Record Stop

Kept meaning to come check this place out the past year or two, having somehow
never having heard of it years ago, since in the ‘80s and ‘90s I confined my music-​buying
to NYC or a few places in Nassau, mainly Tower Records of course. I never got out to
Suffolk much in those days, and certainly not for music reasons. Record Stop moved a while back and is now ensconced in a nutty, alternate-​universe L.I. off the LIE industrial park loop, some of which looks like a few companies were abandoned in the late 80s or early 1990s, J. G. Ballard would have loved the haunted look of some of those areas. But nevermind all that, Record Stop, in its unassuming glory, is more like a large warehouse, as if one had walked into Tower Records in 1988 and been given the run of the back-​warehouse of stock and let to run wild grabbing all the goodies. A front area has the register and the latest releases on CD, box sets, and used vinyl and other trinkets – the back warehouse is the main area and a music fanatic like myself can spend hours just going through the stock and searching through all that stuff, and I surely did on my visit yesterday. I find it ironic (or pathetic) that you can walk into Best Buy these days and not even find basic reissues of such as Fleetwood Mac, but Record Stop has pretty much all of those titles, deluxe or not.
The place was a bit tough to find, but map it I did and eventually made the right left south of the LIE. I was worried I’d made the impromptu drive too late, but they were open a bit later than the stated time, so that worked. Their stock is impressive, complete with hard to find old vinyl reissues, box vinyl sets, tons of new and old Best-​Ofs, sale CDs, and a primary stock that puts most indie shops (minus Rough Trade Brooklyn which nearly rivals it) to shame these days, and that’s just the new. reissue CDs – also spotted books, audio equipment, posters, shirts, etc. They also had a section of every Beatles CD plus all sorts of Beatles rare and ancillary releases. I grabbed a gorgeous new copy of the remastered White Album, John Cale reissue, a stonking Ministry essential album collection (good luck finding THAT anywhere now-​there was a Burning Inside my wallet to buy this), and Johnny Thunders acoustic Hurt Me deluxe, all new sealed copies, not used and scratchy like some other LI shops I could name. I wish we had had a place like this in Nassau or Queens in the 80s to early 1990s but we had Tower Records so that sufficed, plus long-​gone indie shops like Slipped and Twisted Disque (s), all now victims of the internet age, including Tower, yet Record Stop lives on. The prices here are not necessarily dirt cheap, but they are generally competitive. The staff were all friendly and helpful even in the midst of stock hassles and deliveries. If it wasn’t such a schlep for me, I’d probably be here every week blowing too much money! I loved it and would recommend making a trip, but go early in the day if possible since they aren’t open later evenings.

No, they may not be the biggest fans of Record Store Day, where stores are supposed to give preference to the walk-​ins rather than the onliners, but isn’t it nice to know that this place is still here, albeit in Shirley, keeping their shelves organized in a way that CD-​abandoner Big Box no longer cares to do. You read about something obscure but interesting in the Village Voice or Pitchfork and don’t want to listen in the clouds? This is the place for you! The first record I ever bought here was Kurtis Blow’s The Breaks and they probably still have a copy, waiting for you!

Interesting selection of FAKE vinyl. I checked this place out on the great reviews they’ve previously recieved. Maybe the old store was a «Long Island Institution» as their listing says, but this place sucks.
As not only a vinyl aficionado but a musician, there’s no way I can recommend anyone spend money here. Fake records may not be the only reason that the record industry sucks these days, but it’s certainly not helping. Honestly, it kinda looks like everything here fell off the back of a truck…

Record Stop has MOVED!
45 Ramsey Rd. — Unit # 8
Shirley, NY 11 967
SAME PHONE # (631) 585‑3294
SAME GREAT SELECTION
SAME GREAT SERVICE

Great store, but unfortunately appears to have just recently closed down. Driving by yesterday morning I noticed big STORE FOR RENT signs in the windows. The end of an era.

There are very few record (or CD’s) stores around anymore, but I’m glad we still have the Record Stop. They have a very nice selection of CD’s and not just the new stuff. I like the fact that they go out of their way to help you and even special order some rare stuff that’s hard to find. The prices are reasonable & the staff is friendly.
Lee

Bruce — the owner — is good as gold! He’ll order anything you ask for. If it’s out of print, he’ll try and find an import version that might still be floating around and is pretty reliable with rare classic material (Beatles, Beach Boys, Dylan, Neil Young, etc.) which makes this place a real resource.
Lately the prices have been dropping. A new CD used to be an unthinkable $ 16.99 and now it’s down to a much more reasonable $ 9.99-$ 11.99. Some used music gets mixed in, as well.
The clerks behind the counter have varied in quality over the years (none so creepy or vile as Michael, thank goodness he’s gone), but on the whole are generally willing to answer questions for you with little objection or eye-​rolling.
Cheap prices, decent stock and staff. I wish they had more by way of used music (apart from the section littered with dollar copies of the ‘Austin Powers 2′ soundtrack) which is why we’ve got four stars and not five up on the big board but — as I said — Bruce is an ace of an owner and a darn nice guy. One of the better record stores on Long Island!