One Sunday in 1983 I opened the New York Times Arts & Leisure section to find a two-page ad announcing the grand opening of Tower Records on 4th Street and Broadway, proudly open 9 AM to Midnight seven days a week. That address was about a 5-minute walk from my apartment and it was after 9 AM already, so I quickly put on some clothes and trotted down. Up on the top floor of Tower Records was the large classical section, and customers that opening day were literally walking around in a daze. "What have we done to deserve this magnificent gift?" they (and I) seemed to be asking. Of course, there were other places to buy classical records in NYC before Tower. When I was in college in the early 70s I used to take the Path train into the city to go to the Sam Goodys on 43rd and 3rd, whose whole basement was devoted to classical music. There were specialty stores as well: The famous Discophile on West 8th Street seemed to have permanent customers who spent the day arguing about great opera Read More...