Audio Slideshow: Visit three Chicago record stores
By Leah Hendrickson, Jeremy Mikula and Katie Schweiker
In a world of iPods, Zunes, .mp3s, .wavs, .flacs, .aifs, .rms, .snds and other digital audio formats, 33 1/3 revolutions per minute still counts to some. Despite Apple’s announcement that the 10 billionth song was downloaded from iTunes in February, many Chicagoans still listen to vinyl Long Play (LP) records from both new and old artists.
“.mp3s were really cool, and they still are,” said Dave Hofer, a new products buyer at Reckless Records’ Wicker Park location. “You could fit so many of them into a little thing, you know. You don’t have to carry a book of CDs in your car anymore, for example. But there’s just something about vinyl that draws people in.”
Reckless is a music store with three Chicago locations that sells new and used vinyl – LPs, 45s, and 78s – and used DVDs and CDs. In spite of the era of readily available digital media and an economic downturn, they still do a pretty good business, Hofer said.
Map: View Chicago Record Stores in a larger map
