Can you tell me where I can find some great music stores in Manhatten?

Question

I'm visiting New york at the end of the month and I really want to find some great, unusual music stores. Does anyone know where I could find any? Also, are there any cool stores I should visit while I'm there? Thanks for any advise!!

Answer 1

It's Manhattan.  Try Bleecker Bob's at 118 West 3rd Street (Greenwich Village).  They specialize in collectible music and used media but it's got tons of character and is definitely unique.

East Village Books and Records at 99 St Marks Pl is always interesting because it's in the heart of one of the most quirky and artistic sections of the Village.

Other Music carries independent artists' music, and replaces more common categories like R&B and ROck with Psychedelia, In, Out and LA Decadence.

They also cater to DJs carrying vinyl records (remember those???).

Answer 2

Unfortunately a lot of the individually-owned stores have gone out of business once the Virgin MegaStores opened up in Times Square and Union Square.  They sell a lot of different things (books, CDs, shirts, DVDs) but as a trade-off we've lost a little bit of history.

Tower Records used to be great on Broadway and 4th, but they're now closed too.  St. Mark's Place in the village is a great place for used CD stores and other funky shops.

Colony Music on Broadway and 49th St. (in the Brill building, home of the famous "Tin Pan Alley" of songwriting) is still around, they've got CDs, a lot of sheet music, plus celebrity autographs for sale.

Times Square is near there if you want to visit the m&m's store, the Hershey's store, Disney store, pretty much any kind of corporate store you can think of.  Again, it's all really corporate now, which some people say is better than the way Times Square used to be - p**n theaters and such.