Record Store recommendations, musings, and record store trip scores!

[mesamm99]

Headed later this week to Chicago to make a long weekend of it. Any recommendations as to which record / cd shops to check out. If I had the time I'd go to all of them, but most likely will only have time Friday and Saturday mornings. 

[Bosco]

@mesamm99

Reckless Records is probably a solid choice and widely considered the top dog record shop in Chicago. They have 3 locations, 2 in the northern neighborhoods (Wicker Park and Lakeview) and one downtown (The Loop). The Loop location is significantly the smallest of the 3 and I haven't stoped in there since like ~20 years ago. It was solid at the time and mostly exists only out of convenience.

I was just at the Lakeview location this past fall, and it was... ok. I've had much better record shop trips with this particular store, however it was located a few blocks east on Broadway until 2019. Now it's located on Belmont. They barely had any Chemical Brothers items, and FTBF (2+ weeks released at the time) couldn't be found. IIRC, they had a pretty lousy electronic section. @Enjoyed 's opinion should be summoned, because I essentially took him there, yet I know he went home empty handed. Negatives aside, I think they definitely are strong on the rock/punk/alternative side of things. They have a bunch of fun and used CD's for dirt cheap. I have a pretty eclectic mix of musical interests so it was extremely easy for me to walk away with stack of used cd's. I recommend digging through the soundtrack sections because there always seems to be gems overlooked.

Edit: Also, I've been recommended to check out Gramaphone Records, but I've never made it there. It's fairly close to the Lakeview location of Reckless Records, and supposedly specializes in dance/electronic music.

[Enjoyed]

It's true! Bosco took me to the Lakeview location, and I later checked out the Wicker Park Reckless. Both were decent and certainly had a varied selection, I think I just have my expectations set too high these days for stumbling onto something I've been looking for for a while - at a decent price. Bosco's right though, not a sprawling electronic section - but that seems to be the case in most places.
I did find two Quilt CDs at the Wicker Park location, but I would have liked to pay a little less, considering there was also... ~shudders~... sales tax!

I think it's more of a me problem honestly. I just have not adapted well to the times and still expect to walk into a used record store with 30 bucks and come home with 20 CDs I'm interested in. That just isn't the case anymore!

Personal problems aside, both spots were fun to look around, but wouldn't make my top 10 of favorite record stores.

Now, if you want to talk coffee or greek food in Chicago...

[mesamm99]

Appreciate you both. I'll check out both shops and report back what I stumble upon and walk away with. 

[Bosco]

Derailing this thread for a bit, but I have to add...

I feel horrible endorsing a corporate giant like Virgin. But the Virgin Megastore here in Chicago was an unbelievably great media store. Expensive, and part of the reason for that was everything was sealed and new. But damn, every-time I went to that store I never had enough money and had to do painful elimination games weighing my chances of coming across certain items again. A rarity oasis, for its time. I greatly miss it.

Honestly, the only better record store experience I've had was Amoeba in San Francisco.


...anyway back to Orbital!

[Enjoyed]

Derailing this thread for a bit, but I have to add...

I feel horrible endorsing a corporate giant like Virgin. But the Virgin Megastore here in Chicago was an unbelievably great media store. Expensive, and part of the reason for that was everything was sealed and new. But damn, every-time I went to that store I never had enough money and had to do painful elimination games weighing my chances of coming across certain items again. A rarity oasis, for its time. I greatly miss it.

Honestly, the only better record store experience I've had was Amoeba in San Francisco.

I'm riding parallel to the de-rails to also throw in my appreciation hat for Virgin.

I actually got most of my Chemical Brothers singles from Virgin Megastores. They had everything, always. And I remember playing similar elimination games when it came to narrowing down which cd single to take home for the day. Add to my Daft Punk singles collection with Burnin'? Or pick up the new one-off Prodigy single, Baby's Got A Temper?

...anyway back to Orbital!

Yes! Very interested to hear the other 3 discs when this boxset gets released. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Underworld Super Deluxe editions over the years (and would love if they finally released the A Hundred Days Off one...)

[shakermaker]

Virgin Megastores still exist?

once upon a time my bus route home in San Francisco took me straight past our Virgin Megastore. I used to stop by on my way home on Tuesdays to pick up whatever new interested me that week.

all those CDs now sit in a box under my bed, and the store closed down longer ago than I can remember.

