♥ record stores ♥

armageddon record shop recently moved from providence, opened an additional store in cambridge and i've been meaning to check out. if you find yourself with some extra holiday ca$h perhaps now would be a good time to go check out the shop and support local record stores.

speaking of record stores, a lot of my favorite ones are in the ny/nj area and while on the subject i thought i'd talk about some of my favs. if you find yourself in the area go check them out and continue to support local and independant record shops.

academy record annex - 96 n. 6th street, brooklyn, ny

located in williamsburg not too far from the bedford ave subway stop, this record store is on a pretty musical street. it's on the same street as public assembly (the industrial factory space turned 21+ venue) and the music hall of williamsburg. the academy record annex has a wide variety of genres and carries a lot of great stuff from local ny/nj labels that may be hard to find elsewhere. great selection and great prices. it's also usually open pretty late (mon-thu, sun 12pm-8pm; fri-sat 12pm-10pm). if you can't make it to the actual store you can check out some of their catalog and order online, though everyone knows the fun of records stores is leafing through the actual records.

the princeton record exchange (aka PREX) - 20 s. tulane street, princeton, nj.

prex is an awesome shop in princeton, nj. they have an awesome amount of vinyl for sale but also sell an abundance of other used and new DVDs and CDs. they carry other cool things like posters. and they're a great place to sell to if you're looking to get rid of DVDs, CDs or records. the store itself is on the tiny side but it's jam packed with stuff to look at and peruse through. they also have a mailing list so you can be the first to find out when prex acquires new collections.

vintage vinyl - 51 lafayette road, fords, nj

vintage vinyl is another great nj record store. it's located on a strip mall in fords, nj which is kind of a weird spot but it's a hole-in-the-wall (or hole in the strip mall?) that's worth checking out. it's a pretty sizable hole though, meaning it's pretty large and you could defintely spend many hours leafing through their selection. they also carry some music related books, magazines and knick knacks there. their punk and metal sections are pretty awesome as well. sometimes newer records can be on the pricier side but there are definitely good deals to be had. their website is updated often and makes it easy to find out about new releases by genre. one thing that sets apart vintage vinyl from other record stores is the stage in the store and their frequent in-store performances which are usually free.

here is a photo i took in vintage vinyl a year or so ago.

other music - 15 e. 4th street, new york, ny

i've only even been in other music once but was able to find some good stuff. it's notable because it's the only record store that i've been into in manhattan. i'm sure others exist but none of them are other music. other music is in the greenwich village/washington square park area which is a great place to walk around as it is. so if you find yourself there be sure to stop in and check it out. if you are never in manhattan they have an awesome mail order selection that you can check out on their website, where you can additionally purchase digital downloads of albums.

(THANKS TO GOOGLE IMAGES FOR THE PHOTOS IN THIS POST UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE)

yo readers, what are yr favorite record stores either in ny/nj or mass or anywhere?? let me know!