Reckless Records

Love this store, my first time to this location. As my cohorts did touristy stuff, I wandered in. Always hitting the new arrivals section first, I found my first $ 25; which got me 8 albums! The mistake I made was going deeper in the store. It was there I had to make decisions. $ 75 poorer, I knew my ears and turntable would be happy.

What a record store.
This location doesn’t offer a lot of space, but they do well with what they have. They offer up a lot of records, both new and used and also carry stock in many genres. There’s a good chance that if you’re looking for something it’s in the store. I know because the gentleman next to me pulled an old «Empire Strikes Back» soundtrack out while we were digging. My inner five year old was crushed, but present and adult me congratulated him on his find and gave him a pat on the back.
One genre that I noticed was lacking at this location was the local one. There were a couple of Chicago acts I wanted to dig through and see if I could find some material, but came up empty. I will say that the store was busy, busier than I expected it to be on a Monday morning so I may not have seen it while I was making my way through the maze.

Interesting shop.
Someone behind the counter really likes to push buttons by playing Pig Destroyer, followed by Taylor Swift, and then Deicide. I saw a lady get a bit annoyed during PD and another celebrating the moment when Swift’s record went on.
Either way, I bought a record and left happy to have had a Hi Fidelity moment at a record shop while in Chicago.

I can’t say anything bad about it.

by far my favorite record shop. even when I was in school out in Chicago I had to stop during lunch to go to the ship to the record store and at least just browsed or buy one

Amazing vinyl selection. None of the actual CDs are on display, they have paper tags with the title and artist on them instead. This seems annoying until you realize it actually makes it easier to flip through the inventory.
Downside is this location is fairly cramped. There is still enough room to get around but just barely. Visit during off hours or expect to say «excuse me» a few times.
When I was there they were playing some kind of extreme metal which was irritating. They don’t have to play The Rippingtons or anything, but something less «AAAAARRGGHH» would make for a better browsing experience.
Good spot for music well worth checking out.

This isn’t really my cup of tea but the boyfriend loved it here! He said they have a huge selection and some of the prices were more than reasonable! Everything was organized in the right categories and in alphabetic order.

Phenomenal vinyl selection and always something interesting playing in the store. LPs are graded accurately and most are at reasonable prices. Eccentric staff is always helpful and fun to chat with about… MUSIC! Trade-​ins welcomed… customer since the ‘90s.

Okay selection, but when I was there the music playing in the store was ill-​chosen and oppressive. Then they put on an explicit, sexual ten-​minute Nicki Minaj song while a couple browsed with their little girl — and the two male employees smirked at each other when the family finally left. One of the most uncool things I’ve ever seen in a store.

Terrible experience, especially on record store day!
1. You could not see or go through the records yourself?!
2. The staff had a major attitude and the store didn’t have a list prepared to even know what they had or ordered?!
Their recrimination was: «you should have printed it out yourself!» «It’s your own damn fault»
3. After standing in line for 45 minutes, not worth it.
4. Then I actually looked though what small selection of music that they did have… Nothing worth buying, basically the crap that’s at a Salvation Army…
… Not a fan!!!

The best staffed record store in Chicago. Always friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I check their website in the morning and if the other locations have a record I am interested in, I’m able to call it in and have it delivered to this location for pick-​up. Never too crowded and seems like the overlooked Reckless because of it’s size and location. Great on their pricing and usually grade their records conservatively, which I really appreciate.

Place is good for a laugh. Hit or miss selection geared toward pedestrian white middle class tastes. Nothing underscored this more than walking in on the morning of 3÷7÷2015 to see three white kids playing a rap music glorifying rape and violence. One of the white brats even sniggered at the cool lyrics. Too bad he didn’t’t realize this sort of trash was around before he was born. Rape? Snigger snigger. God bless America if this the future of the American middle classes.

Even though it’s the smallest of the 3 locations; it’s well stocked for vinyl and CD’s. It all depends on how often you frequent, but for sure you’ll find some nice gems!
My review is all about the cash for your music, & Reckless is pretty good. Not the best but very good. I’ve been selling to Reckless forever and I noticed that they have an average payout for your stuff. Now what makes them worthwhile is they will take your vinyl in all conditions (specifically if it’s a great title they are more willing to take it in so so condition). Unlike some shops that are more picky about selling top condition vinyl only. Store credit will gain you an like added 20% in payback so this is the best way to go over cash.
If you really want to maximize your payback on a large collection to sell it may be worth doing some research on who pays the best. For sure, Reckless is a worthy consideration. Every place is different and you will get a wild range in prices depending on the shop and who they cater to. It also helps if you know the value of what you are selling.
At Reckless, they no doubt have top staff handling the buying and have a system on getting you a fair value and pretty quick too. So usually the waiting at a minimum.
Anyways, happy selling & buying!

I go here on my lunch break from work. I wish I was going to FlatTop Grill for my lunch, but I usually over-​do it and feel really fat and full afterwards and kind of constipated.
Great vinyl selection.

quality soul selection, slim electronic selection. the staff is unbelievably pretentious, it was so bad I honestly felt like I was in a SNL skit

I like that they buy used CD’s, DVD’s, Vinyl’s and video games (the video games part is a plus). I was looking for a local way to get rid of my old CDs from when I was a teenager.
The way the store is set-​up reminds me of how record stores look in the movie because there’s lines of inventory all around. It’s small, but cozy. I liked that there was a good amount of people there since it’s always nice to see prospering local records stores.
It’s cool to see that they have local magazines like New City and Chicago Innerview on display, too.
I definitely try to drop in there when I am in The Loop. Would recommend this place to others.

I love this place. Small but high impact. One of the few places that is often playing something that I haven’t heard but need to own. A place like this is as only as good as the people who sell there and these folks have a pretty good crowd of sellers. I can consistently find things that are unusual but right in my sweet spot.

This little place fulfills my hankering vinyl fix. Although not as big as I’d like it to be, it serves the purpose for that close-​by cheap thrill in the loop.
If you are a lover of classic rock, a head banger to metal/​punk, love all that jazz or have the classical airs about you, yep, this is the place to be. Huge selections of punk and metal in particular. They sell used and new 180-​gram vinyl, and keep all of the actual vinyl records at the counter. Only the jackets are out on display. There is also a tiny DVD section against the walls, nothing spectacular.
The CDs range from $ 3.99 to $ 7.99, (others cost a bit more) and they have a small clearance strip on the floor for $ 0.99.
The tees are also a marvel of work. $ 15 for a great quality shirt. Next time I plan on purchasing one to support our record shops!
If you’re strolling the Magnificent Mile or find yourself fresh out of Millennium Station, stop by and let the good times roll.

My favorite store to buy music from — especially vinyl records. They have a very friendly staff, consistently new selection of music, and great prices for downtown Chicago. MUST VISIT! Btw, buy a t-​shirt, it looks great and is American Apparel.

I work for a Texas radio station and spent a lot of my time in Chicago scouring record shops for fun local bands’ CDs to take back with me. I like this place — you kind of have to dig to find good stuff, but that’s part of the fun.
The staff is super helpful too — I told the guy at the counter specifically what kind of sound I was looking for, and he went to the back and brought out an entire treasure trove of CDs from local bands and set me up in the corner with the CD player to check them out. I found SO MUCH cool local music at Reckless and wish I’d stuck around to shop a little more. It’s my favorite record shop I found while in Chicago, so if you’re looking for local underground gold, this is the place for it!