If I remember correctly, the original Imports store was somewhere in the South Loop (between the Loop itself and Chinatown)... then around '91 or '92 someone told me they had relocated up to a building on the northside... I believe it was North Ave. somewhere around Milwaukee Ave. I think they closed their doors a few years back, I haven't heard anything of them since then.
Another decent shop for old Chicago house goodies (and techno as well, btw) is Hot Jams at 5012 S. Pulaski. About half of their inventory is used vinyl. Two things I don't like about this shop though is the fact that all of the vinyl they have in the bins is kept under lock and key... so if you go there in person to flip through their inventory, it can get pretty aggravating in a hurry to try to find something. The other thing is that they charge an arm and a leg for used vinyl, a lot of what they have will set you back $10 per 12" or more. However, they do have a lot of hard to find classic stuff that you might not find at Gramaphone or 2nd Hand Tunes... everytime I've been there they've always had a good amount of stuff on the Trax label and DJ International, etc. They do mail order as well, their number is 773-581-JAMS. I still prefer Gramaphone over the others, as their selection (at least where new releases are concerned) is second to none in the city. Now, if they would just figure out a way to create better parking arrangements in the area.... :) BTW, for whoever was trying to reach Gramaphone's web site and was unable to get it to come up, their number is 773-472-3683 if you want to do a mail order from them or get some info... Matt E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage: http://magicmattkelly.tripod.com > PS. Anyone know what happened to the legendary Chicago record shop IMPORTS > ETC., where Chip E. worked and stuff. Any info about this shop would be > appreciated. > DJ Izrail's excellent "Chicago blood line" mix has a great 10 mins of TALK > by Izrail, when he pays respect to the old skool, he mentions this shop of > course...
