Brooklyn record stores

[bitterfruit]

Yo,

Can someone suggest a record store to check out in Brooklyn? I'll be near the law school me thinks.

[earl grey]

i don't know the brooklyn stores especially well, but earwax in williamsburg is pretty good. bedford + north 5th i think. other music is always worth the trip too, i'd say.

[hstencil]

Joe's in Greenpoint is good for used stuff. Holy Cow in Park Slope has occasionally good used finds as well. Still haven't been to the Radio 4-affiliated (I think?) shop on 5th Avenue yet.

[johansen smith]

doesn't one of the guys from Lynnfield Pioneers have a record store in Brooklyn?

[hstencil]

I think you're thinking of Gimme Gimme Records, which is in the East Village (and is very good, btw).

[9000]

Originally posted by hstencil
Joe's in Greenpoint is good for used stuff.

joe's is now "eat records", although the joe's sign is still there. i have no idea how that place stays in business; regardless, i'm happy there's a "mom & pop" shop in the area. if you're looking for CDs there, don't bother - mainly vinyl.

earwax tends to be more expensive than manhattan shops.

[hstencil]

Yeah, whoops, it's called Eat. Don't know why I keep calling it Joe's, I know better.

[Dave]

Brooklyn Law School is in downtown Brooklyn right? Near there is Don's Music (Amity Street just off of Court st. in Cobble Hill- 5 to 10 min. walk from Downtown Brooklyn/ Brooklyn Heights) Lots of used vinyl, odd instruments, interesting CD selection and weird stuff. If you're looking for all new indie releases this isn't it, but it is always worth the trip. Also on Montague Street there is some indie store that is rather mainstream that I can't remember the name of. The Radio 4 affiliated store (Something Else I think) was small and it didn't have a lot of stuff, but what they had was mostly good. Worth checking out. Also along the same lines and just down the street a bit (5th ave in Park Slope) is the 2nd Beacon's Closet(the Williamsburg store carries a bit of music too.) Mostly clothes (there were some clothes at Something Else too) but they did have a small selection of music . They don't go deep, but it's mostly good stuff
Dave

[bitterfruit]

As much time as I have spent in NYC, I've never been to Brooklyn. The little sister just started law school (benefits the older brother with legal-ish-oos) in Brooklyn, so now I have a real reason to go and explore.

Thanks for the info. Don's Music sounds like a place to spend a couple of hours.

[SirPatrickSpens]

Don's is definitely worth supporting... I saw signed copies of "Summer Sun" in there when-- ooops-- Don put it out a couple days early & James, who lives in the area, came in... Don's is cash only, however, so come prepared. Down the way on Court St is the incredible, NUTS Community Bookstore. everyone should always buy something there to keep it from ever changing its zany ways.

Earwax has a decent, varied selection but their prices are for shit & while I'll eat a buck or two to go maw & paw, they don't stay open late or have a cool clerks- two things worth their weight in wampum. I say we're almost better letting Earwax go outta biz & hope something better pops up someday.

Otherwise, yeah, troll through Holy Cow for kicks. Wack pricing there; some vinyl way high, others very reasonable & tho' you'll often hear excruciating dance blip crap music playing, it's at least a TEENY bit of evidence that that part of Park Slope was not always the land of six-figure salary yuppies & their insufferable SUV sized strollers.

SPS
south brookyn

[Susan Kirk]

Holy Cow is closed, kids. Happened about two weeks ago.

Gawd I hated that place sometimes. I've lived in the Slope for over 15 years, and in the late 1990s the owner used to get REALLY hot shit but price it way out of line. In fact, there were a couple of times he'd ask if i wanted to look through stuff he just bought; and when I'd pull stuff out I was interested in, he say "Oh, I'm keepin' that for myself." I mean, this happened for a year, and I always gave the guy the benefit of the doubt, hoping he'd lemme snag some nice funky shit or ultralate Philly Sun Ra Saturns, but never would he give up the goods.

I know that's one of the perks of owning a record store, but JEEEEEZE...the crap he had up on the walls....he'd never put up the hot shit like, say, Gimme Gimme does.

Don't be frontin' on Earwax in Billysboig now--they've got a great selection of "other music" and their used bins usually have decent CDs. Found the quickly-sold-out limited edition "Introducing the Howling Hex" lp months after it was released--stoopid trustfund kids be sleepin'!! BEST post-Trux album by the way.

Didn't the money hounds of soul/jazz/funk Academy open a store in the Boig recently?

[9000]

Originally posted by Susan Kirk
Don't be frontin' on Earwax in Billysboig now

i want to show some love to earwax, but their "trustfund-kid" prices and limited selection make it tough.

[hstencil]

Holy Cow is closed? Well, um, holy cow. Didn't hear about it.

Didn't the money hounds of soul/jazz/funk Academy open a store in the Boig recently?

I've heard rumors that they were planning one, but I haven't seen/heard anything since. Don't know what the story is. Not sure how they are "money hounds," either.

[Susan Kirk]

Not sure how they're money hounds you say? I understand NY record stores who sell rare vinyl mark it up at a premium--if someone's willing to pay it, that's what it must be worth, goes the old saw. But jeeeeze...some of Academy's wall stuff is priced way out of league.

But hey--that's just my opinion. Their bin prices are about normal for NYC.

[9000]

i should have clarified that i was talking about their CDs, not vinyl.

as for CDs, i'd say their new releases are $2-4 more, and used are $2-3 more, than manhattan shops. for most avid buyers on this board, trust-funders excluded, i'd say that adds up.

[vesper]

I went to Earwax while in Williamsburg and thought it was great. After hearing what you guys have said about it though, I wonder if I only had experience with extra shitty record stores in the past (a very likely possibility). At any rate, I was excited to finally get copies of Pere Ubu's Dub Housing & Gastr Del Sol's Camofleur. I can finally get rid of my bootlegged tape & cd-r.

Next time I go, I'll be sure to visit these other places. Earwax was the only place I went.

[9000]

if you're still searching, a new place opened on north 11th and bedford. definitely a nice addition, though more CDs than vinyl. i believe it's called sound fix.

[Greg Hoy]

...great vinyl shopping in Park Slope, Don's Music on Amity in Cobble Hill / Boerum Hill / Carroll Gardens / whatever they call it there is pretty great and kitchy cool, and Don is the man. He'll order you whatever you want, and at a reasonable price, plus his dollar vinyl bins are a fun dig.

[drunk with guns]

You guys are lucky, lexington sucks for record stores. Theres like two maybe that arent terrible.

[Patrick]

Is it true that Academy are opening / have opened a new store in W'burg, with like 60-70K used LPs?

Patrick

[Greg Hoy]

anyone know where this vinyl mecca is located?

[Paul]

I don't even buy vinyl anymore, but seeing such a sight would almost be worth the road trip.