Chicago Record Stores: Dave's Records

This installment in the Chicago Record Stores series will focus on Dave's records.

Definitely one of my favorite record stores in the city, Dave's is *truly* a "record" store. That is, it's all vinyl, no cds!

Now, I'm not hatin' on CDs, whatever carries the good tunes works for me, but there is much to be admired in the purity of Dave's approach.

While you might assume that because of the "vinyl purist" approach, the shop would be snooty, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The proprietor Dave has been in the music business for 25+ years and is a wealth of knowledge. Whenever I'm there, he always has great suggestions for me (and dammit, I always leave spending more than I'd planned!)

There was a period in my collecting where I was easily there once a week. I've become a less frequent visitor since, but my recent trip has reminded my of the place's awesomeness. Although Dave's focus is music, it is a strong case for why independent retail should not perish from the earth, to paraphrase Abe Lincoln (right about now, Dave would be finding some Abe Lincoln themed spoken word album to blow my mind with.... word!)