Lyrical Ballad Bookstore

Nothing smells quite as lovely as well-​kept old books. This particular store not only smells wonderful, it branches into seemingly endless rooms and corridors full of books. Allot at least a few hours for a full exploration. Top it off with a friendly, knowledgable proprietor and it’s heaven for any book worm.

I was really happy to stumble upon this little gem of a used bookstore. Lovers of the performing arts — especially dance and classical music — will find some great long-​out-​of-​print titles here. The bookstore is also much bigger than it seems, there are rooms in the back that extend the large collection, and there are prints and drawings for sale too, both in the back rooms and on walls. The pricing seems fair, though in our amazon/​alibris age the rarer books are not necessarily cheap. Great store, I stop in whenever I visit Saratoga.

A cozy, beautiful old bookstore. I could have spent hours there. The owners are friendly and low-​key. Plan to spend some time. it’s like entering another world, so magical it’s hard to leave.

If you are a book lover and you are not a trust fund baby, this place can be very dangerous. Books range from $ 3 to over $ 100, depending on what you’re into. It is a wonderland of used books of all kinds. You can spend half a day just browsing the shelves and picking up one book after another. And if you’re into rare books, you are in for a real treat!
This place fills your senses with all things bookish: the smell of old books, the sight of books piled to the ceiling, and the sound of pages being quietly turned by other patrons. It’s glorious. There are old books and really old books, books in English, books in all kinds of languages. Oh, the books!
Another Unilocaler called the setup a «labyrinth» and it really is. We lost my brother and my son in here and we had to wander all over the place to find them. We spent so long in here that we had to stop at the Falafel Den across the street to re-​fuel. Then, while my daughter and I went down the street to get some ice cream, the boys returned to the bookstore.
A cool thing to note: there is a bank vault in this bookstore. It’s another room of books and some Saratoga-​themed art, but the bank vault alone is pretty cool.

Yes, friends of mine own and run this bookstore, so I might seem biased, however I have also seen their dedication and adoration to this place and each and every book! You ask for something and they can find it, (without the aid of a computer) in this labyrith of a store. The only downfall for me was spending too much time in one go there — eventually feeling a little bit claustrophobiac and needing to get out into fresh air! This is a beuatiful old world bookstore that true bookworms will adore.

The Lyrical Ballad is a magical place. It is, quite simply, the ultimate used bookstore experience of a lifetime. I drive hours out of my way to get there, and could easily spend 3 or more hours in the store, finding long-​forgotten treasures. It is far larger than it appears from the outside. To call their selection extensive is an understatement. The staff are incredibly helpful. I thought that nothing could beat the Strand in NYC. However, I find that I prefer the Lyrical Ballad. It is simply amazing & every bibliophile in North America should visit this store at least once.

The greatest used/​rare bookstore I have ever been in. Sure there are «fancier» brick and mortar stores like Baumann’s Rare Books, but when it comes to a traditional store with treasures and amazing variety in scope and price range, this is the place.

Long live Lyrical Ballad Bookstore. An oasis of books, prints, records and a living functioning resource. If you can’t find the book you need, in a few days they will get it for you. Just ask for help and the owners will find your book in minutes. Spend the afternoon browsing, be sure to buy something though. Every town needs a Lyrical Ballad bookstore

I like me some bookstores. Used/​antique bookstores are like crack for me. I can spend a significant amount of time in them. Of course, I was told that this place was a must and so it was the first destination on my list of places in Saratoga that I went to visit. Don’t be fooled by this store front. It looks like they only have a couple of shelves of used books but this is not the case! That is just the front. You’ll walk in and you’ll see lots of rare books in cases and then you’ll realize that this place is much more than just a bookstore. There’s a bank vault in the back housing a bunch of their rarest books that unfortunately you can’t actually go in and peruse but you can observe from the outside. Walk further in and you’ll see a labyrinth (sorry no David Bowie in tights) of book shelves all around. If you’re looking for a particular book, I suggest asking the front desk to help you. You’ll have a lot of difficulty sorting through everything even though all the books are well organized. There are so many hallways that it can be very easy for you to get lost/​stuck.
I highly recommend coming here just to take a big breath of old books!

