I made a trip to the Chicago recently and came to the conclusion that I have a full blown record problem. My first destination immediately upon landing at O’Hare airport, after picking up the comfy Ford Taurus rental w/GPS from Avis of course, was Dusty Groove records. After getting stuck on the Dan Ryan Expressway for god only knows how long, I finally made it to Ashland Ave where I saw a teenager beating up an old man on the sidewalk in broad daylight. Too bad I didn’t have a camcorder cuz it would have been one of those crazy viral internet videos that everyone gets as an attachment during work hours.
Anyhow, upon arriving at the store I was utterly amazed. This was hands down the most organized used record store I have ever been to in my life! Every single record was in plastic sleaves along with a sticker including grading info and barcoding. I can’t forget to mention that the store had polished hardwood floors and a fairly large staff that constantly moved about the store like little elves retreiving items for santa (in reality I suppose they were internet orders). It’s difficult to call Dusty Groove a record store when it’s really more of a boutique, especially considering that the price of most of their items definately reflect this. Someone had the audacity to price an original copy of Gil Scott Heron’s It’s Your World at close to $45.
Although they were a bit pricey for many titles, the selection was nothing to bat an eyelash at. The Soul and Hip Hop sections were extremely thorough and unfortunately I had to leave many treasures behind because I actually wanted to have a little spending money for the rest of the trip. Truth be told though, I managed to head back to the store once more before leaving the city!
Joints I’m Feeling Right Now:
1. Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night
2. Ayatollah – Now Playing
3. Various Alchemist Instrumentals
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