Can you advise on a good and cheap Music store in NYC?

J&R Music on Park Row, across from City Hall in downtown Manhattan is a favorite. The CDs are usually a couple of dollars less than in the big chains like Tower and Virgin. You can check them out at www.jandr.com.

Hello Sharon.
It depends on what you're looking for. If first run CDs are your quarry, then J&R or Virgin or any of the big retailers are a good choice. At one of them you'll find your CD on sale. But if you're looking for unusual stuff, such as imports, walk around the central and west Village and you'll spot many "hole-in-the-wall" shops with tons of interesting stuff. Enjoy!

Generation Records on Thompson Street just off Bleecker in the West Village) is worth a visit. The ground floor is mostly (but not exclusively) "imports" which are actually bootlegs. These are not priated CD's , i.e. they are not illegal copies of authorized releases that sell elsewhere. Rather, they are typically lvie concert performances or alternate/unreleased tracks from well-known artists that make their way into the market for hard-core fans. Good news is that there's some great material - bad news is that much of it is now on CDR with badly printed inkjet jewel box liners and yet it still sells for $22 per disc. A year or two back most of their stock was regular aluminum/silver CD's with nicely printed jewel box liners. Downstairs they ahve a very good selection of regular CD's and vinyl - all pre-owned and reasonable in price.

For mostly indie/alternative but also some more mainstream cd's try Sounds on St. Marks Place (16 St Marks on the south side of the street). Most of the new cd's used to be $9.99 and they have a large selection of used as well.

Yes, Sounds has a large selection of current used/promo CDs. You'll find plenty of other smaller used CD stores all over the East Village, several on or within a block or 2 of St. Marks Place.

I'll put in a vote for Academy Records on 18th between 6th and 7th.