What 30 of Your Favorite Record Shops Have Become

The day the music died, a yogurt shop took its place.

April 19, 2013

Image via Complex Original

Out with the old and in with the new. It's one of those phrases you hear so often, you rarely question its veracity. The phrase “new and improved” is so routinely slapped on packaging, we’ve grown to assume the two are inextricable. In the tug of war between novelty and nostalgia, we often find ourselves squarely on the side novelty.

Perhaps the starkest proof of this can be seen in the rapid decline of record stores. In New York City, we’ve lost Williamsburg indie hub Sound Fix Records, and East Village mainstays Bleecker Bob’s, and Bleecker Street Records in just the first four months of this year alone.

We’re a generation that has been programmed to hunt down what’s hot, an idea not lost on James Bradley, the owner of Sound Fix, who describes music’s current landscape as a “Spotify-saturated world.”

In the endless quest to be the first to listen to a new single (and write a pithy tweet about it) the speed at which music can be procured makes vinyl an inconvenient reality for some. But our need for instant gratification is only one variable in an ever-evolving equation.

The venerable cultural institution that was once Bleecker Bob’s will soon be replaced by a frozen yogurt shop.

John Kioussis, the former owner of RockIt Scientist records, which has been closed for less than a year, points to big box stores edging out independent retailers. “Franchise stores are moving into the city at a more rapid pace to get into the ‘hot' Village market,” Kioussis notes.

Demand of course, creates rising rents that record store owners with shrinking profit margins can’t afford, which in turn forces them to raise the price of each record. Matt Pullman, manager of Bleecker Street Records says the landlord raised their rent by more than 400%. Bleecker Bob's fell victim to the same economic pressures.

All of these forces have combined to give an unsettling rise to boarded-up record stores strewn throughout the city. We decided it was time to document this alarming trend. Pounding the pavement through the five boroughs, we tracked down the beloved record shops that have gone the way of the dinosaur. Some had been left vacant, while others were replaced by trivial substitutes. The venerable cultural institution that was once Bleecker Bob’s will soon be replaced by a frozen yogurt shop.

DJ Bobbito of the subterranean hip-hop record and sneaker shop Bobbito’s Footwork laments the fact that today's music lovers will never know “the warmth and depth” of analog records. He believes we’ve been conditioned to opt for what’s easily procured, likening the steep divide between an MP3 and vinyl to the difference between a drive-thru cheeseburger and homemade veggie burger.

If, once upon a time, you'd spent your allowance (several weeks' worth) on a record, and now you choose to drop that $12.99 into Apple's wide mouth, you may get the same tracks, but you're missing out on the entirety of the experience. Having a record chosen for you by an owner who knows you. Being in a place where you're surrounded by people who love the same thing you do with the same fervor. When you lose a record store, you don’t just lose access to vinyl, you lose access to a community.

"The experience of entertaining people, helping them buy things they want, and maybe turning them on to a new band that they'd never heard of before keeps the whole music experience vital and alive," says Bleecker Bobs' assistant manager Ski.

Our paltry substitute for community? Blogs. Blogs and lactobacillus.

"Blogs may have replaced the record store as the community gathering point to hear and buy new music,” says Andre Torres, editor-in-chief of Wax Poetics, the bi-monthly hip-hop, funk and soul magazine, “But the record store will continue to be the place where those interested in expanding their musical horizons call home.”

Does that mean vinyl is heading towards extinction? Not neccesarily.

"I've noticed that now much more than in the last five years, a lot of DJs are going back to their roots and spinning on vinyl," says Sharon Bechor, the owner of Rock and Soul, a family-owned Midtown record store that is still thriving after 38 years.

While we can't save every record store in the city from meeting the same fate as Bleecker Bob's, we can get out there and support our local record stores.

Tomorrow is Record Store Day. Make it a point to physically enter one of the city's participating stores, lest you wake tomorrow and find your favorite record store has turned into a yogurt shop.

Written by Shanté Cosme (@ShanteCosme)

Photography by Liz Barclay (@LizBarclay)

Bleecker Street Records

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 239 Bleecker St.
Opened: 1993
Closed: Lease recently expired, final day to be announced soon.
Currently In Its Place: TBD
Specializing In: Vinyl, CDs, posters

Sound Fix

Neighborhood: Willamsburg
Address: 44 Berry St.
Opened: 2004
Closed: April 20, 2013
Currently In Its Place: Whiskey Brooklyn (Expanding)
Specializing In: Indie rock, psych, prog, electronica, experimental

Bleecker Bob's

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 118 West 3rd St.
Opened: 1967
Closed: April 13, 2013
Currently In Its Place: Forever Frozen Yogurt
Specializing In: Rare vinyl

Tropicalia in Furs

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 304 East 5th St.
Opened: 2004
Closed: 2013
Currently In Its Place: So-Hair
Specializing In: Psychedelic Brazilian

Big City

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 521 East 12th St.
Opened: 1997
Closed: 2012
Currently In Its Place: Still vacant
Specializing In: Hip-hop, soul, funk, disco vinyl for DJs

