This place is like a throwback to REAL record stores. Used records are a great price, there are…read moresome freebies, and the new records are priced as new. The owner himself Jim is a character and worth going to this place alone as he's an encyclopedia of music knowledge to connect the dots for you. I might start collecting some Buddy Guy based on his recommendation starting with Buddy's live concert at his restaurant Buddy Guy's Legends

Dropped by to find a decent selection of classic rock albums. Pricing is ok and you can find some…read morebargains. If you're looking for Pink Floyd, this is your spot. The owner is friendly, talkative and filled with music trivia.

A great store with many different vinyl records, CDs and cassette tapes. when I went there the…read moreprices were really low which was great. and when I got the my CD of master of puppets by metalica the checkout was really fast.

I finally went here a few weekends ago, after wanting for ages to visit this store. Honestly this…read morestore was SO GREAT to browse, that I wish I had visited here sooner. And the prices are really great, as well. The owner(I forget his name) was really awesome to talk to, and explained a lot about the store to me. Including the record/band/artist reference book in the front, where those artist/band and album name books used to be periodically mailed out to his record store and other stores, by a certain company. Though from what he told me, that company stopped producing those reference books by the early 2000s, sadly to say. The unfortunate thing is that too many other Chicago record stores seem a little overpriced IMO for their used records, such as for example Rattleback Records in Andersonville(Chicago) and Rediscover Records(Elgin). I'm glad this store wasn't like that for being overpriced for used records, and actually OTOH was pretty affordable. Their prices for used CDs, DVDs, and tapes was decent, as well. Yes no doubt for some people this store may be slightly out of the way. But I'd say for darn sure if you do like browsing in a record store, you should visit here at least once in your life! I do like how the inside of this store still felt pretty old school in its inside look, as well. And probably little changed, from when(I think) it first opened in the 1970s.

Placed an order Jan 2025. Have not recieved item or a refund. They sent digital proof the refund…read morefailed on their end, and now ghosted me. They steal your money and ignore you. Absolutely disgusting they feel the need as a business to RIP OFF customers. They have had every opportunity to correct it. Zero starts if possible. You've been warned.

Ordered a vinyl online. waited an entire month and still didnt ship. they gave excuses as to them…read morebeing busy. horrible business practices that don't value customer satisfaction.

Prices were quite expensive and the guy pointed me to an area that was off limits just to tell me…read moreit's off limits?! Wouldn't you know if your own area of your own store was closed down? Weird. Whatever, there are many other record stores out there and much better ones at that.

I am a current student at Northwestern right down the road from Vintage Vinyl. As a repeat…read morecustomer, I have purchased 10+ records with the help of Steve who works on the main floor. Steve is awesome and his knowledge of music is impressive. Vintage Vinyl is one of the only record stores where I could spend hours looking through the huge selection of original albums without worrying about not having a good time. The records might be a little pricey but I can promise they are top quality. Highly Recommend! Thank you Steve!

Spent a lifetime in the world of vinyl and I can definitively say Squeezebox knows what they are…read moredoing. From variety to quality to customer service, they tick all the boxes above and beyond.

Great selection of new and second hand books and vinyls! Very reasonably priced and friendly staff…read more Love this place!!

What a record experience and STORE should be like. The staff ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS, which actually…read moreguides sales. Any questions were answered, no weird "why is this person asking questions" vibes from the workers as the seems to be a trend nowadays where people don't think people will ask them questions at their job. They have a HUGE downstairs of somewhat cutout section prices, really $3 and up, but $10 for 3. Plus they have a turntable downstairs to cue up. Upstairs lots of inventory also, even lots of stuff outside. Just a diggers wet dream here. I got into Alchemist vibes here finding some Spanish singers records for the first time, now to collect. Elio Roca, Nelson Ned, and other rare artists like Pacific Gas and Electric. Now more stuff to collect! My specialty.

Solid used selection. Big fan of the dog Pogo. The owner Greg helped me find what I was looking for.read more

This is such a unique music store, and I love the vintage Chinese dragon drums and gongs. What's…read morebest is their outstanding service: I had a garage-tossed beginner drum set of decent quality with numerous missing smaller parts. At Offbeat, Jim searched his place for matching used parts, reset the entangled foot pedals, and got the whole set back in working order for minimal cost.

Just got a new guitar and needed a string and some adjustments to get it set up. I called Offbeat…read moreto ask if they were still doing repairs due to the covid19 pandemic lockdown, and Jim and Nick we able to accommodate me with everything I needed! They are super friendly and helpful, the service was excellent and quick, and the store itself is really cool! Definitely returning for any and all of my musical needs!

Do I like throwing away money? Do I like spending more than I should? I guess I must because I…read morereally like shopping at book stores. Can't we have both? Yes we can. I really should make a point of stopping in here first. I brought a friend here recently and bought them an art journal. For half price (or discounted to be accurate). They were pleased with the journal and I felt good that they felt good and I also felt good that it was not full price.

If it is worth your time and effort to drag heavy books into Half Time Books, then go for it but…read moredon't expect more than a penny on the dollar...if that. Then count the cost of gas to go to/from the location. In my case my go forward plan is to gift my old books to the garbage and not waste my time given what they paid really didn't cover the cost of my gas, let alone my time.