Westsider Records

Westsider is initially a shock to the senses. The place is absolutely stuffed with vinyl and it seems like you’re bound to come out with something. However, there seems to be a strong emphasis on classical and Broadway recording (not exactly the hot ticket items of today), the jazz section was lacking in artist selection and the dollar bin was really just landfill. Also, a fair amount of the records are inaccessible at the tops of these tall shelves that reach to the ceiling. Who knows what’s up there! Maybe the owner, but I’d like to be browsing them instead.
The nature of record collecting means that just because I didn’t find anything, doesn’t mean you won’t. Stock turns over regularly, I would expect, so if your mission while in NYC is «hit all the record stores» then you’ve got to check this place out. I’ll certainly go back again someday and my review may well change after a good find. If you’ve got limited time though, I’d take several other Manhattan joints over this one. YMMV.

Hot garbage. Essential if you are looking for cheap classical commons.

After following Westsider Records on Facebook and seeing their great videos with new arrivals and commentary, I decided to take a lazy Sunday trip down to the store.
As I entered, I realized it was the exact way I love music stores; eccentric and full of different media such as LPs, EPs, CDs, Cassettes, music scores, lesson books, etc. If you’re a record digger, then this is the place for you! As said in previous reviews, their Classical and Soundtrack section is immense — but I found many records in the Classic Rock and Jazz genres I looked through.
I bought their $ 30 for $ 50 deal, and not only was it easy — but the cashier liked the fact I was using it. (I’ve found this not to be the case at other establishments across the city) I was a few bucks over $ 50, but the cashier evened it out for me.
I go to record stores to obviously peruse, but I also go for the conversation. The bearded guy behind the desk was knowledgeable and easy going. I bought Allman Bros at the Fillmore, Wes as the Half Note, and a few other records. We spoke a bit about his Uncle’s experience at both the Fillmore East and Fillmore West. It wasn’t an in-​depth conversation, but it was nice to hear he was knowledgeable about what I was purchasing.
5 Star review! I will definitely go back and dig in a bit deeper. Check out their Facebook page. As I stated previously, they put up videos of records every now and then. If something pops up, you can run down there and grab it up!

Great shop with a really helpful staff member! Thanks, Ray!

Westsider is a cool bookstore/​record shop in a great location. If you like passing the time browsing for gems to add to your record collection, this is the place for you. They have a wide selection of genres including classic rock, jazz, classical, and Motown among others. The best stuff requires some digging as it is stacked up on the floor mixed with differing genres, so hopefully you are not in a rush. The Unilocal coupon offer makes the trip totally worth it if you have never been there before. (It is a bit pricey without the coupon.)

Great selection of classical music. Schedule a few hours to poke through the admittedly shuffled shelves.

Westsider records is the only place on the UWS to browse old stacks of vinyl unless you want to buy them off the street around the corner. They have an impressive selection of classical records and a decent amount of rock, jazz and some R&B. I’ve been collecting records for more than 30 years and am well acquainted with pricing trends and how prices vary regionally. Records aren’t a novelty or source of nostalgia for me so, I say with certainty that this place prices many of its records incorrectly. I saw K-​Tel compilations for $ 20. Dollar bin records for $ 10 etc. However, I picked up an original NM 45 RPM 12“pressing of early Kool and The Gang for $ 1 in their dollar bin section. I bought the Unilocal deal that offers 50 dollars worth of records for $ 25. I was able to overcome the high prices with this deal. I searched through everything and found very little of what I was looking for. That doesn’t mean that the average collector or beginner won’t be impressed by the selection. Most people will find a few gems here and leave happy. Check them out.

One of those gems if you have time to browse and ponder. As others mentioned the space in this little store is well packed with records and books, they are alphabetized and in music style sections, but other than that be prepared to rummage about for hours, this is not Barnes & Noble (thankfully!!!).
I found a great selection of UK and US rock, as well as some old reminders of my days during the 80’s, so I had a field day picking up some good old vinyl from back in the day, and at what I thought was a very reasonable price (all of my selection were single dollar figures).
As far as I could tell, all the vinyl was second hand, but all the books looked brand new, and a good selection of both.

Very friendly service and a wide variety of things to choose from! You won’t find new records here, but I got some great stuff: a Miriam Makeba record, a rare Paul Simon CD and a Hermann Hesse book. Will definitely visit again soon!

