Academy Records & CDs

Profile

This specialty shop supplies the distinctive sounds that classical and jazz music aficionados crave. At any given time, and with a slightly pretentious air, musically fluent shoppers flip through countless bins of vinyls for the much sought after prize albums absent from their extensive collections. Rows of CDs tower against the chartreuse-hued walls, forcing well-versed employees to mount rolling stepladders to reach that much-needed CD. The Flatiron retail spot houses all of the classical masters, from Puccini, Vivaldi, Bach, and Mozart to Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong for the jazz set, and a modest library of VHS and DVDs is stashed among the maze of music. That location also boasts recordings by rare songsters from country, pop, rock, and other genres; Academy’s East Village shop, on the other hand, sells only jazz, pop, and some genre LPs. — Molly Noonan