Reckless Records – the ‘Loop’ – 26 E. Madison St., Chicago, Ill.  60602
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Chicago (like Portland) is blessed with many great record stores.  Three made Rolling Stone’s 2010 list of the best record stores in the United States (more on them in upcoming posts), and a fourth made Thrillist’s 2015 list.  But a local publication – Time Out – rated Reckless Records above them all.  So too did a Reader’s Poll in 2010.  It has three locations, all in Chicago.  The one pictured below is in the part of Chicago known as the Loop.  It is itself a worthy record store as you will see from the pictures below, but certainly not the best Reckless Records has to offer.  That distinction goes to Reckless Records’ Wicker Park store, which you’ll see in my next post.  But that does not mean a trip to the ‘Loop’ store is not in order.  It is.  The focus here was on newer records, all of which were reasonably priced.    And as with any great record store, they were playing great (and obscure) tunes to enhance your buying experience.

Reckless Records - Loop - Chicago Illinois - Store Front

Reckless Records Loop Chicago Illinois store interior

Reckless Records Loop Chicago Illinois store interior

Reckless Records Loop Chicago Illinois - 45s
They had some nice 45s on my visit

Bought a number of indie records, including the Decemberists Picaresque (don’t worry its a reissue), the new Belle & Sebastian record, and Foygen’s We are the Ambassadors …..  But I’m most pleased with a 45 of The Subway’s Rock n’ Roll Queen, a 2005 indie pop-punk song (think Green Day) and the Palma Violets Danger in the Club from 2015.
Give a listen to Rock n’ Roll Queen

And here’s the Palma Violets – Danger in the Club.

Comments

  1. Do I love this shop! I'm not only lucky enough to live in Chicago where I can get to the three Reckless shops very easily, I actually work 4 blocks away from the Madison location. They only sell the best quality / condition of everything, I've never been let down, the prices are very reasonable. The staff is very cool. While I miss the great number of shops we used to have in Downtown Chicago – Big Daddy's, Loop Records, Downtown Records, Rose Records, Crow's Nest, Rolling Stone, which later became Rock Records, I'm very happy we've had Reckless downtown for at least 10 to 12 years. You don't even have to go out to the other locations if one branch doesn't have something you want, but the other does – you call them and ask them to transfer it over to the site to which you're closest. Unbelievable.

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