Manhattan guitar shopping survived the death of 48th Street's Music Row, and what's left is leaner and better: legendary vintage rooms, boutique dealers tucked into upper floors, and repair benches with decades-long reputations. Prices skew high, but so does the inventory you'll never see anywhere else. Weekdays are calmer; bring a subway plan, not a parking plan.
4.4 ★★★★☆ 3,013 reviews
Retail outlet selling a huge array of electric, acoustic and bass guitars, keyboards and drums.
4.6 ★★★★★ 659 reviews
Musical instrument store specializing in vintage, new & pre-owned acoustic, electric & bass guitars.
4.4 ★★★★☆ 410 reviews
Clean, organized store selling K-pop albums, light sticks and other music-related merchandise.
4.7 ★★★★★ 374 reviews
Musical instrument store carrying guitars and basses, with repair services.
4.9 ★★★★★ 339 reviews
Store with a large selection of new & used instruments for students & professionals, plus service.
4 ★★★★☆ 359 reviews
Bins of CDs, vinyl & DVDs in a variety of genres line the walls of this snug no-nonsense music shop.
These shops buy and trade used gear: Guitar Center, Flute Center, Rivington Guitars, Jazz Record Center, J. Landress Brass, Rogue Music. Read our selling guide before you walk in — expect roughly 50–60% of resale value in cash, ~70% in trade credit, and bring the original case. The full national list lives in the sell-your-gear directory.
For lessons — yours or the kid's — these stores teach: Guitar Center, Rivington Guitars, Brothers Guitar & Record Shop - Buy, Sell, Repair & Maintenance, Rogue Music, Good Hands Drum Shop, Roberto's Winds Inc.. Our lessons guide covers the $25–40 half-hour going rate, what age kids can start, and why the squeaky first months are normal — or browse the full lessons directory.
The vintage and rare-gear walls worth the trip: Guitar Center, Rudy's Music Soho, Flute Center, Rivington Guitars, Brothers Guitar & Record Shop - Buy, Sell, Repair & Maintenance, Jazz Record Center. Our vintage buying guide covers what drives value, the fakes problem, and why reputable dealers earn their premium — and the vintage directory has the full state-by-state list.
We were there a little bit before they opened on Father’s Day, and there were many people waiting outside. The store was pretty busy soon after. We hanged out inside the acoustic guitars rooms. My husband tried a few guitars there before someone knowledgeable was available to assist us.
I went and bought my first Martin the other day from this place. It was an absolute joy! There were so helpful. They gave me two different HD 28 to look at and put them in display boxes for me to play back to back. Sales team was very patient with me while I mulled it over.
Loved going here. It was my first time buying albums, so maybe I’m not used to prices but the prices were decent! Staff are very kind and helpful and make you feel very welcome. They even have a freebies table for people who want to donate their old albums/group packages.
