Lark Street Music — Attraction in Teaneck Township

What a gem. The store, Buzzy the owner, the vibe. I travel a lot for work. In a swing through Manhattan, I hoped to pick up a Furch Little Jane travel guitar. But Manhattan has almost emptied of its small, high-quality guitar stores. No one I called had a Little Jane in stock or could get one in time. A Twitter tip put me onto Lark Street Music.

After asking me over the phone if I'm serious about the purchase, Buzzy ordered two(!) Little Janes, one with rosewood back/sides, one with mahogany, both rushed to arrive in time for my visit to the city. So not only would I be able to buy this hard-to-find beauty, I now had two different tonewoods to choose from and no chance of accidentally landing on a dud (Furch don't make duds, but still, options are important when buying a guitar).

And while making my decision at the store, Buzzy took a 1970 (I think) Martin D-35 off the wall for me to strum, because when else are you going to get the chance?

As I said, a gem of a store. I can't wait for my work travels to take me there again.

(The Little Jane is also a marvel, balanced and loud, beautiful tone, a smoother and more responsive playing experience than guitars twice its cost.

I took the rosewood. And yes, it hurt to leave the mahogany behind. The clarity of the rosewood is my sound, but the warmth of the mahogany's tone was half-way to a nylon-string. It was wonderful. But that's a review for some...

Don’t be fooled by the unassuming exterior of this store. Buzzy Levine has been selling and repairing guitars and other instruments for decades and his inventory includes some of the finest guitars known to man. With the only possible exception being Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, this is one of the greatest guitar stores in the tri-state area if not the northeast. And now that Mandolin Bros is permanently closed, you do the math. Buzzy also has a knack for finding and acquiring some of the rarest and unique instruments and pedals you will ever find anywhere (a candle-powered guitar pedal being the most recent thing I saw and it was beyond astonishing) and just being in the store can teach you about the history of acoustic and electric guitars. (He once had a Maccaferri from the late forties that was one serial number away from the guitar that Django was known to play - needless to say I stared at it for quite some time). If you love guitars and you are anywhere near this place don’t pass up the chance to come in. This is where the real players shop and get their...

Lark Street Music is the only place I go to service my guitars. Buzzy is the coolest, friendliest and most knowledgeable guitarist in the industry. I trust him and his staff with my acoustics as well as my electrics. Whenever I find a guitar outside of his store in New Jersey, I will always have him give it a second look. More than a few times he has saved me from a bad purchase by uncovering hidden defect. He is also honest and will let me know if another guitar is a great value. I recently brought in my Ibanez Stratocaster for some pickup rewiring and the work was fantastic. I also know that on any given day there might be a modern Rockstar or living guitar legend that is in his shop to browse his incredible inventory. Definitely worth a quick trip over the GW Bridge if you are in Manhattan but if you are already on the Jersey side you must absolutely visit. You owe it to yourself for...