 673-3883
Descend the stairs to enter this teeny but mighty den of hip-hop vinyl in Lower Manhattan. Fat Beats also carries instrumental and breakbeat vinyl, a smattering of reggae at reasonable prices., DJ equipment (mixers, bags, etc.) as well as videos.

Generation Records
210 Thompson Street (between 3rd & Bleecker)
(212) 979-1872
A large basement and first-floor set-up, this place has lots of vinyl and compact discs. Most LPs are priced at $7.99. Not much here that's too hard to find anywhere else; just a good place to find any used record from the past 15 years you might have missed. Again, you probably won't find that super-rare record you've been looking for, but maybe you'll get a good deal on some used "alternative" rock. The employees are easy to spot: just look for the 'interesting"colored hair.

Golden Disc
239 Bleecker Street
(212) 255-7899
A varied stock of R&B, jazz, rock and soul from the fifties to the present, including a large selection of 45s, CDs and books.

House of Oldies
35 Carmine Street
(212) 989-1697
Mon-Sat, 11-7
Bob Abramsonıs vinyl-only store is the place to go if you just gotta get a record and you gotta have it on vinyl. If they donıt have it, chances are, they can unearth a copy somewhere. Over the top New York Œcollectorsı prices. They're nice to us.

Kim's Underground
144 Bleecker Street
(212) 260-1010
Not quite the record store it was before some employees jumped ship to form Other Music, Kim's still stocks a good selection of recent "alternative" and indie (plus a small selection of electronica/dance) vinyl and cds at competitive prices. No used vinyl, but you might find something interesting that the NYU crowd passed over.

Kim's Video & Audio
350 Bleecker Street at West 10th Street
(212) 675-8996
Very similar to the underground one. Hey, it's a chain!

Multi Kulti
218 Thompson Street
(between 3rd and Bleecker Street)
(212) 979-1872
Part of the Thompson Street triumvirate with Generation and Nostalgia, Multi Kulti is unlike the other two in that it primarilly stocks CDs, with only a small amount of vinyl. As the name implies, music from around the globe, and at reasonable (less than $15 usually) prices. More diverse than most record stores, not to mention most World Music stores. Also a burgeoning Ethno-Electronica hybrid section. Very friendly owner usually behind the counter.

Music Inn
169 West 4th Street
(212) 243-5715
An interesting, but oh-so-tiny shop that sells and repairs acoustical and folk instruments from around the world with a few bins of recordings to match. A good homey place for a folk fix, but you gotta spend a dollar just to enter! Disgraceful.

NostalgiaŠand all that jazz
217 Thompson Street
(between 3rd and Bleecker Streets)
(212) 420-1940
Quite west village den of jazz vinyl‹but with what seems like an ever-dwindling selection. There's also some blues and soundtracks/show music worth browsing through. The nostalgia part‹stills, old magazines and books‹is worth checking out.

Rebel Rebel
319 Bleecker Street
(between 7th Avenue and Christopher)
(212) 989-0770
Used vinyl, focusing on music from 80-85, this place is heaven for anglophiles. While they do stock some new stuff, the emphasis on dance and alt.Brit (we once described the shop as a Cure/Morrisey fan's wet dream), including an assortment of current UK music magazines. Found "This Nation's Saving Grace" by the Fall here for $5 in mint condition. Never seen it anywhere else, so consider that a recommendation.

Revolver Records
45 West 8th Street
(212) 982-6760
As the name may indicate, thereıs a lot of Beatle worship going on here, but thatıs not all. Heavy on memorabilia and a good selection of fanzines and mags. Strictly rock, with an assortment of used vinyl. Lots of books‹even sheet music to many rock albums.

Rockit Scientist
43 Carmine Street
(southwest of Bleecker)
(212) 242-0066
It doesn't take a, er, Rocket Scientist to realize that this store is somewhat lame. Compact discs and some overpriced vinyl, the only competitive price found was $30 for "Psychedelic Underground" by Amon Duul I. Some interesting psychedelia here, but better prices at Kim's Underground and what about those Neu! vinyl re-issues all priced at $31 each!

Route 66 Records
258 Bleecker Street
(at Cornelia)
Rather spare alternative rock collection, combined with a lousy used selection, equals a shrug.

Second Coming Records
235 Sullivan Street
(between 3rd and Bleecker Streets)
(212) 288-1313
One side compact discs and tapes, the other vinyl. The LP section is well-organized and full of interesting rock from the past thirty years. Some items are priced at the collector's level, (pre-1987 Fall records at $30-ish, the Recommended re-issue of "Faust So Far", $40. ) but some deals here also, (1979s "Soldier-Talk" by the Red Crayola for $8) . Our reviewer bought the Faust. Ouch.

Second Hand Rose's
525 6th Avenue at 14th Street
(212) 675-3735
Mon-Sat, 11-7; Sun, 12-5
If there's a sweet ol' Rose associated with this place, the present owners have her tied up somewhere in the back! Mostly vinyl, priced by the book‹thatıs a minimum of $10 for anything worthwhile, upwards to $40. Soundtracks, of which there are plenty, run $20 - $50. Selection of LPs on the street for a buck; some a pretty good buy. Big 3 CCs accepted.

Sonic Groove
41 Carmine Street (southwest of Bleecker)
(212) 675-5284
Spacious, stylish wood paneling, and four really nice turntable listening stations. Sonic Groove specializes in electronica/ dance (as in, you won't find anything else here). All the latest 12"s.

Subterranean Records
5 Cornelia Street
(between West 4th and Bleecker Streets)
(212) 463-8900
Take a few steps down and you're in indie-rock heaven, the small and cramped ex-Hideout Records. Well-stocked new vinyl and competitively-priced used vinyl, mostly pre-post punk.

Strider Records
23 Jones Street
(between 4th and Bleecker Streets)
(212) 675-3040
Catering to the purist who believes rock music stopped in the late seventies, vinyl only, and quite a lot of it. If you're looking for anything American or British from the years 1950 to 1975, they have it. Cramped conditions, but the personable and knowledgable employees will move stuff for you, just ask! Tons (we mean it) of 45's decorate the walls here. Worth checking out.

Triton
247 Bleecker Street
(between Cornelia and Carmine)
(212) 243-3610
Small electronics store with a routine selection of current CD releases at a discount, as well as a smattering of bootlegs, imports and oddities.

Vinyl Mania Dance Music HQ
60 Carmine Street
(at Bleecker, Bedford, and 7th Avenue South)
(212) 924-3309
Tremendous selection of 12" dance discs. Lots of professional DJs and wanna-bees jousting for the hottest releases, go by late on Friday afternoon for a real madhouse. Whittled down from a three-store empire, the remaining Dance Music HQ still rules with its selection of 12" singles, as well as old disco, reggae, imports, homemade dance tapes and hard-to-find compilations.

Vinyl Mania Jazz Annex
43 Carmine Street
(212) 463-7120

Zapp Records
258 Bleecker Street
(212) 366-4958
Picture discs and other memorabilia on one wall. Mostly rock and pop CDs. Well, at least it's clean.

 
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