My most favorite place in the entire world since I was a little girl so my five star review is totally biased. My father took me here when I was to young to read and I loved the mysterious and at the time, endlessly long «secret» hallways. Every summer when we returned to Saratoga Springs I would a beeline for the lyrical ballad. I still continue to visit even at 27. They have used books ranging from the church basement thrift store variety to the locked away in a vault super expensive ones. I collect Alice in Wonderland books. Not always rare or expensive and this shop always has nice mid range options in great shape. Even when the staff are kind of dickish and seem like they can’t be bothered with your non cool questions or purchase, I still devoutly love this place.

As more bookstores go the way of the dodo, Lyrical Ballad has become all the more special. The store is a seemingly endless chain of small rooms filled to the brim with used books. It is the opposite of a stale and generic Barnes & Noble. I go there knowing that I will stumble upon an interesting read I never heard of. I always seem to spend far more time there and far less money than I expect.

Definitely an Oasis of a different time nestled in a maze of books from many ranges of years and genres. You definitely can find something of interest by just randomly choosing a book off the wall and reading it. I wasn’t able to interact with any of the staff, but from what I observed, they were courteous during a very busy hour.

I was visiting the town of Saratoga Springs and stumbled upon this little bookstore. I didn’t have long to stop by, but I ended up purchasing three books from their extensive collection. It’s basically like a vault of books. For as many books as they have, and the fact that their collection is constantly growing, they try and organize it as best as they can, which is why it’s a little messy inside. Inside, you will find fully stocked shelves and piles of books, placed by general subject matter. You can spend hours in this store just looking at what they offer. The folks who run the bookstore are also very friendly and helpful.
Be prepared to spend at the very least half an hour here!

Once upon a time, many small cities had a bookstore like this one. Messy and great fun to explore. Ended up spending about an hour here, and bought a few things, including a nice print. Drop in and enjoy the bookish smells!

I have been coming to this bookstore for years. The bank vault setting alone conveys a sense of intrigue rather like the feeling you have when you are going to open a special book. I come to Lyrical Ballad for vintage postcards, rare gifts, to find a good read for myself, and am always happy to see the proprietors, John and Jan. One of the most very special places in Saratoga Springs.

Lyrical Ballad is my idea of Dungeons & Dragons for book-​lovers, without the monsters. When you walk in, you have 2 very obvious front rooms filled with a great inventory of books. Then you spot a corridor in the back — leading to more books! And rooms of this — with more books! And more rooms and books! And prints and maps and such! Books range in price from reasonably priced hard and soft-​cover, to first-​editions and collector’s items, some behind a vault door.
My secret wish is that the owners could make enough money to buy the basement of every building on the block, to create a labyrinth of rooms with books.
Their inventory just keeps growing, which is all the more reason to return. Please patronize them!

Great place to wonder around in. My dad even found a book he was looking for. Not for Barnes and Noble Lovers, but lovers of old books, used books, and books in general will have a great time hunting around in here.

This little nook off Broadway in Saratoga, NY is a gem. The titles, I mean, the number of common and completely obscure titles in this case and that pile, in this room or down that hallway, and the volumes that can only be seen through the bars of the locked vault… So many… I could honestly bring a cot, a hibachi and a dorm room fridge and spend weeks in here… And the staff are extremely affable and knowledgeable… Just brilliant…

Love this labyrinthine bookstore. Great for afternoon browsing, it seems like everytime I come here, I discover a new room full of books (there are a *lot* of rooms off of rooms off of rooms). The owners are very helpful, although this store closes early sometimes.
Another fun thing about this bookstore is all the old prints and graphics they have available, as well as a ridiculously fun collection of old postcards organized by state, country, etc.
It’s easy to spend HOURS here.

Very nice proprietors. Great tomes !!!
Only bookstore I’ve ever seen with a bank vault.
I love it!!!