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In Princeton, an Offline Haven for Music Shoppers Thrives


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Is Academy Records (W. 18th St., Manhattan) still worth visiting? I often shopped for classical CDs there around 20 years ago.

I found a website, and Academy appears to still be in business, which surprises me considering Manhattan rents. Website claims that they buy collections, fwiw.

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11 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Is Academy Records (W. 18th St., Manhattan) still worth visiting? I often shopped for classical CDs there around 20 years ago.

I found a website, and Academy appears to still be in business, which surprises me considering Manhattan rents. Website claims that they buy collections, fwiw.

Yes, Academy (the one on Manhattan that sells CDs, not to be confused with the others) is okay.  Probably better for classical than for jazz, though there always seem to be some cool nuggets in the jazz CDs, about US$10 or so.  Aside from Jazz Record Center can't think of a better shop on Manhattan.  Always busy too.  Mosaics usually in the front window.  

1 hour ago, medjuck said:

I found the opposite the last couple of times I was at Amoeba in LA.   

The Berkeley store was cut in half.  Business was down.  They turned the sectioned off portion into a marijuana dispensary.  

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14 hours ago, T.D. said:

Is Academy Records (W. 18th St., Manhattan) still worth visiting? I often shopped for classical CDs there around 20 years ago.

I found a website, and Academy appears to still be in business, which surprises me considering Manhattan rents. Website claims that they buy collections, fwiw.

The Academy Records store on the lower East Side (415 E. 12th Street) is substantially better for jazz records. That's the one I go to when I have the chance. 

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26 minutes ago, kh1958 said:

The Academy Records store on the lower East Side (415 E. 12th Street) is substantially better for jazz records. That's the one I go to when I have the chance. 

If it’s the store I think it is (came across it almost by chance) I would agree - well worth a visit for the vinyl. At least it was, 10 years ago !

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23 hours ago, medjuck said:

I found the opposite the last couple of times I was at Amoeba in LA.   

Just the latest news on Amoeba Los Angeles, from Variety

Amoeba Records’ Los Angeles store will move to a new location “within blocks” of its current spot on 6400 Sunset, where it’s been since first opening its doors back in 2001, according to Marc Weinstein, who co-owns the indie record retailer with Dave Prinz. The company also plans to seek a marijuana dispensary permit for the new location.

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19 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

Relics from the past. I used to love going to record stores. From locally owned all the way up to the gargantuan Virgin Megastore. 

I miss the experience, but I witnessed and enjoyed it. Now I shop from the comfort of home. Fair enough tradeoff, I suppose. 

You really can't shop from home for used LPs. I've only ordered a few used LPs on line and they weren't in a condition that would have gotten me to buy them if they were on a store shelf. I won't buy a record with a scratch I can feel. Not worth it to me when I can just play the CD in most cases.

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3 hours ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

You really can't shop from home for used LPs. I've only ordered a few used LPs on line and they weren't in a condition that would have gotten me to buy them if they were on a store shelf. I won't buy a record with a scratch I can feel. Not worth it to me when I can just play the CD in most cases.

 

Another thing the in-shop experience gives you that you don't get online (at least I don't) is the discovery of something that you weren't expecting to find.  Something that turns into an impulse buy based on an employee's recommendation.  Something that you had in the back of your mind as something to check out some day in the future, but no specific plans to buy any day soon.  Then you find it and it's in your hands and impulse takes over and you buy it.  

I don't find the thrill of that type of buy when I'm searching for things online at all.  It's not as fun.  

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36 minutes ago, Aggie87 said:

 

Another thing the in-shop experience gives you that you don't get online (at least I don't) is the discovery of something that you weren't expecting to find.  Something that turns into an impulse buy based on an employee's recommendation.  Something that you had in the back of your mind as something to check out some day in the future, but no specific plans to buy any day soon.  Then you find it and it's in your hands and impulse takes over and you buy it.  

I don't find the thrill of that type of buy when I'm searching for things online at all.  It's not as fun.  

Exactly. Which is why I find it rather annoying when record stall holders (happens rarely with shop employees these days, admittedly) ask me what I am looking for and give me an irritated (and at any rate dissatisfied) stare when I (politely and quietly) tell them "I can tell you when I see it". (Sometimes when I am in the mood I explain that I have widespread interests and might even be tempted by something that I just hapen upon unexpectedly or is in the back of my mind but not ready to be named offhand, and then at least one or the other understands and admits this is a sound approach).

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No doubt. As I said above, I do miss the experience. Wether it was hanging out at our locally owned joint after school playing video games in the back and perusing albums and cassettes, all the way up  to stopping in at Downtown Disney after a night of partying with friends at City Walk to peruse the endless aisles of CDs at the Virgin Megastore while simply soaking up the amazing ambiance of the monster store teeming with other music enthusiasts. 

I miss it all. But I’ll cherish the memories and gladly move forward, on from something I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced. 

Edited by Scott Dolan
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2 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

 

Another thing the in-shop experience gives you that you don't get online (at least I don't) is the discovery of something that you weren't expecting to find.  Something that turns into an impulse buy based on an employee's recommendation.  Something that you had in the back of your mind as something to check out some day in the future, but no specific plans to buy any day soon.  Then you find it and it's in your hands and impulse takes over and you buy it.  

I don't find the thrill of that type of buy when I'm searching for things online at all.  It's not as fun.  

A good friend of mine calls it the thrill of the hunt. Sadly missing these days.

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For those who may be interested, I received the following email from Princeton:

Just Arrived: 2,000 Jazz LPs! 
 
We have put out hundreds of jazz records over the last few weeks, but they’ve come in small batches from smaller collections.  It’s been a while since we had a large one come in, so we are happy to have a very nice one to talk about today.
 
But, before we get to far, you should know that we have dubbed this “The Slightly Warped Collection”.  The previous owner had custom-built shelves that were, alas, slightly too short so that the records leaned a little on them.  Because of this, around 35% have a slight warp to them.  We have tested them all (it took some time!), thrown out the bad ones, and condition graded the rest.  Those with a few lines under the “99” on the price tag have a slight edge warp, and the VG’s are a little worse.  We have, of course, adjusted the price when appropriate, and, as with all our product, they are fully guaranteed for refund or exchange.
 
So, that said, this collection is still pretty awesome.  It is almost exclusively late 70’s and 80’s, both music made in that time period, and later pressings of earlier classics and is chock full of good stuff.
 
You can see a short video featuring some of the titles below:

This collection features many of the smoother West Coast artists and quite a few vocalists.  Along with later pressings of Blue Note and other major labels, there are many on smaller such as Discovery, Concord, Famous Door, Bee Hive, Mode, Muse, Sea Breeze, and many more. It is also heavy on imports, particularly U.K, French, Spanish, and Japanese.
 
Except for the warp issue, the titles are exceptionally clean. The gentleman who owned them took excellent care of them, so the covers and LPs are for the most part pristine.
 
There are no real rarities here price-wise, so these records are quite affordable.  The majority are in the $1.99 to $14.99 range with just a small percentage higher. If you are looking for a nice cross-section of inexpensive jazz records, it’s a great time to come visit us!
 
Please note: as always, these records are sold first come, first served.  No phone calls or holds please.

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