Record Store Day in Chicago, Illinois
Two dates to know: Record Store Day Black Friday is Friday, November 29, 2026, and the next main Record Store Day is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an annual event built around independent record stores. The main event traditionally lands on the third Saturday of April each year; Record Store Day Black Friday is traditionally held the day after US Thanksgiving. Both days bring exclusive, limited-run vinyl and CD releases sold only at participating independent shops — not big-box retailers, and not mail order until the in-store exclusives sell through. Because pressings are limited, popular titles can sell out within the first hour, which is why a line-early culture has grown up around the day even at shops that are otherwise quiet on a weekday morning.
Tips for the day
- Arrive early. At busy shops, lines for popular titles can start well before opening.
- Bring cash. A cash line often moves faster than card on a shop's highest-volume day of the year.
- Check each shop's own site or Instagram in the week before the date — participating shops post their own opening time, line policy, and which exclusive titles they've ordered in.
- Release lists are first-come, first-served and vary store to store. A title in stock at one shop may not show up at another, even across town.
- Expect one-per-customer or per-household limits on the most in-demand titles.
- Not every independent record store participates every year, and allocations vary shop to shop — confirm directly with the shop rather than assuming based on a past year.
Shops to check in Chicago, Illinois
Independent record shops open in Chicago, Illinois right now. We don't yet track which specific shops participate in Record Store Day or what they've ordered in for a given year — check each shop's own site or Instagram close to the date for their exclusive-release list, opening time, and line policy.
- 606 Records
606 Records is a community-oriented record store and label in Pilsen, across from Thalia Hall, operating since 2015 with a focus on independent and Chicago-based artists.
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- Animal Records
A newer Evanston vinyl shop founded in 2024 by a local drummer, selling a curated mix of new and used records, CDs, and cassettes across rock, jazz, house, techno, punk, and hip-hop, with an emphasis on affordable finds.
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- Beverly Records
Operating since 1967, Beverly Records is one of Chicago's oldest surviving record shops, specializing in rare 45s, LPs and collectible vinyl on the Far South Side.
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- Black Dog Vinyl Cafe
A record store in the Chicago exurb of Plainfield that doubles as a coffeehouse and live-music venue, selling new and used vinyl alongside coffee, craft beer, wine and cocktails.
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- Blue Village Vinyl
DuPage County's longest-running record store, under new ownership, specializing in classic rock vinyl but carrying all genres and formats.
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- Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles
Logan Square-born, now Avondale-based vinyl and cassette shop stuffed with vintage movie posters and pop-culture ephemera; open daily.
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- Bridgeport Records
House-music-focused vinyl shop on the South Side, opened July 2024 by DJ Vick Lavender and Jerry Morrison with an eclectic dance/rock/soul mix.
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- Bucket O'Blood Books & Records
Bucket O'Blood pairs new and used vinyl heavy on punk, metal and indie rock with a used bookstore emphasizing sci-fi, fantasy and horror titles in Avondale.
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- Charis Listening Bar
A 35-seat, no-reservations listening bar in Bridgeport built around owner Alex Jandernoa's personal vinyl collection and a Klipsch sound system tuned by Saturday Music Audio, pouring travel-inspired cocktails to sets of soul, funk and jazz.
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- Crooked Arm Vinyl & Tap
A hybrid record store and craft-beer taproom that opened in Lisle in January 2024, stocking about 13,000 records across genres alongside rotating taps from Chicagoland breweries.
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- Dorian's Through The Record Shop
A cocktail bar and live-performance room hidden behind a working record-shop storefront in Wicker Park, running an Italian hi-fi system for vinyl DJ sets and jazz shows.
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- Dusty Groove
Dusty Groove started as mail-order in 1996 and opened its Wicker Park storefront on Ashland Ave in 2001, with deep stock in jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop and world music.
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- Elmhurst Records
Family-owned Elmhurst record shop (Revolution Music Company) selling new and used vinyl, CDs and tapes alongside guitars, lessons and repairs.
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- Gramaphone Records
Open since 1969, Gramaphone shifted from folk and blues toward house, techno and dance vinyl in the 1980s and remains a hub for touring DJs.
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- Groovin High
One of the last old-school full-line record shops in Lakeview, run solo by owner Joe Bruce with deep used bins, CDs and clearance deals.
