Holy Wow! Legendary collection of Jazz records for my son's collection. Scored today: Art Deco- Don Cherry First Light- Freddy Hubbard Hear and Now- Don Cherry Inner Space- Chick Corea Super kind store worker and always gives you an even better price than marked. Expect to spend MANY hours of your life here. :) read more

This place is filled top to bottom with stuff almost like a step back in time with the records it's multiple floors plan on spending some time to explore read more

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I love this place. Nick and team are great to work with, prices are reasonable and the selection has to be the best on the planet.

Fire black metal selection and metal in general First press sabbath too and that real cool dark side of the moon pro-ject turn table read more

I was traveling through Rockford and stopped by this place to get some vinyl and books. Their online store is generally good so I ordered for pickup there. They were actually out of the book I wanted so told me that I can get credit for a different book. I was looking for mystery and they told me it was "everywhere". The book portion of this place is a bit of a mess and it took me longer to find something that struck my fancy since there was no section devoted to mysteries (there was one for Sci Fi). They have a deal on comic books that was pretty nice so the visit was worth it. I liked it, even with its weirdness. read more

Excellent record store! Vast collection of new and used vinyl and they have every high fidelity release available!

Wow. Great place. Stuffed to the gills with records, tapes, comics, books, records players speakers and even a pair of pinballs. Was mainly looking at records and found a couple that I hadn't been able to fine anywhere else. New and used. There is a basement full of stuff too. Didn't make it down there, something to check out next time I suppose. Prices on the new were generally close to what I've see elsewhere, but a little cheaper by 2-3 dollars on the things I've seen elsewhere. Stop in read more

Lol i just saw an article that this place has been going for 50 years, i dont get how. I did a book signing there. They told me they hold signings there often, and support local talent. They had no idea what they were doing. A business should always let customers know a week ahead of any updates or guests. Nothing. On top of that when i was there they never guided customers to my set up. The event was not handled correctly. I hope they treated others better then they did me. I was ignored the entire time. For some reason i thanked them in my next book. I always thank those that help me even if they dont deserve it. If you want to be ignored or treated like trash. Perfect place to go! read more

My classic rock Holy Grail of record stores. What more can I say? The used classic rock section is bigger than most entire stores. They have multiple copies of usually hard to find records and reasonable prices. Toad Hall also has huge jazz, new wave, classical, comedy, and foreign language sections. I didn't really have time to look through those areas as I was so overwhelmed in my classic rock cocoon. I did look through their small but nicely curated new records and was pleased with what I saw. About the only thing I didn't find was used 90s/00s albums. An amazing record store that you must see if you're in Rockford. I was visiting family for Thanksgiving and wished I lived closer! read more

Toad Hall - About 1/2 the classic rock area - Bookstores Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Best used record store that I've ever been to - amazing selection, nice people, lots of help, good prices.

The hubby brought me here, he's been raving about it for weeks. And I've gotta say, it lives up to the hype. He brought his receiver in for repair and they did a fantastic job, he's purchased records, 8 tracks - and that's all that I'm aware of. The best part is that the staff is so passionate about the merchandise and is willing to share their knowledge. I have no idea how many rooms of stuff there is - so many books, records, and so much other stuff I'm sure that I didn't see. I was in overload. Too much to see in one 2 hour visit. read more

Largest vinyl collection I've ever seen in their basement and they even have more books upstairs! This place is a vinyl collector's wet dream. It has more than Dusty Grooves in Chicago. It also has dvds, posters, comics, and in the back they even have some pinball games, some Stern like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Just alot here and you'll find something cool. read more

This store is an ABSOLUTE MUST visit when in Rockford! If they don't have it, you don't need it! This place is a vinyl junkies dream come true. Well sorted music (both new and used) to accommodate anyone's musical preferences. I could (and have!) spend hours in this store. What makes it great are the people that work there. Pat (owner) is awesome and takes cared of her customers. Any staff member is always willing to help you locate those hard to find LP's, and are just fun to talk music with. Sincerely appreciate the staff and what they do here! This is quickly becoming my one-stop shop when I'm in the Rockford area. You will not be disappointed! :) read more

A GIANT oasis of records and books! They have just about everything that you could ever ask for here. Friendly staff here too

Awesome place, amazing selection of media formats, great staff, couldn't ask for anything more. Probably the greatest place I've found for getting reel to reel tapes. read more

Such a cool spot for records, books, comics and more. Check it out a hidden gem for sure

I ordered some records from Toad Hall's online store and it was a very positive experience. Really love watching their YouTube channel as well. Great experience, and they look out for their customers. read more

