First timer visitors to Memphis (5/8-15) Nashville (5/16-22). 60 yrs+ Music junkies (blues, jazz, acoustic, bluegrass) looking for suggested BnBs in or near Beale Street and Downtown. Will have car so parking is key. Have lots of restaurant and attraction suggestions. Good places for live music are appreciated. Passed on Memphis in May as our backs couldnt handle open fields anymore but otherwise pretty game. Also looking to buy a new acoustic guitar, CDs and maybe even some audio gear so any suggestions there cool too. Also developing a taste for Bourbon/TN whiskey so distillery input or good whiskey bars would be cool too. Mahalo for any and all suggestions/responses.

Your car or a rental car? Where are you coming from? The southbound Amtrak "City of New Orleans" comes from Chicago and arrives early morning to the station across Main street from the Arcade restaurant.
The Arcade was an Elvis hangout.
The Northbound "City of NO" arrives late at night from New Orleans.
Depending on where you are coming from, I'd use public transportation in Memphis before renting a car to go to Nashville.

Coming by plane from FL as part of larger trip . Car would be rented. So your POV is that public trans is adequate for getting around Memphis? I am assuming that applies if you are only looking at doing things in the metro area and not the suburbs or outlier towns? I have never used Uber but have signed up for it. Beyond that, I would probably just use taxis if they are reliable. I have a week in each area then fly out of Nashville so I know I need a car to get to that city.

Memphis Area Transportation Authority has 33 bus routes and 3 trolley routes. Check out their website MATA.com
The trolley routes downtown run off an electric cantenary over the street. The fare for a one way trip is $1 per person. You can also get a full day pass for $3.50.
Rent the car when you are ready to leave Memphis.Cars can be rented downtown without going to the airport. You might have to return the car where you rent to avoid a drop fee - check.
Do you have any interest in going to New Orleans?

Get a car.

Tom Fuller is an Amtrak fetishist and he's now spreading that love to public transport. It's bad advice.

Memphis and Nashville are in the South and southern cities are spread out and not public transport friendly. Buses are infrequent and slow. Memphis is physically larger than New York City; Nashville is 60% larger than Memphis. For comparison, Nashville is nearly 7 times the size of Honolulu and Memphis is about 4.5 Honolulus put together. Now consider that each of the four primary boroughs in New York City (excluding Staten Island) has at least double the number of bus lines as Memphis and you can tell that relying on public transport in Memphis is just daft.

In addition, Memphis has the THIRD highest violent crime rate of any US city - its violent crime rate is nearly double that of Chicago, triple NYC's rate, and more than seven times more dangerous than Honolulu. That means smart tourists don't take public transport.

As for an acoustic guitar - you should strongly consider Musician's Friend or Amazon or something. If you need to try one out, get the brand and model at the store and buy online.

My mom and brother recently went on a trip to Tennessee, as part of a tour to see music and civil rights sights in the South. They gave me a copy of their itinerary and they stayed at the Holiday Inn Midtown on Union Avenue. In part because it had parking.

I'm a musician and I would disagree with Russ on his methods of buying an instrument. Don't buy online. Musical instruments aren't all interchangeable like Legos blocks. Make a few calls--call the music department at a college in town, or look for a musicians' chat board (not a travel one). Good luck!

No. Done NO multiple times. Already set to hit Nashville for a week following Memphis. So, need the car to drive MEM to BNA. FLy out of BNA so will need drop off there.

Thanks for the insights. I was leaning toward a car anyway but that clinches it just on the size. I live in the NY area for 10 years and while public trans in Manhattan was fine, occasionally hairy, but mostly fine, once you put the boros in the mix it got more difficult. Thanks for the input.

Thanks for the hotel suggestion. Will check it out.
Guitar-wise, not looking to go online. I live in HI, I buy enough things online which are commodities. I need to touch, feel, play a guitar especially as I am looking for a good acoustic...I have had good luck buying online from shops that knew me but this time I want to feel the love before spending the kind of dollars I anticipate.