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- High Voltage Records and Hi-Fi
A record and hi-fi shop that opened in a Sheridan Road storefront in Rogers Park, selling new vinyl alongside turntables, amps and speakers to help younger collectors build an affordable home stereo system.
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- Hip Cat Records & Music Videos
Suburban Wilmette classic rock/prog/metal/punk vinyl specialist open since November 1987, with condition-graded used stock and new reissues.
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- Hyde Park Records
A South Side shop on 53rd Street selling new and used vinyl, CDs and DVDs, with a large bargain bin of 99-cent records.
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- Laurie's Planet of Sound
A Lincoln Square fixture known for hand-lettered shelf signs, Laurie's stocks a broad range of new and used vinyl, CDs and offbeat music merchandise.
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- Oak Park Records
An Oak Park shop open since November 2004 near the Green Line stop, stocking thousands of used LPs with particular depth in R&B/soul, jazz, and rock, plus CDs, DVDs, and 45s.
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- Out of the Past Records
A family-owned West Side shop running since 1968, Out of the Past stocks used vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs and music memorabilia.
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- Parachute HiFi
James Beard Award-winning chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark converted their fine-dining restaurant Parachute into a casual vinyl listening bar in Avondale, with hand-wired vintage Altec Lansing speakers and rotating guest DJs.
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- Pinwheel Records
One of the earliest record shops to open in Pilsen, a block from the 18th Street Pink Line stop, stocking new and used vinyl, CDs, and collectibles in a space with a lounge area and arcade cabinet.
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- Purple Dog Records
A family-owned Naperville record shop opened in 2014 by a father-daughter team, buying and selling new and used vinyl from a small downtown storefront that doubles as a community hangout for local music fans.
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- Rattleback Records
Rattleback Records is an Andersonville shop selling new and used vinyl, CDs and cassettes alongside turntables, vintage barware, books and art prints.
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- Reckless Records
Reckless is Chicago's best-known used-and-new record chain, tracing back to a 1989 Lakeview shop; this Milwaukee Ave store in Wicker Park is flanked by sister locations in Lakeview and the Loop.
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- Record Breakers
Buy/sell/trade vinyl, CD and cassette shop dating to 1988 (formerly at Reggies), now in an Avondale storefront with merch, posters and used gear.
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- Rolling Stones Records
Chicagoland institution since 1971 - a full city-block store loaded with new and used vinyl, CDs, DVDs and rock memorabilia in Norridge.
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- Shady Rest Vintage & Vinyl
A Pilsen shop mixing used vinyl with vintage stereo equipment, turntables, and hand-picked mid-century furniture and accessories, with the two owners curating every item themselves rather than buying wholesale.
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- Shuga Records
Shuga Records opened in Wicker Park in 2015 selling new and used vinyl and cassettes, later expanding with a second location in Logan Square plus its own record label.
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- Signal Records
Signal Records buys and sells used vinyl from two Chicago storefronts, in Wicker Park and Logan Square, both open daily.
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- Squeezebox Books & Music
Squeezebox is a boutique, thematically organized used bookstore and record shop in Evanston selling curated LPs, 45s and CDs alongside secondhand books.
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- Standing Passengers Coffee Lounge
A West Town coffee lounge that hosts Somebody Else's Records, a micro record shop selling vinyl from local DJs and collectors spanning jazz, Afrobeat and Chicago house, plus weekly Saturday-morning DJ sets.
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- The Listening Room at The Exchange
A hi-fi listening room inside the historic Railway Exchange Building in the Loop, where James Beard-nominated chef Brian Huston pairs nightly full-album vinyl playback with a steakhouse-inspired menu and private bar.
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- Val's halla Records
Val's Halla opened in 1972 and has run from its current Oak Park storefront since 2006, led by founder Val Camilletti.
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- Vintage Vinyl
Vintage Vinyl has operated under the same owner from the same Evanston storefront since 1979, stocking psychedelic, prog, jazz, soul and import vinyl.
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- Wax Vinyl Bar and Ramen Shop
A strictly all-vinyl listening bar in West Town from DJ Lee Farmer and Gina Barge-Farmer, who studied Tokyo's jazz kissas before opening; an invite-only DJ roster spins on a rotary mixer alongside ramen and craft cocktails.
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- Wicked Wax Vinyl Shoppe
A Naperville vinyl shop opened in late 2022 by owner Mel Flowers, who hand-selects every record in the store rather than stocking filler titles.
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See the full record store listing for Chicago, Illinois.