Rebel Rebel Records

As of today not closed. I wont be the first to knock a star off for the cramped space But, after digging, made some great finds at really fair prices. Gentlemen behind the counter couldnt have been more friendly.

Great location for true vinyl collectors. Just one week left due to rent. What landlords do to nyc culture is criminal.

Thank you Dave for all the years, you Influenced me in so many ways by the music I bought there, you are a humble and quiet guy but this kid from Brooklyn says thank you

Rebel Rebel is the best record store in the village. Just give some references to David and his colleague and they will find the right boxes in that big mess of them more often than not containing real gems. Always leave the place with a big smile and an empty wallet. Rebel Rebel is a place to treasure.

They may have some great items, but it was so packed with boxes of records I had no way of knowing. There was a wall of CDs, which was my primary interest, but getting to them would have been impossible without moving stacks of boxes. The amount of walking space to browse the boxes of records is two feet wide, at best, so with more than one customer it was very difficult to even move around.
The staff seemed friendly enough, but it was simply too cramped and chaotic for me to browse comfortably.

If you’re claustrophobic, turn around now.
Sure this shop is small to begin with, boxes of records everywhere piled on top of each other.
You don’t hang out at McDonald’s because you love the ambiance, you finish your Big Mac and get the fawk out asap…
Rebel Rebel is sorta the same, the longer you’re inside, the greater the risk of getting hit on the head with a falling box of pure 180 gram vinyl or running out of oxygen.
With that said, you don’t really need to spend much time in there anyway.
The staff are walking music encyclopedias, they are extremely knowledgeable and we’ll versed in every genre.
This shop is more like a bespoke record buying experience.
You go in tell them what you’re looking for and they deliver, if not, they will still recommend other stuff you might like that is similar or hand you a stack of a genre you might like which is a great way of discovering new music.
Love this place!

Oh my God. This place is quite literally jam packed with records. It’s overwhelming. Had I not been looking for a specific item I would have gotten lost in this tiny but glorious sea of vinyl.
I had been walking in and out of record stores in the Village for hours looking for The Velvet Underground’s Matrix Tapes set, but no one had it. It’s even hard to find online for a non-​outrageous price at this point. I asked the owner at Rebel Rebel if he had it and he moved a few things from the shelf behind him and there it was. He could have jacked up the price considering how scarce it has become, but it was marked at retail.
I look forward to going again when I have more time, but to walk out of a record store with what you want instead of just clicking a few buttons on your computer is a wonderfully satisfying feeling.

I agree with other reviewers. Do not go here to browse. Do not go in with any bags. It is claustrophobic. But if you know exactly what you are looking for, just ask the owner immediately and get in and out of there fast. He does practically know his entire inventory. I have always had a positive experience with the owner, who has been trying to find me an out of print record for a long time. Otherwise, it’s a bit pricier than other stores but it’s the West Village, New York, and an independent running record store, so you have to give them credit for that!

The experience here was just bizarre. While I have no doubt that the owner/​workers really know their «stuff» when it comes to vinyl (and music in general), I have no interest whatsoever in squeezing through a 15″ space to browse records — many of which are under two or three heavy boxes. The staff is more than happy to move things around for you, but let’s face it: they need a better system.

One of the oldest record shops in New York City. That’s what everybody says when they talk about this place. But what they don’t say is that the guy that runs the place (behind the counter — I have no idea what his name is) has been there for years and knows virtually every single thing in his stock. This is not a place you go to if you want to leisurely browse to find something. Go knowing exactly what you want, or what artist you want, and they’ll point you in the right direction. I’ve been there many times and seen many tourist come by and be overwhelmed by the sheer clutter in the shop. There are stacks up on stacks of records everywhere. It’s not like your small town record shop. It’s a cramped Greenwich Village shop. And that’s what makes it wonderful.

Amazing collection with records everywhere. Problem is it’s quite a small space so it makes it difficult to find things. The owner is very knowledgable and can always point you in the right direction. However if you’re like me and tend to impulse buy records, it’s not the easiest place to browse

Both my sons & I stepped inside a record collectors dream. The store was a little cramped as they were unloading boxes of record inventory. This isn’t a bad thing because they had the boxes labeled from both artist and genre.
We found a one of my favorite long lost punk albums! At this point I am loving Rebel Rebel Records.
Just browsing through the wide selections, records I didn’t know existed are being sold here. Foreign prints, strange collaborations like Mos Def with Marvin Gaye instrumentals are being sold here everyday.
Even better are the 45 selections. Great bands with punk artists? In colored vinyl no less?
Very cool. You might even say they’re a bunch of rebels.

It’s cramped, small, hard to browse. But I think that might be part of the appeal. I always go back (granted, usually just when I have something specific in mind and not to just browse) but I always have a great experience. Owner is very nice and knowledgable, didn’t make fun of my music choices (which sometimes can be a bit silly but it’s my money and my choice) and even talked to me about some of the music I was getting. I’ve heard him have great conversations with other people while I’m browsing. The people working there genuinely want to help and if you ask them for something they will either find it or know when they can get it in. So, yeah, it’s cramped and not great for just casual browsing if it’s during peak hours, but it’s really a great shop and worth a visit.

