Tag Archives: Chicago record stores

Chicago Record Stores: Reggie’s Record Breakers

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Reggie’s is an unusual place–located at 2105/2109 South State Street in Chicago, this is a rock and roll venue, a bar and grill, and home to Record Breakers, the indie vinyl and CD store located upstairs. It’s a dangerous thing for a record collector to stop at the bar on the ground level BEFORE buying the vinyl–you’ll stagger up the stairs and back down much lighter in the wallet.

Record Breakers is a great place for new collectors–you can fill a lot of gaps in your collection if you’re looking for punk, post-punk, and soul. It’s not so great for soundtrack fiends like me, as the selection is pretty grim. I was happy to see a decent assortment of Chicago Wax Trax! era titles but really bummed about the soundtracks. The lack of a weird/unclassifiable section was a disappointment, but definitely not a deal breaker for the newcomer to vinyl.

I’d recommend Reggie’s for the full experience–don’t go and just record shop, take the whole scene in. A nice change from the standalone store, to be sure. If you go early on a Saturday, (after 12 but before 5) chances are you’ll have the run of the place–it was pretty quiet when I got there and got excellent service from the bar. Nice one.

–Joe Wallace

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Chicago Record Stores: Beverly Records

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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.