I was lured in by the Unilocal coupon that gets you $ 50 for $ 25, which made the pricing ok, but I thought they were really over-​priced for a lot of records easily found on eBay for a quarter of the price. It’s not easy to find the gems, and anything I would have bought just to try it out was priced too high for me to take a gamble on. I did buy a few records I would not have, if not for the coupon, but in general, I wasn’t blown away.

Came here one day after finding it on Unilocal before heading back home on the 1 train. The store is pretty small but filled with records. The prices are pretty decent but the store seems a bit unorganized and clustered and in some areas dirty. The owner was friendly but held up my $ 10 bill in the light to make sure it was real which seemed a bit overdramatic in my opinion. Overall, I’ll probably visit here again. Plenty of records I didn’t get to go through.

Though only one star above my last record store review I made a purchase and had my eye on a few other things that I didn’t snag due to price. At first glance the store seems not worth taking more then the first step into, but after you do you discover some goodies amongst empty record sleeves and strange b-​sides. This seems like this review applies to only me but for the masses Westsider records had a good variety of music and movies that I could see almost anybody finding something they want after a ten minute browse. If I were to walk but im sure I would stop in and leave with a LP in hand.

Unfortunately, I have to downgrade Westsider Records from two stars to one. I called them on the phone this week and the guy who answered was really rude. Probably the same person I dealt with when I was in there in late 2012. This guy is by no means Mr. Helpful. I can’t see giving this place anymore business.

Awesome record store w friendly employees. Make sure you take advantage of the coupon for $ 25 for $ 50. Great gem on the Upper West Side.

Great place to take a look through as everything is arranged by genre. Not too hard to find some gems. Friendly service as well.

This place is awesome if you like to dig and rummage through books and records. Though the place has more classical music than others, they certainly have enough rock, jazz, and other genres to keep you busy for awhile.
The only problem I have and thus I took one star off, is the organizing of the records. The place is cramped, which I understand why they stack the records the way they are. But you have to climb on ladders to browse stuff on the top shelf. The records on the bottom shelf is also hard to browse as there are records stacked on the floor.
But if you have no problems with climbing ladders and sitting on the floor to look for stuff, this is a good store to kill an hour or two. Maybe even a whole day as they certainly have enough things to keep you occupied. The prices are about average give or take a few bucks here and there. But nothing beats looking at a record in hand before you buy it.

Love at first Unilocal.Found this gem and decided based on reviews – and their AWESOME voucher offer. I am thrilled I did. Terrific selection of vintage records-​not a place to find pristine copies and new hits but that is not what I wanted! I wanted 10 0000s of old records with a mix of favorite names and old artists to surprise me, and that’s is what they offer. I’m sure I could have spent hours here. Cashier was super friendly and helpful. Don’t pander-​just go here.

Maybe I was a bit harsh on my first review. It does cater more towards a clientele that may look more into classical and jazz records (like its audience on the Upper West Side). They have some of the best classical records in town, and are always in stock with what you are looking for.
I stand by my earlier review about their more «contemporary» records, but this is the spot if you are looking to add some, how you say, «class» to your record collection.

I don’t have much expertise in buying vinyls, but this is a solid record shop. Lots of oldies, but goodies. Not a large Latin selection, which is what I was looking for, but still found a few I was satisfied with.
What topped the experience is that I bought the 50 buck deal for half off. That said, I left with 6 pretty antique records for only 35 bucks. Again, not sure how these things run in the market these days, but seems like a pretty good deal for records that were released before I was even born.

I’m honestly glad not many people have reviewed this place because I’m selfish and I don’t want people to take what I love. BUT half of me loves this place so much that I’d love for them to expand their clientele and do well so here I am writing this review.
When you walk in, you’ll feel like you’re walking into a really cramped and very old library. I love that because I’m a huge fan of places and objects that feel loved and cared for by people of all ages. They have A LOT of vinyls from jazz to opera and the place is literally overflowing with how many they have. So be careful not to stumble on the vinyls littered in little stacks on the ground. They need to be handled with love.
The prices are great and the vinyls are in very good condition. I had no problems with mine. The cashier is also extremely friendly and will be willing to help you with whatever you need to find.