I'm back in NYC for five days for the first time in several years. I'd like to raid a CD shop with a decent classical selection. Of course there's Virgin, but are there any independent shops with a good selection? Used CDs are fine (they're almost preferred to try to get out-of-print material.)

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A few suggestions... I would suggest as much as i dread to suggest this is the Juilliard Bookstore. It is a somewhat small collection but there is a good selection of obscure recordings and they do have a section devoted to historic recordings (it is relatively expensive however). (I only know this because i used to attend school there). Also as the article suggests Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Center has a good selection of cd's as well. The Virgin Megastore in times square keeps diminishing their selection and i think they are down to 3 rows or racks with jazz, crossover and world taking over more and more of the space. J and R is also a good shop to check out too. If you want opera go to the Met Opera gift shop. But coming from a classical musician and closeted AV geek the best by far resource for classical music is without a doubt amazon.com and bn.com both have large selections and complete catalogues from most publishers as well as still a decent selection of the sadly defunkt SACD. And if the items you order while you are in nyc from bn.com if they say available same day in manhattan you can have them delivered by that evening if you order by 11am (amazing service) and the best part shipping is free and the prices are lower than almost any CD shop! Hope this helps!

Happy Travels!

Another option that probably won't work well if you're only here for five days, but is a great option for locals is the NY Public Library's Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center:

http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html

They have a ton of CDs (and videotapes and DVDs) you can borrow for free, including plenty of obscure classical and opera stuff. They also have incredible collections of scores and sheet music. If you find yourself with free time in the Lincoln Center area, it might be fun just to pop in and check out their collections, as it's pretty impressive.

Thanks for this. I stopped in and found out they were having a moving sale, with every CD 30% off. I was able to grab a few SACDs for $10-$14, which is pretty decent. Their books were on sale for really cheap too. I also discovered a sheet music store right by Carnegie Hall which was really bad for my wallet. Man, I love this city.

Sound like MastaHanky discovered Patelson's Music, just across the street from the stage door entrance to Carnegie Hall. I drop in there every other month or so to check out the sale books at the front of the store and to browse through the used sheet music in the back. There used to be a store called Gryphon on the UWS which sold lots of all sorts of classical vinyl records, books and scores, and perhaps CDs as well. I believe they are still in business, but I am not sure exactly where now. (They used to be just west of HMV records on 72nd street...

He most definetly did! And I can understand the wallet thing, they are overpriced when it comes down to it! But they have good selection and if you need something quickly they were a great source! Also glad to hear you are an SACD user! I am sad about this technology going the route of BETA. The ipod killed HiRes. I guess the renovation is moving along well if the bookstore is moving. The new building will be gorgeous but it is a MESS now!

Glad to hear you found some good buys!

Happy Travels!

One other that might be of interest is Academy, on 18th, not far west of Broadway/5th.