Material World

Metal record stores are more of my son's thing. But we were together and he knew the owner through common friends.

When you enter, you are reminded of used record stores from the old days. Vinyl albums are in wooden cases separated by either letters or band names. Their main thing is metal, but they have a healthy selection of 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s rock, jazz, blues, and more. They also have some unique Japanese pressings you wouldn't ordinarily see.

They also have a selection of tapes, and I think a few CDs. There are a few items of memorabilia.

You can listen to any album you want, as long as it isn't new.

All-in-all, this is a great used record store (with some new). And, while mainly catering to metal, they have a very good selection of other styles and genres of music.

This is the best record store in the city for metal and hardcore.

You go here for two things. To find your OG press of your favorite 4AD release you could never find in reasonable shape such as Mortal Coil's It'll End In Tears or one of the many great Cocteau Twins full length albums. They also fetch a crazy selection of other dark ambient, goth pop, synth pop, new wave, grind core and other music representing some of the more underground beautiful sounds of music.

But my second reason is to dive into the selection of Adam Abou-Heif's Bitterlake Recordings (awesome record label), which Material World is the official storefront of. If you don't know Bitterlake already, it's time you do. They are seriously the premier label to reissue all things Japanese punk, grindcore, goth rock, new wave and with a special emphasis one-off rare releases - so there's always a beautiful discovery to be had of an obscure Japanese band you've never heard of. You must go here if you are shopping for vinyl in BK!

Formerly known as Heaven Street, now called Material World. Best selection of punk and hardcore in town. Stock skews toward locally produced spiky jacket material, but there are plenty of tasters-choice LP's and 7"s from out-of-town bands too, both contemporary and older.

Formidable contemporary metal selection as well, but the real selling points (for me) are small but well-curated sections of techno, experimental, & new wave/post-punk. Lots of good weirdo dance tracks. Staff not particularly interested in being helpful, but the records pretty much sell themselves, and are often equipped with useful hand-written description labels. Cassettes on the other hand are a total no mans land. Use a smart phone or something.

Love this place!!! Hidden gem in Bushwick!!! I always seem to find a great selection of used hardcore and punk 7 inches. Prices are fair and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Close to my work so I'm always stopping by to browse around. They also have a small selection of books and fanzines from time to time. Cool metal patches and some obscure t-shirts. I usually go here to find out about local shows. They usually have flyers posted. New records too although I'm usually too broke to treat myself to that.

Always fantastic and unique selection of used+new records. What I particularly love about this shop over all the shops in NYC is that these guys get records you WILL NOT see anywhere else. The staff is always helpful, kind and have great taste! If you are a local or visiting I cannot recommend this shop enough especially if you are a collector of Metal, Punk, Noise/Experimental, World, and Electronic/Techno!!

This is the best record store in Bushwick! The black metal selection here is MINDBLOWING. Also have a great variety of new and used vinyl, spanning a variety of different genres. It's always fun to go in and talk music with these guys as well, since the employees are actually knowledgeable about the albums they are selling.

And not to mention the prices are UNBELIEVABLE! Places in Williamsburg are charging $40 a vinyl, while these guys are charging $20; check them out, this is my favorite store in my neighborhood... I'm in here at least once a week, seeing what new stuff they've gotten since I was in last.

Great atmosphere, great prices, and an incredible selection of new, used, and rare vinyl. How could you go wrong?

Spent $50, got six amazing records (Velvet Underground for $15?). Everyone was really nice to my son and I (though they mostly just gave us space to poke around the bins, which is always the right thing to do). The store itself is well organized with good breadth (though the hip hop was definitely lacking, hence the four star review). The records themselves are well-curated and look like they're all in good-to-great shape. My wallet already hates me for walking in the door of this great shop.

Highly recommended for vinyl & cassette aficionados with niche interests in particular. Tons of noise, experimental, ambient, industrial, goth, metal, electronic, and other obscurities. I'll definitely be going back on my next trip to NYC to stock up on a pile of goods!

I found this place daunting at first because I didn't recognize about 90% of the bands they carry. But, as someone who has been wanting to wander outside the standard recommends from Pitchfork and what have you, I looked to the personal write-ups the staff puts on pretty much all their new LPs. You can tell there's a lot of passion in what they carry and that definitely caters to a heavier, darker set of music.

I have left Heaven St. more times than not with a bunch of albums under my arm from bands that I have never listened to, nor heard of before. And so far, the write-ups have guided me to some great new shit. Early NY hardcore and punk, some "essential" comps i.e. the Killed by Death series, and whatever else buried in between.