The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Beyond a Google/internet search, thought I would ask the community as well. Anyone know of a good record shop selling 78s in New York City? Visiting a relative there soon, want to squeeze some shopping in. Thanks!

Aah, I'm afraid NYC has too much of the "sameness" that has beset every other big city these days. Outside of a few small record/CD shops around the Village like Bleeker Bob's and a big store down near City Hall (J&R Music World), you're hard pressed to even find 33 ⅓ records anymore. "Hard to find" CDs...well, they're even harder to find. This is just from a former resident and occasional visitor now, so take it with a grain of salt. I'd probably bombard the google list with emails to try to get a lead, and try some antique shops also.
Hopefully somneone will have a definitive answer for you.
John S.

Thanks, John. You've at least given me a name I haven't run across during my intial searches. I'm not surprise by your comment about the lack of supply. Here in the Detroit area, there is one store in Ann Arbor, Encore Music, that carries 78s. And even their selection is extremely slim. I'll follow your suggestion. Thanks again.
Chris

Chris:

As far as I know, the last real treasure house of 78's in NYC (Records Revisited) closed in 2008 and the stock was donated to the Syracuse U. A sad day for collectors, but at least the records were not tossed, and Syracuse now has the second largest collection after LOC. Good luck in your search.

George

That's true about SU getting all of RRs former stock, George, but unfortunately (for everyone), the collection at the Belfer Archive is no longer available to the public, the last I heard, most of the holdings SU has have gone into storage. I used to look forward to their "surplus sales" every year and always came home with a car full of great records. Their final sale was going to consist of Diamond Discs and Cylinder duplicates, triples, etc but it never materialized after the university decided to slash it's staff at the archive and everything went into a warehouse downtown, where, from what I have heard, the collection could be at risk for damage from extreme weather conditions. Such a shame.

Sean

I haven't bought records in NYC in many years. I do remember picking up some records from an old record and radio shop called "Waves" during the '80s. At that time I purchased two Berliner discs at $20 apiece. They are still in business at another NYC location. However, I don't know if they still sell 78s.

It is fun to browse through records at antiques and collectibles venues when visiting another city. Do keep in mind that you will very likely pay a high price for old records in NYC, as the average small business pays an astronomical sum for rent and utilities, and will not be able to afford to keep their doors open by selling Billy Murray records at a buck apiece.



Rocky

It's http://www.wavesllc.com on West 25th Street. Looks cool, I'll have to go there myself when I get back to NYC in November.

Preceeding Spam.....at least make it interesting to read, nothing worse than nonsensical spam! John

Waves is worth a visit, it's in the 25th St. Antique mall. Their space is very small but I'm not sure if they have any records.

George