Where can you buy Jrock in the US?

[slystrawberry]

Preferably in NY

[steven]

It looks like there is a book off in NY.

BOOKOFF New York Store | BOOKOFF

I used to go to the Costa Mesa (CA) one all the time and they had quite a selection of music, books, movies, and magazines. I'd bet there will be some J-rock CDs at the NY store as well. If there is something in particular you are looking for, why don't you give them a call?

Some advice: Used CDs are WAY cheaper than new CDs. New CDs have the import charge as well as the ridiculous Japanese cost of CDs attached to them making them $30-50. I've gotten used CDs for $1-10. Of course the older and less popular they are, the cheaper they will be. Even if they're not good or popular, if they are new they will have quite the price tag.

[slystrawberry]

ok thanku, ill have to check them out ^^

[MMM]

There is also a Kinokuniya in New York.

[slystrawberry]

i once tried going to that but i had old directions and i did not know they had moved. i havent gone to thier new location yet

[steven]

I can only speak for the one I've been to in California, but I think they only had new CDs and they didn't have the best selection... in general it was more expensive than other import shops/Japanese market places. That could be totally different in NY though! It's defnitely worth checking out. I think Kinokuniya seemed cleaner than most other places and had some better quality stuff.

You might try looking for some Japanese markets in your area as the ones near where I used to live had CDs to buy as well as for rental. Incidentally, they had a movie rental area as well.

Other than that... something I have done is had my Japanese friend send me some CDs in a trade for some stuff of mine. The thing is we knew each other for a few years before doing this (it wasn't an "internet friend" or anything like that, although that might work although it's a risky proposition).

Good luck!

PS: Just for something I found interesting about Japan after moving here-- I knew they had music rental shops and stuff, but I had no idea how cheap they were. You can rent a CD for 80 yen... I'm talking about a whole album, although new singles are often the same price. However, when you compare that to something like itunes, it's REALLY cheap. A whole CD might have 10-12 songs on it. On itunes I'm guessing that would be about $10? You're not gonna find like indie music or anything like that, but if it's anything popular they usually have it, which is pretty cool! I wonder if that isn't the reason why buying CDs is such an expensive thing in Japan.

[slystrawberry]

Thanku!
Speaking of just Ny Ive tracked down a few places that sell jrock, including these kinda hidden stores in Chinatown which sounds cool. But I think many stores sell it cheaper than if i were to order a new CD off of an online store. In California Ive heard its a bit easier because being closer to Japan it has more contact and exposure than NY

[steven]

Well, the thing about California is that there is (and was) a big population of Japanese Americans. Not only that, but there is quite a big population of Japanese study abroad students. So much so that there is justification in having multiple Japanese super markets, shopping malls, and stores. In fact, there are a couple of shopping malls that are built on land that has been owned by Japanese Americans for a very long time (which used to be strawberry fields in the 20's and possibly earlier).

New York being a metropolis I'm sure has a lot of Japanese people, but geograhically speaking California is closer and it has a history of Japanese Americans being there. I think it's also interesting to note that there is the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles (which I think are joined together) which is basically America's connection to Asia.

Buying new CDs at markets and stores will probably not differ too much from online prices, and may very well cost more after taxes and the store taking their cut. If you can get your CDs used (I find Japanese Americans take very good care of their CDs... that and book-off is pretty strict in what they pick up from people) then you can get way better deals than you'd get on the internet (unless there are good deals on ebay with really affordable shipping, which to be honest i haven't really checked out before).

In your quest for Jrock, you might find some cool markets with some Japanese restaurants and stuff like that. When I was studying Japanese I started going to those kinds of places which really helped me learn about Japanese food. (It also exposed me to a lot of native Japanese which is always good for studying). You might be able to find magazines or books about the groups you like (although I'm sure they'll be in Japanese). I hope you have a good time looking for music! Let us know how it goes.

[spoonybard]

You can find quite a few bands at the iTunes store as well.

[slystrawberry]

Originally Posted by steven

Well, the thing about California is that there is (and was) a big population of Japanese Americans. Not only that, but there is quite a big population of Japanese study abroad students. So much so that there is justification in having multiple Japanese super markets, shopping malls, and stores. In fact, there are a couple of shopping malls that are built on land that has been owned by Japanese Americans for a very long time (which used to be strawberry fields in the 20's and possibly earlier).

New York being a metropolis I'm sure has a lot of Japanese people, but geograhically speaking California is closer and it has a history of Japanese Americans being there. I think it's also interesting to note that there is the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles (which I think are joined together) which is basically America's connection to Asia.

Buying new CDs at markets and stores will probably not differ too much from online prices, and may very well cost more after taxes and the store taking their cut. If you can get your CDs used (I find Japanese Americans take very good care of their CDs... that and book-off is pretty strict in what they pick up from people) then you can get way better deals than you'd get on the internet (unless there are good deals on ebay with really affordable shipping, which to be honest i haven't really checked out before).

In your quest for Jrock, you might find some cool markets with some Japanese restaurants and stuff like that. When I was studying Japanese I started going to those kinds of places which really helped me learn about Japanese food. (It also exposed me to a lot of native Japanese which is always good for studying). You might be able to find magazines or books about the groups you like (although I'm sure they'll be in Japanese). I hope you have a good time looking for music! Let us know how it goes.

The only jrock CD Ive bought from an actual store was "WONDERFUL WONDERHOLIC" and I foud that at Hot Topic, im going to a store tomarrow that I just happend to notice because it had a lot of anime posters on the shop window and doors. They sold lots of anime and swords, and candy, almost like a tiny dealers room at an anime convention. I asked the employee working there if they had any music, he said we probly only have like Jrock, im like, yes thats exactly what im looking for. (im kinda rambling, sorry) The employee walked me over to the area were he said they would have Jrock. I was all excited until he said "woah thats wierd we had some last week" (so close!>.<) They were out of stock but im going to check tomarrow because they said they would have more by now. Ive gotten some very good deals online when I bought 2 gazette dvds for less than half the regular price they were sold at^^. "SHIVER" was a bit pricey, but I wanted to support the band.