On the Road with Academy Records in New York.
A record collector alone in New York. Where was that store again? Left or right? Or does it perhaps not even exist anymore? These are exactly the questions that run through your mind when, years after your last visit, you find yourself walking the streets in search of the record store that was still there as a matter of course three or five years ago. Especially in Brooklyn’s trendier neighborhoods, such as Greenpoint and Williamsburg, unchecked gentrification means that many smaller stores have become permanent movers. Once you’ve internalized that fact, you no longer blindly follow a vague memory. Instead, you pull out your phone and use Maps to check where the store is today – or whether it even still exists. And it’s not just small underground shops that have been affected. Institutions such as Downtown Music Gallery, which we’ll return to in greater detail later, have also had to contend with this reality, as has Academy Records. For decades, Academy has perhaps been the city that never sleeps’ most important destination for new and, above all, used records and other physical media. It’s a mini-empire with three locations that could hardly be more different – from both a musical and an atmospheric perspective.
Let’s start with the relocated Williamsburg branch. Once a huge hall in the southern part of the neighborhood, with a sprawling selection ranging from mainstream releases to the most obscure small-label offerings, it has now moved farther north, to the border with Greenpoint. The warehouse atmosphere has remained, even though the space is considerably smaller and the concept now caters more heavily to the retro tastes of Millennials and Gen Z. Vintage hi-fi corners add to the cozy feeling. It’s a store that attracts collectors and tourists alike, even if it can’t entirely conceal its determination to be cool. On the plus side, everything is meticulously organized, almost obsessively so, and the quality of the used vinyl is consistently high. Anyone familiar with the often rather rough-and-ready secondhand mentality of American record stores will quickly appreciate that.
If you want to experience what genuine New York nonchalance feels like, cross the East River and head to the smallest Academy location, on the Lower East Side. It has been here forever, and inside, time seems to have stood still. The interior looks as though it hasn’t changed in a good 25 years. Only the staff behind the counter – always a little eccentric, but unfailingly friendly – have updated their style with the passing years. Conversations happen here almost automatically. The moment you mention that you’re from Berlin, their eyes light up. Techno and Berlin still seem to carry serious cultural cachet here. You’ll find yourself discussing American and German first pressings of early Kraftwerk albums, swapping nightlife tips for Berlin and New York, comparing airfare and travel times – and eventually ending up back at vinyl, complete with pointers to the latest arrivals. That said, you should only enter this store if you have no particular need for order and can live with severely battered record covers. Those who aren’t put off and drop a few slightly ragged-looking ’70s covers onto the listening turntable are often rewarded with surprisingly good, crackle-free vinyl. By the end, Motown and Impulse! records are piling up at the counter, and you may be surprised to discover that the purchase has done less damage to your credit card than many a Discogs order.
Things get considerably more buttoned-up a few blocks farther north. Not far from the Empire State Building, the most traditionally respectable Academy branch has occupied the same spot for what feels like forever. It’s a little paradise for classical-music fans. Shelf after shelf of CDs, and especially CD box sets – many of them long since deleted from official catalogs – are waiting here for new owners. There are also numerous special editions from major labels that never made it to Europe. Musical and opera DVDs transport you straight back to the early 2000s. If you work your way farther into the back of the narrow, elongated store, you’ll find an impressive selection of classical vinyl, including smaller labels specializing in American contemporary music, from Babbitt and Carter to Schuller. These are rarities that are almost impossible to find in Germany and were probably never imported into Europe on any significant scale when they were originally released. Most are first pressings, usually in excellent condition, and surprisingly often priced at under ten dollars. It’s a good thing most airlines cap checked baggage at 50 pounds – otherwise, you’d almost certainly go overboard here, especially since the records from your shopping trip to the East Village branch are already weighing heavily in your backpack. The atmosphere, very much in keeping with Midtown, is sober and businesslike. But anyone digging deep into the classical treasures has little time for small talk with the discreetly low-key staff. And when conversation does happen, they devote themselves to the customer’s needs with genuine warmth despite the businesslike surroundings.
Three addresses, three neighborhoods, three completely different stores. Visit all three in a single day, and along the way you’ll get a pretty good lesson in New York’s microcosms. Take your time, walk the surrounding blocks, grab a coffee or a bagel. You’ll quickly realize that an Academy tour is about more than record shopping. It’s a very particular kind of individual journey of discovery – a slightly unconventional way of taking a tour of the city.
Academy Records Branches
Academy Records & CDs (Midtown)
12 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 12–7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 12–8 p.m.
Academy Records (East Village)
415 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Academy Records Annex (Williamsburg)
242 Banker Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.