RE: Record Stores, Venues, and Places of interest in New York City

I was in NYC for an extremely brief trip and looked for record stores close to where I was staying. Academy was cool although much smaller than I had imagined. I also went to Village Music World, which I literally backed out of- perhaps the worst record store I've ever been to. there was another one nearby - Generation Records maybe, which was not bad- mostly new releases.

The catch is that there are 3 Academy locations.

-The uptown one features classical music and DVDs (while also having everything else)

-The downtown one is primarily used and new vinyl

-The Brooklyn "Anex" in Greenpoint is the largest space. It has new and used vinyl as well as some CDs in the back. Definitely the biggest selection there.

2 Bridges Music Arts is a new place in Chinatown w/ incredible records & books

2bridgesnyc.net

I'm pretty sure Bleecker St Records (on 4th) closed recently

If dance music (and related genres like soul and jazz) is of interest, A-1 Records is a must IMO.

Agree that you should definitely try to get to Smalls (with Mezzrow as a sideline, not the other way around). The Cornelia Street Cafe usually has good music, too.