Chicago area record stores past and present (with photos)

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by larry333, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. feinstei9415

    feinstei9415 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Bizzare Bazzaar WAS located in Old Town next to a huge multi-story gourmet grocery store (Dominik's I believe). They carried mostly "Rubber Dubber" era bootlegs as well as dope smoking supplies. I bought my first bootleg of the Beatles Twickenham Sessions "Haszt A Saan" there. I remember being amazed by their performance of "House of the Rising Sun".
     
  2. Vinyl_Blues

    Vinyl_Blues Slave to the Groove

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Do you have any pictures of Hegewisch records in Cal City?
     
  3. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I've spent time there, since one of our video editing houses is nearby. There are always finds and they have a lot of vinyl. Definitely worth a look.
     
  4. larry333

    larry333 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Park Ridge
    Inside the Rose Records store,
    on Wabash Avenue - Chicago, Illinois

    5060128.jpg
     
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  5. larry333

    larry333 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Park Ridge
    roserecords1.jpg

    Rose Records - Chicago
     
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  6. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Is this different than the original store actually located in Hegewisch back in the mid to late 1960's.
    I know it was open in the late 60's, because I bought the Beatles White Album there for a couple bucks cheaper than you could get it anywhere else. If I remember correctly (it was a long time ago...) records were only one thing they sold at the time. They sold LOTS of stuff, and the records, new sealed records, were often just lying in the boxes on the floor - the boxes that they shipped in. This was a great little store.
     
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  7. Blue Collar Man

    Blue Collar Man Active Member

    Location:
    Paradise Theater
    They have both CD and vinyl, mostly used. There is an excellent store called Cyklopx across the street. They have some CDs. They are primarily vinyl.
     
  8. phoenixhwy1982

    phoenixhwy1982 The Last Cowboy

    Location:
    Chicago
    My absolute favorite - Disc Replay in Crest Hill (just north of Joliet). Absolutely worth a drive once a month for any music lover (CDs, records) in the area.

    For just the CDs, the door to door combination of Reckless and Exchange on Milwaukee usually yields some good deals (but parking is a nightmare every time).
     
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  9. Planbee

    Planbee Negative Nellie

    Location:
    Chicago
    Thanks, I might give those two a shot and see if I have better luck than my trips to Oak Park. There's a store there (might be right on Oak Park Ave.) where you have to wade through mountains of slips of paper to "shop" for CDs. I'd rather just go on Amazon.
     
  10. Blue Collar Man

    Blue Collar Man Active Member

    Location:
    Paradise Theater
    Sounds like you're describing Chicago Digital. I don't care much for that place. They have a decent selection, if the employee can find it.
     
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  11. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Chris, who owns Chicago Digital is a really nice guy. They have some really rare things. Although the plastic sleeves aren't that great, it makes is because they have a giant stock crammed into it. I do know if he can't find it, it's gone forever, but honestly that's seldom happened to me.
     
  12. Blue Collar Man

    Blue Collar Man Active Member

    Location:
    Paradise Theater
    The last two times I was there they couldn't find the discs I wanted to buy. The last time I was there, the employee had the lights off and searched for discs with a flashlight. :wtf:

    I used to shop there a lot because they had a ton of imports and boots. I would never leave empty handed. Now they're a shadow of what they used to be.
     
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  13. Planbee

    Planbee Negative Nellie

    Location:
    Chicago
    If they're the place where the slips of paper are printouts of their Amazon listings, then that's probably Chicago Digital I was talking about. I'm sure their system works for a lot of people, but that's not how I want to shop for music.

    Then, there's that other Oak Park place, Val's Halla. She may have moved since I was last there, but I recall the CDs being basically locked away behind a plastic "wall." Undoubtedly an effective security measure, but again not very customer-friendly. But if you're into vinyl, I guess that place is legendary. Oh, well...
     
  14. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Yes, Chicago Digital is the place, or CD as it's known to some. For a classical enthusiast like me, it's a fantastic way to while away the midafternoon blahs. I'm a fan. The searching method is okay with me, and I have never gotten an unplayable disc there. But, to each his own. Vals is interesting, but I don't stop in unless I'm prepared for a chat.
     
  15. larry333

    larry333 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Park Ridge
    [​IMG]

    FYE - downtown Chicago
     
  16. Vinyl_Blues

    Vinyl_Blues Slave to the Groove

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Let me chime in here. Dave's Records is my favorite record store in the city right now. I've never had a problem with his prices, and if I did I probably wouldn't be there too often, nor would many of his other customers. In the five years I've been going there, I've never seen a record at Dave's outrageously priced. I may see something a little higher than I want from time to time, but nothing that would elicit a double take. I'm not saying the story isn't true, but in my considerable experience at the store, his prices have always been fair.

    Equally important, Dave's has a great combination of used vinyl and new releases - always a lot of both. My other favorite record store in Chicago is Dusty Groove, gotta love their focus on soul, jazz, and blues.
     
  17. Ben Adams

    Ben Adams Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    Let me say this: It's been 20 years. and Dave wasn't the owner back then. Over the length of time he's been there, he's seen trends come and go. I'm sure he knows the current pulse beautifully.

    And my store was in the suburbs. Urban stores tend to have higher prices. If I could rephrase the post you quoted above, I would. It was unduly harsh.
     
  18. MarkTheShark

    MarkTheShark Senior Member

    I haven't read through this whole thread (about half of it) but does anyone remember a store called SWOLLEN HEAD in La Grange, Illinois? Any pictures? They are long gone, but I'm not sure just when they closed. I think they were in the Calendar Court plaza off La Grange Road.
     
  19. MarkTheShark

    MarkTheShark Senior Member

    I used to go to the one in Cicero pretty frequently, but it's gone now. They also had a North Side location on Belmont (also gone) but as far as I know, the South Side one is still there. At least I hope it is. I haven't been there in a good number of years, need to get over there one of these days.

    Apropos of nothing -- any time I think of that place I remember one particular afternoon when I walked into the Cicero (Cermak Road) location and the guy at the counter was sitting there on the phone, and I was treated to his half of a conversation which ended with:

    "Oh yeah? Then why did you marry me?"

    "F---in' c---." (SLAMS PHONE DOWN)

    It's weird the things we remember...
     
  20. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
  21. larry333

    larry333 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Park Ridge
  22. mneuliep

    mneuliep Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI, USA
    I shopped at the original store in Hegewisch in the early seventies. The later stores in Cal City, M'ville, etc are the same people and lasted a few years after the original closed.

    The Hegewisch original was amazing. It was nearly unmarked. You just had to know where it was. It was a dump, with holes in the floor and records crammed into every available spot. But they had the most comprehensive selection of anywhere and by far the lowest prices. It was run by two guys, Rich and Joe, about whom all sorts of lurid stories were told. When you bought records, they couldn't bother to make small change and just had a giant pile of quarters by the register. They just rounded your total down to the nearest 25 cents. Also, if you were clued in, you could buy concert tickets to the big shows in Chicago and the seats were always in the first few rows. I'm sure there are lots of other stories.
     
  23. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Good Lord, even that construction is familiar, and I'm not joking!

    (Sorry for the late reply. Somehow this thread became unwatched for me.)
     
  24. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
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  25. GuyDon

    GuyDon Senior Member

    The stories you heard we're probably true.
     

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