08/14/03

A scene-making paradise for the well-rounded rock fan.

by Contributor

The Scene
There's little about Bleecker Bob's that doesn't scream "NYC punk." But the warped wood floors, handmade cardboard/masking tape dividers ("Cheap Metal!"), black-and-white Sid Vicious posters and in-store tattoo/body piercing parlor belie its eclectic offerings. Hipster West Village types troll for import Strokes CDs and Gang of Four LPs, and rare-vinyl hunters scour the wall behind the register for fancy finds (original "White Album," $500). Bob's is a comfortable place for general browsing, too. Feel free to test-drive the albums--just not the cheapo ones: "If you're too cheap to risk 33 cents on an LP," the sign above their turntable says, "there's really no hope for you."

The Goods
From big band to "obscure label Eno releases," Bob's stocks nearly anything the active music fan might be searching for, on vinyl and CD (a fairly even spread of both). It's a college-radio fan's paradise, with a nice little cache of cool old posters (the Clash, the Doors), stickers and patches, to boot.