Tone Deaf Records

Tone Deaf Records is a Chicago shop with a strong underground streak: punk, metal, noise, psych, garage, industrial, local labels, and the kind of new-arrivals turnover that keeps regulars checking back. The shop also keeps the digging approachable, with affordable used records and a dollar-bin section that still matters to people who like taking chances.

Interview with Tone Deaf Records

Reviewers call Tone Deaf one of the best record stores in Chicago, praising the owners' taste across all genres. How would you describe the shop's sensibility?

Well, we appreciate the kind words for sure. The shops sensibility or vibe is based on the owners past and his love for record shopping that started as a teenager in the 90’s. He has spent A LOT of time in record stores. So based on his favorite stores from his past, he tried to build a store that had a dynamic vibe with cool art, a DIY aesthetic, a community oriented feel and of course one that has interesting and unique records. He grew up in the punk rock community in the Bay Area and wanted underground music to be the main focus of the shop. Punk, metal, noise, psych, post-punk, garage, industrial, pretty much anything weird and wild is fair game. We do carry larger artists and some mainstream stuff but we really wanted to focus on the smaller labels and bands. We want people to walk into the shop and discover something new and different, either over the shop stereo or on a write-up card or in the staff pick sections…or better yet seeing one of the live bands that play at the shop and supporting them through purchasing their music. There are a lot of record stores out there selling the usual stuff, we wanted to stand out from the rest in that regard.

A wall of records and art at Tone Deaf Records, matching the underground, DIY sensibility the interview describes.

People love the eclectic punk section and the lower-level bargain bins. How do you balance the deep digging with the affordable finds?

Not a lot of stores have dollar bins anymore. People LOVE them, even if the records aren’t in the best shape, people will take a chance or three on a record that costs a buck. We have a huge dollar bin section, stocked with a lot of stuff that we either have too much of or isn’t in the best of shape, and we get a lot of people that will spend a few hours digging through them and grabbing a nice stack to take home for a few bucks. Sometimes we will even take a few $10-$20 records and put them in the dollar bins just to keep people interested and excited to find a good bargain. For the rest of the regular bins, we try and keep our prices low to keep people digging. We don’t have much control over the prices of the new stuff but we throw used stuff out for low prices all the time, its one of the things we get a lot of positive feedback about….our great prices.

Deep bins at Tone Deaf Records, showing the kind of affordable digging that sits alongside the rarer stock.

The shop gets described as a well-organized time capsule — new, used, rare, and not-so-rare all packed in without feeling cramped. How do you pull that off?

Our store is a manageable size and it is well-curated. I am not sure how much of a time capsule we are as we also seek out and sell a lot of new stuff from current and up and coming bands. But we never wanted a shop that was overwhelmingly large or stuffed with crappy records as filler so it was intentionally setup to be a manageable size. A person can spend a good hour digging through most of it, giving them plenty of time to head out to one of the other great record stores in town.

You've got a real neighborhood-vibe reputation. Who are your regulars?

Mostly people that live in the hood, and fellow record collectors. We have a good following of people that have the same taste in music as us so they know we are always on the lookout for cool stuff for them. We also have a number of regulars from out of town that come to the shop when they are visiting Chicago, which is the best. But the list of regulars is long and we love every one of them.

The counter and display area at Tone Deaf Records, a small snapshot of the neighborhood-shop feel regulars come back for.

When your online listings and in-store stock differ, reviewers mention you're upfront about it. How do you keep the two in sync?

It doesn’t happen often, our inventory is all computerized and we keep on top of it so its rare that there is a discrepancy between the two.

What's been quietly strong in the bins lately?

Hard to really say but we do sell a lot of stuff from great local labels so will say International Anthem, Drag City, Exploded In Sound and Numero have been killing it lately. Each of these labels have been putting out a lot of quality stuff and its been flying off the racks.

When someone wants to sell records, what's the best way to start — and what makes a collection an easy yes?

If they want to sell their collection, or even a handful of records, they can come into the shop anytime we are open, no appointment necessary. If they have a lot of stuff, we will do housecalls so just give us a call. We pretty much say yes to everything, so that will make it easy to get rid of your stuff.

First visit to Tone Deaf — what should someone dig through first?

New arrivals. We put out new stuff pretty much every day. The turnover at our shop is very high and stuff goes quickly so if you want to get the good stuff, go straight to the new arrivals. You wont be disappointed.

Last updated: 2026-08-01

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