Vinyl Destinations
While the Village is no longer the bohemian musical wonderland it once was, the neighborhood's rich aural history is still evident in its high density of record stores. Buying music in person, in an actual store, might seem puzzlingly anachronistic in 2012, but there are real benefits to browsing racks of rare vinyl, white labels, 7-inch singles, vintage albums and reissues—not least discovering artists who haven't yet made it to iTunes (or those whose work was forgotten long before songs were something you stored on your phone). Other Music's knowledgeable staff curates its trove of releases with an eye for the indie, offering a focused collection of everything from alternative folk to experimental electronic. They practice what they preach, too, selling tickets to live shows and offering frequent in-store appearances by up-and-comers. Generation Records takes a decidedly louder approach, providing a deep selection of rare punk, hard-core and metal albums, along with a downstairs section devoted to new and used vinyl. Neighborhood institutions Bleecker Street Records, Bleecker Bob's and Disc-O-Rama are all overstuffed emporiums where it isn't hard to lose an afternoon digging through crates.