This place is… unique. If you are looking to browse for hours upon hours, flipping thru the A-Z’s, this isn’t the place. It is tiny and there are boxes stacked everywhere. You can barely move when there are more than 4 people in the store
But… What it lacks in organization and space, it made up for with the selection and knowledge of the guy working there. Fantastic selection of different eras and genres. It’s kind of random to find things, there were stacks of boxes labeled randomly. For example some were labeled by genre, country of origin, decade, one was just straight up Beastie Boys only. But if you ask the guy working there for something in particular he almost immediately knows if he has it, and if so, what box it is in.
Will definitely shop here again, but only if I have a specific idea of what I am looking for. A lot of people were calling in asking for things, so maybe do that first.

Small and cramped, the way i like my record stores. This place is an NYC institution and they guys who work here are great. i always end up talking to the main man for a while every time i stop by. They are down to carry unknown artists and labels too which is always great for someone trying to find something new /​up and coming. 5 stars all around.

I’ve been buying records at Rebel Rebel for about 4 years now. Every time I go, I find some great stuff although it has the highest vinyl to square footage ratio I’ve ever seen and it’s tough to fit more then a few folks in the shop. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s a Bleeker Street shop so what do you expect? It’s amazing it’s still left amongst the hipster bars and boutique coffee shops.
Is it cheap? No.
Is it cramped? Yes.
The owner is a pretty good guy. He’s not the type to BS you on a record or what he knows about an artist. Last winter I went in on a cold Saturday and struck up a conversation for like 25 minutes on various music things. I like supporting the shop overall.
Oh by the way, I’m not sure the prices are even his fault on new vinyl. A store has to make a profit and if it has to sell a record at say $ 35 to break even based on the record company price… I don’t begrudge the store for $ 5 dollars in profit. Blame the record labels for music prices… not the few small shops left.

I was going to give REBEL REBEL only 4 stars, because while the place has some great vinyl and the guys in there really know their stuff. The place is beyond small, cramped and usually really crowded. But, then I saw Rae D’s review and happened to be sitting at the benches at the now defunct Café Angelique having my morning coffee when that all went down. It pretty much shows how someone can write a Unilocal review and conveniently leave out all the things that that she and her male friend did to antagonize that kid as he was trying to put boxes of LP’s on a table (like ripping a sign off a box of LP’s and the two of them actually standing in his way so he couldn’t put the boxes of LP’s on the table).
So, 5 stars for the way I saw that kid handle some really self entitled people with a true, genuine smile on this face.
(BTW, I think it should be noted that this all happened around 11 o’clock and REBEL REBEL doesn’t open til 12, which the kid stated after Jewel D. tore some sign off a box of LP’s. So he must have opened early just to accommodate her and her friend, which I saw emerge out of there with a blue bag full of LP’s.)

I took a friend of mine who just moved to New York to Rebel Rebel. We weren’t sure whether it was open yet, and we were standing in front of the table outside. A guy who worked there unlocked the door, and we asked him if they were open and if we could browse the records on the outside table and he said, «If you’re standing right there, you’re in my way and I can’t set up.» He said this with a sugary-​sweet, condescending smile.
I thought it was personal, but then two other girls came by and asked if the shop was open. It was a perfectly legitimate question, as the door was propped open and the lights were on. The guy working there looked at them with the same condescending smile and said, «No, that’s why there is this CLOSED sign.» Funny, because even after they opened, he kept the CLOSED sign up. Get your story straight, man.
I find it so sad that anyone would find the need to smile and be so condescending and awful towards potential customers. If your goal is to turn off potential customers, then you’ve done a great job. I couldn’t get myself to walk into the store after that.
If you dislike people so much, then find a job where you don’t have to deal with them. Amen to the Unilocaler who called this person (owner? worker?) a «snooty asshole.»

Small and pricey.
Hopefully yours truly is not described the same way?
Either way, it’s always wonderful to find an independently owned record store but as someone who literally finds excuses to throw some green down for vinyl, I wasn’t inclined to do so here.
From the unorganized layout and lack of space to dig around for «finds» to the inflated prices, I only lasted a few minutes in this shop. And, that says a lot as I’ve hauled loads or records home from my travels in Chicago, Asheville, St. Louis, Louisville, and hometown of Nashville this Summer.

This is a nice small store to dig through when you have the time and patience. Most of their records are stuffed into the counter, and others are stacked in boxes on top of other boxes.
They have a good selection of new and used records and the owner is pretty friendly. But the con about this place is the price. Their used records are almost or close to double of what other stores charge. Even their new records are a few bucks over the MSRP.
I like this store but just can’t bring myself to make purchases here. If the prices were better I would gladly buy my music here, but sadly with other stores around and the internet I don’t see why I would.

Fantastische Auswahl an Vinyl und CD’s. Es hat Neuware, der grösste Teil ist jedoch Second Hand. Wer Zeit hat kann hier Stundenlang herumschmökern und wird in den meisten Fällen auch fündig werden.
Ein grosser Teil der Ware ist nur auf nachfrage einsehbar. Dies aus dem ganz einfachen Grund, das der Laden viel zu klein ist um alles in der Verkaufsfläche auszustellen. Der Inhaber ist jedoch sehr hilfsbereit und holt die gewünschten Artikel gern aus dem Lager.
Die Preise sind insgesamt fair. Die Ware ist in sehr gutem Zustand.