The sign on the door says it all- NO CD’s!! Never had ‘em!! Never Will!! Dave’s is totally devoted to vinyl. We carry all speeds (33,45,even 78) all formats (7”, 10”, 12” single, EP , LP) all styles (rock, jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, house, disco, reggae, blues, folk, country, vocal, soundtracks, showtunes, classical, indie/alternative and every sub-genre you can imagine). If it’s on vinyl, it’s here now or it’s passed through our doors and in to someone’s crate. On any given day, there are at least 40,000 titles to choose from. Every day new titles freshen the racks. We sell both new and used. You’ll find both import and domestic new vinyl. You’ll find a wide assortment of new reissued vinyl. You’ll find out of print used vinyl that you’d thought was long gone. No matter what it is, you’re likely to find it in our bins. If you come to Chicago, check us out. If you can’t, e-mail us and we’ll try to hook you up. Not everyone has a great vinyl store within reach.

The store reflects 25 years of retail record experience. I started at a mall chain store unboxing countless copies of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Prince’s “Purple Rain”, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” and the soundtrack to “The Big Chill”. It was a chain for gosh sakes. In fact, it was one of the first test stores to carry CD’s. Players were $1000 and the discs were $30 a piece. As CD’s took up more and more shelf space and vinyl shrunk, I gratefully moved on to one of the legendary used chains in Chicago- 2nd Hand Tunes. The original owner sold it to an internet company that faltered and now it rests in my dust covered hands. It will always be a store where vinyl is king. The first store I shopped in was Swollen Head Records in LaGrange. It had waterbeds in the basement and black light posters and a logo of a giant green head. My mother was always afraid to shop there for my Christmas presents. I gave her my list and hoped she’d find the Who’s “Quadrophenia” and Neil Young’s “Decade” without too much trouble. I hope we continue that link to the cool record stores of the past. Our key to survival in the digital age is that we love music first and we’ll never stop. The two most frequent responses of the uninitiated as they step in our door are- I didn’t know they still made records and who still buys these things? My response is people who love records. They are not of any one type. They are part of the ever evolving and ever revolving world of record shoppers. We are proud to be a small part of that world.

 

 

Daves’s Records • 2604 North Clark Street • Chicago, Illinois 60614 • 773.929.6325 phone • Hours: 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Monday - Saturday); 12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (Sunday)