Permanent Records

Most of the records they sell here are in bad shape. The records are not cared for. At least clean the vinyl. The selection is average and the prices are steep. They don’t give much if you’re trying to sell.

Hands down, far and away the best record store in Chicago. I’ve been to all of them and this place has everything you could want, especially if you are into hard to find rock lps. The prices are fair (usually a little less) compared to ebay or discogs on the more expensive records. Also, to top it off, the guys working their are cool as hell, super friendly, laid back and helpful. 10 stars

Best record store in Chicago! They give great recommendations compared to Reckless. They know a lot about new local bands and even release records on their own label. Top notch staff, selection, and RECORDS!!!

If you’re a weird person, like weird things and being in weird places, then you’ll feel right at home at permanent records.
Permanent is a weird record store, with weird records (some new, some old) that cannot be categorized any other way.
There’s weird dark stuff here that makes me feel goth but also John Lennon and Paul Simon?
Lots o’ brand new stuff but also old tunes.
For a record store in Chicago, the prices are a bit high but for the shop’s selection, it’s worth it.
There’s always some good selections going on in the sale bins so make sure to dig through them.
What I like so much about permanent is how consistent the vibe is between this store and the Los Angeles store. I’ve recently moved back to the Midwest from Los Angeles and was pleasantly surprised as to how congruent this place was with the store they ended up opening in LA.
Okay, so it’s in Ukrainian village and not close to a ton of other great shops but it’s worth the trip, if only to see what’s so weird about permanent!

Permanent Records… I had’nt been there in many years. Nothing personal, I just don’t get out to that neighborhood, very often. I knew one of the former employees, and the cat allowed me to heap pats on him (Her?). The people there always seemed nice enough, but I never saw much of anything, there. A couple of Garage 45 reissues, a DVD or two, but, not enough to have me going back on a regular basis. Overall, I found them to be pretty average, though I did want to be supportive. I went back, recently, and, I was pretty much taken aback by the improvements. Many covetous LPs and 45s. some priced about what you’d expect. some very expensive. some, still going for less than they could have asked. Sure, there are items there that only the hardcore collectors with money to burn could get their mitts on, but, even that’s cool to see, that they even have those albums. I definitely spent more than I’d planned to, but, I did pretty well in a trade at Reckless earlier that week, so, what th’Hell. Now that I know, I’ll be back. But I will be setting myself a limit. BTW, I’D SAY IT’S $$ TO $$$ … You can find good stuff cheap, but, the top shelf is… well, it’s up on the top shelf.

I know this place has been around forever, and I’m sure the customer service is awesome, if you know the employees; however, I found their selection to be somewhat mediocre (compared to places like Dusty Groove or Reckless) and a bit higher in price. While they have some rarities (some still sealed!), they’re not always in great shape. For instance, they have an Ornette Coleman album on display for something like $ 60 – 80 that is so warped that you can tell just be looking at the bent album jacket.
I must give them props for stocking some experimental music, and there were a few jazz LPs that seemed worthwhile. Unfortunately, most things here are just too expensive for the condition they’re in.

Dave personally curated a stack of psychedelic albums from yesterday to today and explained each one and played them all. Where else can you get this kind of service? Even my best trips to Dave’s or Reckless now take second and third place t in comparison to this fabulous shop. A must visit for rock fans!

Sucks… So I got a notification from bands in town that Yoko Ono would be at the record shop & doing another show tonight. Obviously… I questioned that bc it didn’t seem likely, but you never know. I called the record shop and CLEARLY asked if this was actually true… They said yes, Yoko Ono was doing a free in store performance (again, random, but ok… Last minute things happen). Decided to go check it out. Get there and ask again to verify — and again they said it was YOKO ONO. Bought a couple of records while I waited. Turns out it was a really terrible band called ONO. (So I was duped, along with a few other people). I guess they thought this was funny. Even if it was a joke, the least they could’ve done was had a better band.

Found some really great deals in the sale bins in the back (the soundtrack from the film Wattstax” 2-​lp for 1.99…sign me up!) and they have a really impressive stock of singles/​eps which are great fun to browse…
Nice staff, and a listening station…
always great to see new (ish), thriving record shops in my fair city!

Permanent Records remains my favorite record store.
Very friendly … just up the street … organized … cool… Dave is right from Pittsburgh and a cool dude… It’s fun to shop and search the music here… It’s addicting and I will return and leave with more albums each and every time I visit…
Love this place and you will too!

At the end of the day you never know what your going to find at a record store. Some days you find so many classics you find yourself having to put some back. Other days you bounce around from store to store searching for at least one keeper eventually leaving with your head down in defeat.
Permanent offered a solid selection of used records primarily in the rock and pop genres. They also offer more factory sealed originals than most other city stores.
The thing that set this visit apart from others is the fact that employees were non-​assuming, not pretentious or judgmental but rather friendly and helpful.
When it was all said and done I left with some great finds to add to my vinyl collection, head held high.

I enjoyed coming here as part of ChiRP Radio’s Record Store Crawl. Though there were a few dozen people that filled this small store, it didn’t matter that Permanent isn’t as spacious as Reckless. The selection of vinyl was incredible. The new and used vinyl were well-​priced. There was a diverse selection of experimental and Krautrock, as well as some sealed vintage vinyl. I’ll swing by Permanent Records again when I get the chance.