[Bosco]

Virgin Megastores still exist?

once upon a time my bus route home in San Francisco took me straight past our Virgin Megastore. I used to stop by on my way home on Tuesdays to pick up whatever new interested me that week.

all those CDs now sit in a box under my bed, and the store closed down longer ago than I can remember.

According to Wiki they're still thriving in the Middle East and Morocco .  Everywhere else, they're all closed.

The last Megastore I was in, was downtown Denver, a day after Daft Punk at Red Rocks wasting time before my flight later that night. If I recall, the store was nowhere as impressive as the others I had been to (Chicago, Orlando,  and I think Las Vegas...)

As a suburban boy, a trip to Virgin Megastore was maybe a bi-annual visit. It was leaps and bounds better than Borders books (which was pretty great in its own right!) or the brutally generic selections of Target or Best Buy. Legitimate record stores didn't exist in my area, unless you count the Sam Goody chain...

[Bosco]

@Csar, maybe if you could move the appropriate posts starting with @mesamm99 's request for recommended record stores in Chicago. Trying to save the Orbital thread from derailing any further. Probably enough old-heads kickin' around here to express this mostly extinct ritual.

[Enjoyed]

I think I merged 'em right!

--

We were lucky enough to have at least an HMV, MVC, or Virgin in most major towns/cities near where I grew up. Virgin, while it was around, always felt the most exciting to visit because of how HUGE it was. Rivaled only by the bigger HMV stores in London, there was nothing like that feeling of going downstairs to a 3rd entire floor of CDS, going to the 'Dance' section and just seeing everything as if you were browsing through Spotify. Definitely an incredibly fond memory.

Virgin eventually closed, followed by MVC (another source of much of my early CD collection) leaving the slightly darker and more 'cool' HMV to essentially have the monopoly on franchised record store shopping.
What did they do with that? They started carrying a smaller collection, focusing instead on DVDs and Games. Hiking up the prices for the interesting CDs, and slashing prices of the super popular albums that most fans definitely already had in their collection. The Fat of The Land and Halfway Between The Gutter and Stars - 2 for $5! WOW!
I did visit an HMV last time I was in England, and was able to pick up the new Leftfield album at the time (something that was not available anywhere in Portland for some reason). But I had already resigned myself to it being a treat - not dwelling too much on the price.

Amoeba, which Bosco mentioned above, really feels like the last place I had something close to those younger CD shop experiences. I also try to visit Music & Video Exchange in Notting Hill if I'm ever close. That's definitely more of a fun dive into an entirely used catalogue - picking up things that sound or look even remotely interesting - because the prices are still dirt cheap, and they have a really exciting selection of UK electronic vinyl - old Finger Lickin' records, Skint, and other record labels I became a big fan of back in the day.

--

I'm thinking of trying a new birthday ritual this year. Instead of spending multiple hours at the one semi-decent local record store near me, and ultimately seeing the same selection of used records, finding nothing on my 'list' (and definitely not at a good price), and flicking through an electronic section that is 80% names I've not heard, of at prices that make me sad - I think I am going to set myself a budget and see how much I can get with that when ordering online. I wonder if scowling Discogs, eBay, Amazon marketplace, etc. and being able to search directly for things I'm interested in might yield some more exciting results? I also used to do a fair amount of that back in the day (anyone remember GEMM???) and finding things I had been desperately hunting for was another thrill I've been missing a lot.

[shakermaker]

I should hit up Amoeba again soon. it's been too long. I'm glad they have survived, while the chains have all been washed away. 

Rasputin (multiple locations) and Streetlight are also worth a visit if you are ever in the bay area.

[Bosco]

I'm thinking of trying a new birthday ritual this year. Instead of spending multiple hours at the one semi-decent local record store near me, and ultimately seeing the same selection of used records, finding nothing on my 'list' (and definitely not at a good price), and flicking through an electronic section that is 80% names I've not heard, of at prices that make me sad - I think I am going to set myself a budget and see how much I can get with that when ordering online. I wonder if scowling Discogs, eBay, Amazon marketplace, etc. and being able to search directly for things I'm interested in might yield some more exciting results? I also used to do a fair amount of that back in the day (anyone remember GEMM???) and finding things I had been desperately hunting for was another thrill I've been missing a lot.

far less rewarding, but probably more practical in this day of age.

Things I would love to come across are basically long gone. Full LPs are fun and all, but the magic is in the singles and EPs, import specialities, or offshoot compilation that you take a gamble on. You aren't gonna find too much of that anymore. Most of those things are solidified in someone's collection, buried in someone's storage where it was amassed in an estate or liquidation sale. Or simply, just looked over/thrown away because it's just not a familiar name, nor thought to be a money maker based off the time logging it into inventory.