I was a regular 20 years ago and was delighted to see not much has changed in that time. Other than the charming new owners and there is a basement that I dont remember from the past. They have tonnage.... an incredible selection of Records in every genre. And the books...wow it may not be that organized but its like a treasure hunt. It still has the charm of the old place. They just don't make places like this any more, plan on spending some time if you really want to look around, I was surprised to see a large selection of New vinyl especially the RSD releases...more than any place I have ever been. It a destination for sure...go right now if your even considering it. I guarantee you will not regret it. read more

Amazing customer service, and very knowledge. Website is one of the best and easiest to use. Whenever they ship packages, they are well packed and thoughtfully put together. I will always come back thanks to Nick & Annette. No need to look anywhere else, check out this spot as soon as you can. dont forget to check out Nick;s youtube channel!!! read more

Was amazed at this place. Probably more records in one place than I've ever seen. The jazz section alone must be 50,000 LPs. Need to find time to spend a few hours here. 30 minutes didn't do it justice. They also have a lot of quality, old stereo equipment, most of it repaired and refurbished. If you're looking for a receiver, tape deck or record player, they seem like a good bet. I bought a 1981 JVC tape deck that works excellent. read more

I've found my Mecca. Disc golf discs, vinyl, CDs, comics, books...this place is awesome. I went in to try to sell some books, and while they didn't take anything, the woman at the counter was very nice and looked through all of them just in case, and then gave me some genuinely helpful advice. I really appreciated how personable she was, and I highly recommend this place to pick up a disc to enjoy those beautiful Rockford summers! read more

This jaded old New Yorker was taken to Toad Hall by a lifelong Rockford resident. Wow. I have never seen such a selection of decently-priced and properly graded vinyl, cassettes, CD, 8-tracks and vintage equipment in one place. The people who run Toad Hall know their stuff, too, and you can spend hours in there browsing or talking. The world needs more Toad Halls! read more

Toad Hall - The Great Toad Hall - Bookstores Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

This is a review only of the vinyl record section of this store... I've only shopped here a couple times, but based on my experiences, I will simply say it's just okay. Yes, they have a large selection of music, but a lot of it are records that have clearly been picked over quite a few times. Some sections, like the rock and "pop" stuff has clearly been better curated and seems to move through the store more quickly. Other stuff, like the Jazz, Blues, and the basement full of Classical, looks like it's been there for quite some time--most likely because those records are not in top shape. This doesn't mean the Jazz, Blues, and Classical records are junk, but they are definitely not VG+ or NM-, which, especially for Classical collectors, means they aren't likely in good enough shape to want to include in your collection (at least not at the price they are charging for them here.) Jazz and Blues collectors may still find some good deals if you are willing to do the detective work and go through the shelves record by record. But you will need to leave yourself some time to do that, because there is a lot of stuff to look through. The prices are reasonable for most things*, particularly the rock and pop stuff. For classical, though, if you don't mind buying records that are not VG+ or NM, and you have the ability to travel outside the area, you will likely be able to find many of the records in the basement here in the condition they are in in the basement in the clearance bins of places like Goodwill, Half Price Books, or Savers in similar condition for either 50 cents or a 1.00, and not the 5.00 or more that is being charged for them here. So for those I suggest going elsewhere. For Jazz and Blues, like I said, there are some reasonable deals in there, you just need to spend the time looking through things. (* This judgement is based on my survey of 30 record stores in the area over the last few years. See my reviews of other places for more information and a context into which to place this assessment.) read more

HUGE SELECTION OF BOOKS AND RECORDS. When I say huge, I mean, you go to the Basement and Guffaw, then go to the second floor, and GUFFAW. PLus you can cross the street for more records! GUFFAWS all around. Now maybe it's not in a nice neat stacks but if you really love to dig around you can find a lot of things. Now some may not matter to you and yeah some of it is junk, but overall I found some great CDs and some really good comic books there, but if I collected records, this seems to be the place. Also prepare to haggle a bit. The folks there are super nice and accommodating, but sometimes, the pricing seems a bit off, at least in comics, and more in there favor, but you can always debate on the prices, which makes it fun too. read more

I stopped here on Record Store Day. I showed up a little on the late side so my wish list records were already gone. I did find some new stuff that I had been looking for. No good record stores near me, so I was happy that the drive paid off. There was a ton of used vinyl that I didn't even touch because it was too crowded. I love places like this. Tons of vinyl to dig through at decent prices. I will be back on a normal day to go digging. read more

