I've spoken about the place a couple of times, most notably here and here, but I recently found a reason to bring it up again. Disc-O-Mat was ultimately just another retail record store chain that had a few outlets around New York, and, I believe, New Jersey (see ad above, for details). My particular favorite one, however, was on Lexington Avenue between 57th and 58th streets. Here's what I had to say about it back in 2011.
Circa 1979, it was a comparatively shoddy ground floor space, filled from floor to ceiling with vinyl. Before I'd discovered the myriad record-collecting havens of Greenwich Village, this humble spot in the comparatively staid environs of midtown was practically sacred to me. A couple of years later, the shop expanded into a two story operation (cassettes on the ground floor and vinyl upstairs). It was in this incarnation wherein I remember prizing vinyl LPs from bands like Adam & the Ants, AC/DC, Talking Heads, Blue Oyster Cult, Laurie Anderson, Black Sabbath, The Police and scores more. This all may sound like no big deal and much ado about nothing, but to a fifteen year old, these were pivotal moments. Every part of the experience -- getting on the bus (or walking) from East 93rd and riding down to 58th to hit Disc-O-Mat (not to mention the nearby Crazy Eddie's just to the south and the independent Revolution Records just to the north) -- was memorable. It was all part of the ritual.
In any case, by way of the sort of frustrating archival site - 80S.NYC - I was able to track down a photograph of the ol' spot.
That was my favorite location but I worked at the Times Square store one summer and grew to like that one too.
Posted by: Ray P | October 24, 2020 at 09:12 AM