Vinyl is back, so come explore with me and with the famous musician and composer, Zé Luis Oliveira, the top record stores in New York! We explored Manhattan and Brooklyn and we’ll tell you everything about these hidden music gems!
Today we have, once again, the super talented musician and composer, Zé Luis Oliveira, with me! Our last video was about the must-see Jazz spots in Harlem – just thought you should know, lol!
I’ve seen that in the last couple of years, vinyl has come back to the lives of people and the desire to collect unique disks, is growing.
So, since Zé Luis is a true expert, I asked him to take me to some of his favorite and top vinyl stores in New York.
We had a great time exploring some of the top record stores in New York, located in Manhattan and Brooklyn. But there are, of course, many other fantastic options!
And before you start reading, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and help us spread the love for this secret New York!
A1 Records
Located in a very calm street in the East Village, A1 Records is a place you can go and just explore for hours. I love the neighborhood and it always amazing to explore it.
At this store, you’ll be able to buy, sell, or trade vintage vinyl records and just have fun exploring their entire collection. New stuff comes in practically every day!
The store was founded in 1996 and their vinyl curation is fantastic. There are endless options if you’re into Jazz, Soul and Funk. Plus, they have a very reasonable pricing and you can find countless disks for less than $10.
The store isn’t that small, but there is just so much in it, that you’ll probably have an interesting time moving around.
Hours: Monday – Sunday: 1pm – 9pm
Location: 439 East 6th Street
Rough Trade
Rough Trade is one of the best places best places to go in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, if you’re into great music, a fantastic selection of books and magazines, delicious coffee and even live music shows.
And, of course, it’s a great place to shop for vinyl. Amazingly, they opened much more recently than the other stores, in November of 2013, but the team behind it really knows how to surprise music lovers with an outstanding variety and selection of products.
I’m always there and this time, we found some pretty unique disks from renowned Brazilian artists, like Gilberto Gil.
OMG, and did you know you can also find cassette tapes there? Such a nostalgic experience! As we’ve said before, Rough Trade is a music haven, and we do recommend you go explore!
Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 11pm
Sunday: 11am – 9pm
Location: 64 North 9th Street, Williamsburg
Superior Elevation Records
Our last stop was in the super cool neighborhood of Bushwick! I love exploring everything there, since it’s known for the being the home to very creative folks.
Superior Elevation Records is tucked away in a remote street, but in a spacious store, a few steps below the ground.
The smell of the place immediately takes you to a journey into the vinyl world and you can stay there for hours listening to all the disks you want to purchase.
They also buy records every day and also have an online store, if you can’t make it to Bushwick all the time!
Hours: Daily, from 12pm – 7pm
Location: 100 White Street, Bushwick
Finally, if you enjoyed exploring these top record stores in New York with us, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel! Let spread the love for music and for New York together!
Do you know any other super cool record store? Please, share with us in the comments below so we can check it out too!
Videographer: Black3 Agency and courtesy of the venues
Photographer: Black3 Agency
Beauty: Leila Soldeira
Styling: Camilla Adão
Fê is our Founder & CEO! She’s Brazilian (Yup! Not a New Yorker!), but her indescribable passion and curiosity for NY makes her a New Yorker by heart. Fê worked in companies like Kimberly Clark, Quintessentially, Vogue Brazil and Iguatemi Group, and after 12 years of working for these fantastic companies, she decided to go solo and move to NYC!
She lives in Brooklyn since April of ’15 and has been tirelessly working on BTSNYC, working with huge companies on corporate projects, practicing her Arhatic Yoga meditations, finding time for gym and friends! Phiuf!
