For the Love of Music
An Ode to the Last Record Stores
2010-07-21
Photos and Story by Charles White

Once a major force in the music industry, the independent record store has now become a niche retail category that is sometimes overlooked by a generation who only knows downloads. To the chagrin of hardcore music lovers like me, music has devolved into a fast food culture – too easy to get, to easy to share. While I do appreciate the latest technology, it saddens me to see that most people under the age of 30 have never experienced the pleasure of rummaging through a bin of albums.  

While many major chains like Tower Records are gone, some of the remaining mom and pop shops some continue to thrive by expanding their reach beyond the boundaries of their local neighborhood and onto the web, finding a small but sometimes global audience of people still dedicated to vinyl.   

As an avid collector of vinyl and audiophile equipment, I really enjoy the experience of music shopping. In some cases, it’s like hanging out at a neighbor clubhouse listening and talking about the art of music (which neither iTunes nor any other online retailer can provide).  

This photo essay is my trip through Chicago’s last great record shops. It’s a tour that reminded just how much I love these stores – the way they present the music, the people, the sounds.  I felt like a preservationist, diligently capturing something that may not exist sooner than we might imagine. This loving tribute is an ode to the people who keep the vinyl dream alive. 

I first visited the site of George’s Music Room, the once world famous record store located on Chicago’s South Side. Its owner, George Daniels, a legend in the music industry, made his store a “must-stop” destination for any Black music artist visiting Chicago. You may have heard him name-checked in R. Kelly songs. The West Side shop is closed down now but the spirit lives on. 

From there I hit Out of Past Records, a crate digger’s paradise.   

My next visit was to one of my favorite music locations, Dusty Groove America, a unique “curated” music shop sells the best sounds around, both classic and recent, on CDs, LPs, and 45s. If you are looking for commercial pop, look elsewhere. While I was there, I picked up a copy of the soundtrack from “Enter the Dragon”.  

From there I stopped at Gramaphone Records, a DJ’s kinda record store and a big supplier of the house tracks standard for a Chicago-style DJ. They specialize in 12-inch and still have plenty of turntable listening stations.  They are also known for in-house DJs’. Next on my list was Reckless Records, indie rock headquarters, then to the world famous, Jazz Record Mart, the first stop in Chicago for dozens of Europeans looking to stock up on jazz vinyl. If you have to pick one place on a music lover’s visit, this is it.