When compact discs arrived on the scene in the early 1980s, most audiophiles started preaching the advantages of digital technology with all the zeal of true believers. CDs ran vinyl records out of town in no time flat.
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These days, hardly anyone listens to the small coterie of vinyl lovers who insist on the superiority of analog recordings. It’s almost impossible to find records in record stores, unless you visit one of a handful of used places, including 2nd Hand Tunes and the Jazz Record Mart in the city and Vintage Vinyl in Evanston. The best, though, is Raffe’s Record Riot, located on the far northwest side in Addison Park.
When I first found Raffe’s Record Riot about a year ago, I was desperately trying to track down some rare recordings by local alto sax player Sonny Cox on the Argo label. Although Raffe didn’t have anything to sell, he had some of Cox’s recordings in his personal collection and offered to make me a cassette tape, a regular service he provides for customers. He’ll even go to the liquor store across the street to photocopy liner notes, lyric sheets, and jacket art. If he doesn’t have it in stock, Simonian says he’ll either tape it or find it for you.
