Category Archives: Record Shops

Chicago Record Stores: Transistor

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , ,

by Joe Wallace

Let’s just start by saying that the best record stores have performance spaces in them. I played more than a couple of gigs at the late, great Austin, Texas record mecca 33 Degrees in the late 90s, and since then I’ve been hooked on shops that know where their bread is buttered.

Chicago’s awesome “sound & vision” store Transistor, at 5045 N. Clark Street in Andersonville is just such a place. Usually, stores that don’t pick a direction–vinyl/CDs or electronics, or art, or…whatever– and stick with it are doomed to fail from the start, but Transistor has something many similar endeavors fail to promote–a philosophy.

Sure, that’s MY interpretation, but take a quick glance at the records, books, DVDs, music gear (Transistor is an authorized Numark, Korg, Alesis and Marshall dealer to name a few) and art; you’ll soon discover the vibe of this place. Everything’s interconnected somehow.

Transistor has regular workshops, performances, film screenings, even a Sunday podcast called Transistor Radio. It’s an ambitious operation, to be sure, but it definitely beats sitting on your thumbs waiting for Jesus to come and whip out a keg of Belgium’s finest. This is definitely one of the most forward-thinking shops in the Chicago record store scene. Yes, I’m well aware that it’s a multi-faceted operation, but they still sell vinyl and therefore…

One last note–99% of the vinyl falls into the new release category, but there is a smattering of used vinyl the shop offers on behalf of the Chicago Independent Radio Project as a benefit for them. How cool is that?

Chicago Record Stores: Beverly Records

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, ,

chicago record stores beverly records

Beverly Records, located at 11612 South Western Avenue in Chicago, is not for the faint of heart. Even hardcore vinyl junkies get a bit flushed when they walk into this shop. There are massive, massive bins of vinyl, no prices apparent, cramped quarters and use of the ladder in the back areas is strongly recommended.

indie record stores beverly records chicago

The apparent lack of prices will daunt the first-time shopper, but you CAN find some very nice stuff here if you don’t mind wading through some piles of mangled, beat-up covers and record store golden moldies. Personally, if I ever see another vinyl copy of any Edgar Winter album, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, the Hair or Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack, I will shoot myself in the face. But I digress.

Beverly Records has a ton of surprises aside from the vinyl. There is a lot of nostalgia here from ancient record players to this collection of 8-track tapes–only a small sampling of the collection pictured here.

chicago record stores beverly records vinyl

beverly records in chicago illinois

I had no idea they made Grease trading cards. But they did.

chicago record shops beverly records beverly illinois

The vinyl finds at Beverly Records on my visit were pretty sweet. I found a release by The Units I didn’t know existed, a copy of the BBC vinyl release of The Genesis of the Daleks with Tom Baker (I am a nerdy, it’s true) and a few other things including MOST of the Ohio Players original vinyl releases–all those delightfully naughty album covers including the one with the horse.

Verdict? Brace your back and your knees for punishment and be ready to wade through a lot of beat up crap to find the gems, but definitely worth a stop, especially if you’re a new vinyl junkie. No prices listed=major annoyance, so ask before you check out. Beverly Records is situated on one of THE longest single stretches of street in Chicago–Western Avenue goes and goes and goes and goes. Best to take the highway there after mapping it with Google Maps.

–Joe Wallace

Chicago Record Stores: Groovin High

Record Shops, vinyl road rage,

Groovin High Inc Chicago Record Stores

Having been inside this Chicago record store at 1047 W Belmont Avenue in Chicago, it’s possible to write up a decent review of a place even when you go out of your way to give the shop a proper once-over only to be confronted with this:

Groovin High Records Chicago Illinois Record Store

Frustrating, to say the least. But what can you do? Since I’ve already been inside, I can relate that this shop features a good mix of the vintage stuff with new releases. There’s the requisite (and ever-shrinking, it seems from shop to shop) island of CDs, but vinyl is the name of the game here.

My experience at the shop was OK–a friendly presence behind the counter, a lot of records to peer over–especially in the modern rock department. The frustrating thing for me was the massive pile of albums and other items positioned directly in front of the Soundtracks section for MONTHS ON END.

I visited the shop several times hoping this towering monolith of stuff would be gone so I could have a proper browse, but no luck. The detritus has been there for what seems like half a year now. I finally gave in and made a pretzel out of my spine so I could have a look.

Those into music books–not tablature but biographies and such–will do well to give Groovin High a look as there are a  lot of titles positioned in easy reach (thank you) and plenty to browse. In fact, I’d say my liking of this shop is a 50/50 split between the modern rock selection and the books. If only the hours were a bit more dependable! My advice–check this store out, but phone first for best results.

Is the Record Store Dead?

Record Shops, , , ,

vinyl1by Joe Wallace

I’m throwing this question out because I’d really like to know what Turntabling readers think (there’s a hint–post your opinions in the comments section!) about the state of indie record stores in America. In the last two years we’ve lost a LOT of good ones, but the ones that have survived seem to be in it for the long haul.

One of my favorite indie record shops, Laurie’s Planet of Sound in my Lincoln Square, Chicago neighborhood, is a good example of what I’m talking about. Recently Laurie’s revamped the store setup–once upon a time CDs were the main event judging from the placement and display of the compact discs. But now the shiny disc has been almost marginalized and vinyl is front and center.

It was a brilliant move and one that was long needed–CDs aren’t totally extinct, but they’re really for people with old car stereos and people resistant to going all-digital. There are enough digi-resistant folks out there that the compact disc will probably limp along for a decade or so more, but the writing is on the wall.

Laurie’s will survive if the local vinyl junkies come out and support. I’m one and I do. But what about the record store in general? Do you think it’s an endangered species? Chicago has more vinyl shops than I can name here-literally. In or near Lincoln Square alone we have Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Deadwax, and until only recently, Metal Haven which died in spring of 2010. Elsewhere in Chicago there is the local chain of Reckless Records shops, Dave’s Records, Dusty Groove America, and the recently-opened Leland Hardware Records.

Are they all running uphill here? I personally think not, partly because of changing business tactics (bravo, Laurie’s Planet of Sound) and partly because of a (painfully slow) economic recovery which keeps trying to happen. And then there’s US. The few, the rabid, the vinyl junkies.