Huge record/book store. They also have cassettes and some other stuff. You can buy new or used; which I really liked. I was somewhat annoyed because it is kind of messy, with items that have yet to be shelved in some areas...but it's kind of fun digging through that stuff,I found a gem! Will come back again. They also have a basement that's full of even more stuff , so don't forget to look down there if you go! So much stuff you could spend hours there. read more

Great local record store! I frequently buy records here and they are always in excellent condition. Bought a vintage record player recently that works great. I can't say enough about how great the management is here. They are so knowledgeable and helpful. I've also had a great experience with their website Toadhallonline.com when I wasn't able to get to the store. Highly recommend this local gem read more

Every time I do the hands and knees work to find 45's that have no paper sleeve and are scratching up against other bare 45's.. I bring them up to the counter and she looks them all up right in front of me.. and then gives me prices that range from $3 to $20! On scratched up records.. not only is it unprofessional it is rude and offensive. I am surprised I bought anything as hard as it was to come to a deal. Also, she says the 78's are $1 in these crates and as soon as I brought one up it was no longer a dollar but $18!! Ridiculous. "I thought it was a dollar?!" I'll be surprised if this place is open a year from today read more

Amazing Record Store. Staff is plenty helpful!! Plan on spending some major time soaking it all in!!

Awesome-little-weird-freaky-place. If you like indie selfpublished books, this is the place to be. Can be a bit on the pricy side, but very justified. read more

This place is awesome! The have comic books, hardback books, paperbacks, posters, records, cassettes, 8 tracks, cd's, old magazines, old newspapers, etc. That place is PACKED full of goodies! If you have a few hours, this place just can't be beat. The basement is packed, the mai floor is packed and the second story id packed. If you can't find what you are looking for here, it probably doesn't exist! read more

This place is the freshest place in Rockford Illinois. My friends and I expected a smokey room with the cast of Portlandia. However very Portland-like, the people were very kind. The place was HUGE. It was like a culture maze. We didn't have much time to stop and look, but we can't wait to go back and spend some time in the store. This store was so awesome. My experience at Toad Hall was not like any other I have had in Rockford, Il. read more

Just a cool place to go and hang out. Wander, scavange, and find something unexpected you didn't even know you wanted. They have more books, records, and comics than can be counted. And they have become more organized too! read more

Let me qualify this: If you love to dig through an incredible amount of "stuff" (books, magazines, comics, LP's and more) you will be in heaven. (As I am every time I visit.) They will barter so don't be shy. Call in advance for hours as they are not open every day. ADORE THIS PLACE! read more

My favorite place to spend a snowy afternoon. However, I rarely buy because the records, while interesting to browse, are incredibly overpriced. You can definitely find a great deal on old posters and books. More like a museum of pop culture minutate than a store. read more

Class act! So I purchased a set of turntables from Toad Hill, Nick was the gentleman that made the sale to me. Super clean and detailed turntables from all the photos. They explained that one of the turntables had a small ding under where it's sits on arm rest that didn't effect it. Upon receiving the turntables(fast shipping btw) and setting them up the Tonearm in fact did effect the play of records and had more damage then they thought. After speaking with them and providing photos and video they immediately refunded me a credit for repairs. These guys are a stand up bunch and stand behind there business and word. Thanks Steve read more

Toad Hall has a Very impressive selection of used books. I came from Lake Chelan Wa. Googled used bookstore. Toad Hall was 1st on the list. Very awesome store. Very awesome service. Very awesome prices. Must go read more

Great shop. Super nice owners. Awesome place to spend a day. So many Soul, Jazz and Spoken Word records! I wish they had a listening station. I want to hear what I'm buying. The best part is finding a great piece, but it's hard to know what each thing sounds like. It's worth the drive from any area! read more

I adore Toad Hall. I used to get dragged in by my dad as a kid and now, as an adult, I come in voluntarily and still love it. It's easy to get lost for hours among the stacks and stacks of hidden treasures. Want a Wilson Phillips CD for that little bit of kitsch your CD collection was missing? Need the latest Fleet Foxes record on vinyl for a decent price? Looking for comics you might not find elsewhere? Do you seek the March 1996 issue of Rolling Stone, the one with a naked Jennifer Aniston on the front... in mint condition? Then this is your place. And if you can find it, they will more than likely help you to get what you're looking for. The place smells old and musty, but in a delightful way that words fall short of describing. They offer goodies to those who subscribe to their email list and like them on Facebook. They are friendly and happy and always welcoming. Step on in and let yourself get lost. read more

The owners of this place are absolutely amazing, they will totally work with you to make whatever you are there looking for possible, or at least not imposible!! If you need it they have it or will have it! Or so it seems! I would recommend it!!!!! read more