[shakermaker]

Things I would love to come across are basically long gone.

yup. I maintain a list on discogs of these things just to keep an eye out for availability. they are typically not ever for sale, or only at prices I'm not willing to pay. it ends up taking a bit of the hope and magic out of looking.

[rynostar]

I also try to visit Music & Video Exchange in Notting Hill if I'm ever close.

That's exactly what I did. I was close by. It was close to closing. I found these for £13. 

[Enjoyed]

Love to see it! That place is still pretty magic.

There's also a great little breakfast spot just a few streets over called Eggbreak. Yum times.

[inchemwetrust]

Derailing this thread for a bit, but I have to add...

I feel horrible endorsing a corporate giant like Virgin. But the Virgin Megastore here in Chicago was an unbelievably great media store. Expensive, and part of the reason for that was everything was sealed and new. But damn, every-time I went to that store I never had enough money and had to do painful elimination games weighing my chances of coming across certain items again. A rarity oasis, for its time. I greatly miss it.

Honestly, the only better record store experience I've had was Amoeba in San Francisco.


...anyway back to Orbital!

The Virgin Megastore in OC @The Block was my fave hangout! My friends and I would drive out there to hangout, eat, shop, and then stop by the store to get DVD's and music. They had a lot of imports and CD singles, where I felt like a kid in a candy store. Some of my Chems CD's were bought here, but some were also purchased at Tower Records near my area, but most of my Chems collection came from Warehouse Music. Warehouse music would let me sell my old CDs to them and then I would use that money to buy new ones. 11.99 was the average price around the 2000's I think !  

I wish these music stores never closed down ( thanks limewire and Winmx) for killing CD's! 

I miss my CD towers that held all my old jems, but now my CD's sit inside  Ikea boxes inside my closet. I'm currently looking for a horizontal CD shelf to put on top of my Ikea kallax ( where my records are stored)

[whitelabel84]

That's exactly what I did. I was close by. It was close to closing. I found these for £13.

I saw that Music: Response in there back in Sept. but it was missing the third 12" (E & F sides from memory) - had it been reduced? They didn't want to give it to me cheaper even though it was incomplete

[rynostar]

I saw that Music: Response in there back in Sept. but it was missing the third 12" (E & F sides from memory) - had it been reduced? They didn't want to give it to me cheaper even though it was incomplete

Depends on what the price was. Cause it was £2 for me (I think...it's in my other bag and I'm at the airport).

[inchemwetrust]

I'm thinking of trying a new birthday ritual this year. Instead of spending multiple hours at the one semi-decent local record store near me, and ultimately seeing the same selection of used records, finding nothing on my 'list' (and definitely not at a good price), and flicking through an electronic section that is 80% names I've not heard, of at prices that make me sad - I think I am going to set myself a budget and see how much I can get with that when ordering online. I wonder if scowling Discogs, eBay, Amazon marketplace, etc. and being able to search directly for things I'm interested in might yield some more exciting results? I also used to do a fair amount of that back in the day (anyone remember GEMM???) and finding things I had been desperately hunting for was another thrill I've been missing a lot.

Definitely try it! It's like giving Christmas presents to yourself, plus you'll have something to look forward in your mailbox besides bills , junk mail,etc.

I order records at least on average 2 per month.
I mostly order records on amazon only if I need the album tomorrow or the next day, If it's an album that I love but I'm not in a hurry to get it ,then i order on ebay. Now, when it comes to chemical brother releases, its definitely discogs.

There's days where I'm just shooting blanks at the record stores! Nothing interesting, new releases are ok, or half the album is solid and the other half is sub par( probably cause I'm old and picky) or just too damn pricey. Sometimes a used copy of a classic album is not accessible or just dented up badly. Luckily, I got a bonus from my job in December, and since the local stores took most of my business last year, I thought I could do good online.

Fast forward to today and most of my orders came in! I got some records that were on my wish list and some on my 'chemical' list! Some of my orders are on my insta page, and will post soon of what I got for my 'chemical' list.

But definitely knock yourself out Enjoyed on those purchases. You're gonna definitely set yourself up for your listening pleasure 2 to 3 months out!

[whitelabel84]

One word: JAPAN!

If you have visited you know these are some of the best record stores on the planet! 

And if you have not yet gone ... GO! 

The treasure I have found and in close to mint condition over there boggles the mind!