This place is the best! The other reviews confuse me. Everyone is praising Permanent («I love this record store» «Chill, really chill» «I couldn’t be happier» but apparently they just can’t dish out that extra star, wouldn’t want to get too excited about an independent record store.
At any rate this place is awesome, the inventory does not contain garbage, its all killer, no filler. The staff are really cool and super enthusiastic about what they sell. My favorite record store in town.

Nice little record store to visit while in Chicago. I enjoyed roaming around and trying to find a good deal. I scored a Simon & Garfunkel album for $ 2.99. I couldn’t be happier. It definitely has an appeal that matches the neighborhood and I think that whatever these guys are doing is great! Keep it up!

I still think Permanent is a solid specialized record store that will most likely have what you need if you’re looking for experimental, noisy, psychedelic, or off-​kilter pop music. Their weekly lists are well-​curated, and it’s always worthwhile to check out their new releases stacks.
Since moving, I’ve been shopping long distance, and their customer service and shipping is exceptional. For instance, not too long ago I made an address mistake on an order page, but the store caught the error, emailed me, and corrected everything.
Furthermore, I’ve traded music here for a while now, and they handle your wax or CDs fairly and don’t force you to make a trade. They’re clear about their offers, quick to review your stuff, and friendly about the whole transaction.
Probably the most honest 5 stars, the acid-​rock is great enough, but you’ve got to see the customer service to believe it.

Chill. Really chill. So chill that I can still smell the weed vibes. Whenever I come here there’s barely any people, and the employees behind the counter are super friendly and like I said — chill. When I asked them for help they were more than happy to help me out. Very different from other record stores I’ve been to and their «superior than thou» attitude that leaves a sour taste in my throat.
Really good selection — fairly priced, mostly indie/​newer music but the older used vinyl is often really good and rotates rather frequently. Accurately marked stickers and prices a bit on the higher end but not outlandish. For the size of the store it contains a good amount of records that you can conveniently reach — not like Dave’s where the records are too high up to get at. And there’s a bathroom so that gives it another star because who doesn’t love a good bathroom break.
Great staff, good finds and decent prices. Me gusta.

Really glad that this is my local shop. The employees are always very courteous and professional, yet easygoing. I’m usually shopping for pop records and don’t have much crossover with Permanent Label (they play some cool shit in-​store, though, so I should investigate their artists more closely), but I always manage to find some good stuff that I haven’t seen at other stores. Used records always have their condition accurately marked («Good» doesn’t mean «barely listenable» like it does at Reckless) and the new arrivals rotate pretty consistently. Sometimes I feel like the good uncommon finds round up to the $ 30 price point a little too often, but they *are* uncommon — overall I think the pricing of their used records is very good.
If you shop there regularly, sign up for their mailing list. Few mailing lists are as consistent, well-​written and helpful as Perm’s. Their web site is sort of a nightmare to browse, though. I would love to be able to check out their stock online, but I can’t imagine how much money I’d blow there if I could.
And I too like to pet Zaireeka. He’s a sweetheart to customers, but looks like he’s a total dick to the staff.

I hope to one day visit every record store in the city of Chicago. I haven’t yet, but I’ve been to quite a few now and I think Permanent Records is my favorite.
This is basically what I want my record store to look like. There’s a long wall of vinyl (with a good selection of 7“s as well), a few racks of cd’s, some shelves of super cheap cd’s and dvd’s, great posters on the wall and some record nerds behind the counter talking shop and playing their record nerd music (they’re super friendly and love to talk to customers). If they had a couch I would never leave this place.
As far as selection goes, they had all the new vinyl I could want. Their inventory was mostly rock and indie music, but they also had smaller electronic and R&B/Hip-Hop sections. Perfect. There wasn’t too much in the way of used vinyl, but that’s okay. These guys clearly know what they’re doing in the new wax department.
This place also has their own label, which is mostly uninteresting to me, but is kind of cool nonetheless. Plus, I think it makes them more in tune with the music industry and its processes, which can only be good.
I wish this place were easier to get to, so I would give it four-​and-​a-​half stars, but thanks to Unilocal,they get rounded up to five! Congrats, Permanent! I’ll be back soon and I’ll rock your t-​shirt ’til I die.

I love love love this place! The owners are sweet and very knowledgeable about garage rock (which the shop has plenty of).
Remember to say hi to their nice kitty that hangs out there :)

In terms of deliciously obscure selection, I feel that my infatuation with Permanent over the last several years has turned into full blown love. Their dedication to the more unknown is mind blowing and I find myself religiously reading their weekly news letters to find great new bands I would never have heard otherwise. This is where they truly succeed in separating themselves from all of the other record stores in the city, by finding niche genres and zeroing in on them and making not only key records but new and upcoming stuff so readily available, I find myself veering more and more towards them in terms of sheer loyalty.
And Zareeika? She runs towards The Lady every time we walk in. One of the friendliest cats we’ve ever met! Liz and Lance and their recent additions of staff are also still incredibly nice and willing to accommodate and help as well in finding whatever it is we’re looking for.
Permanent is easily the diamond in the rough of the Chicago crate digging scene.