Rockit Scientist Records

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 49 Carmine St.
Opened: 1996
Closed: 2012
Currently In Its Place: Marinella Restaurant
Specializing In: Psychedelic, garage rock, progressive, krautrock

Gimme Gimme Records

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 325 East 5th St.
Opened: 1994
Closed: 2012
Currently In Its Place: Social Tees Animal Rescue
Specializing In: Used vinyl records of all genres

Colony

Neighborhood: Times Square
Address: 1619 Broadway
Opened: 1948
Closed: 2012
Currently In Its Place: Still Vacant
Specializing In: Classical, pop, and Broadway sheet music/cast recordings

Fat Beats

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 406 Sixth Ave.
Opened: 1994
Closed: 2010
Currently In Its Place: Village East and West Bodywork
Specializing In: Underground and commercial hip-hop

Virgin

Neighborhood: Times Square
Address: 1540 Broadway
Opened: 1992
Closed: 2009
Currently In Its Place: Forever 21
Specializing In: Popular music, CDs, DVDs

Mondo Kims

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 6 Saint Marks Pl.
Opened: 1995
Closed: 2008
Currently In Its Place: NY Tofu House
Specializing In: Experimental music & film

Jammyland

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 60 East 3rd St.
Opened: 1993 (in the wake of the closing of Beyond Bass)
Closed: 2008
Currently In Its Place: Sunrise Cleaners
Specializing In: Ska, rock steady, reggae

Subterranean

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 5 Cornelia St.
Opened: Late 1970s
Closed: 2008
Currently In Its Place: Still vacant
Specializing In: Rare vinyl albums & cassettes

Disc-O-Rama Annex

Neighborhood: Union Square
Address: 40 Union Square East
Opened: 1976
Closed: 2008
Currently In Its Place: Petite Optique
Specializing In: LPs, used CDs, mainstream pop, dance, New Age, jazz, world, rock

Vinylmania Records

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 60 Carmine St.
Opened: 1978
Closed: 2007
Currently In Its Place: Still vacant
Specializing In: Vinyl dance, house, punk records

Beat Street

Neighborhood: Downtown Brooklyn
Address: 490 Fulton St.
Opened: 1995
Closed: 2006
Currently In Its Place: Swarovski just signed a lease to takeover the space
Specializing In: Hip-Hip & reggae vinyl

Sound Track

Neighborhood: Park Slope
Address: 119 7th Ave.
Opened: 1980
Closed: 2006
Currently In Its Place: Kiwi
Specializing In: Popular music, top 40, audio cassette tapes

Rocks In Your Head

Neighborhood: South Village
Address: 157 Prince St.
Opened: 1978
Closed: 2006
Currently In Its Place: Bapple Inc.
Specializing In: Punk & new wave

Tower Records

Neighborhood: Upper West Side
Address: 1961 Broadway
Opened: 1968
Closed: 2006
Currently In Its Place: Raymour and Flanigan
Specializing In: LPs, CDs, DVDs, electronic accessories, mainstream and obscure records

Sam Goody

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 390 6th Ave.
Opened: 1951
Closed: 2006
Currently In Its Place: Staples
Specializing In: Vinyl, obscure albums, music of all genres

Wowsville

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 125 2nd Ave.
Opened: 1999
Closed: 2005
Currently In Its Place: ENZ's
Specializing In: Punk, garage, rockabilly, soul

HMV

Neighborhood: Upper West Side
Address: 2081 Broadway
Opened: 1990
Closed: 2004
Currently In Its Place: Urban Outfitters
Specializing In: Top 40, rock, jazz, R&B, classical CDs

Stooz Records

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 122 E. 7th St.
Opened: 1992
Closed: 2004
Currently In Its Place: Desnuda (Latin wine bar)
Specializing In: Independent band records, rock, soul, funk, and jazz

The Wiz

Neighborhood: NoHo
Address: 726 Broadway
Opened: 1977
Closed: 2002
Currently In Its Place: NYU Bookstore
Specializing In: Popular music

Bobbito's Footwork

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 323 East 9th St., Basement
Opened: 1996
Closed: 2000
Currently In Its Place: Still vacant
Specializing In: Indie Hip-hop 12"s, used soul, jazz, and funk records, indie clothing lines, deadstock/re-issue sneakers

Venus

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 13 St. Marks Pl.
Opened: 1978
Closed: 1999
Currently In Its Place: Spot Dessert Bar
Specializing In: Imported vinyl records

Second Coming Records

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 235 Sullivan St.
Opened: 1980s
Closed: 1996
Currently In Its Place: Freshco Burrito Taco
Specializing In: Posters, bootleg recordings of live performances

It's Only Rock 'n Roll

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 49 West 8th St.
Opened: 1975
Closed: 1986
Currently In Its Place: Stellar Nail Spa
Specializing In: Classic rock & heavy metal

99 Record

Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 99 MacDougal St.
Opened: 1980
Closed: 1984
Currently In Its Place: The Kati Roll Company
Specializing In: Punk, No Wave