Rainbow Records

Excellent selection, awesome prices, John is very nice and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is great in there.
I hope Rainbow Records decides to upgrade from the plastic tables to something a little more permanent down the road. A nice oak display rack would look amazing in there, but I understand if he keeps his records in boxes because it’s easier to transport to expos and conventions etc.
⁵⁄₅ stars, highly recommend.

We recently cleaned out our basement and found a box of albums. We didn’t have any way to use them and weren’t sure what to do with them. Thanks to Unilocal,we found this place. The owner couldn’t have been nicer. He bought some of the albums and suggested we donate the others to charity.
It’s obvious he loves what he does and he’s a pleasure to deal with.

Great selection of vinyl at fair prices. Owners is very friendly. If he does not have what you want he can most likely order it for you, as he has done for me with CDs and vinyl over the years. Do yourself a favor and go here and help support a local business.

One of my favorite record stores. The owner has a great selection of vinyls here and everything is very organized. I purchased a Buddy Holly record here at a very good price and the owner was very helpful in making sure I chose the right one (seeing as I am new to starting my record collection.) and he was right! I listen to that record more than any of the other records in my collection. I will definitely be returning for some new special pieces to add to my collection!

I went to Rainbow Records for the first time today. It was a very small place nestled into a strip mall, easy to miss — so you have to pay attention.
As soon as I open the door I had one major impression. The place had an unmistakable pet smell. It could’ve been a pet store if it wasn’t a record store.
But very quickly I decided to put up with this because I realized this store had very good records. By that I mean a very good selection of rock records. I saw records I don’t usually see. Not just for one band, but for many. So I ended up buying 4 records, and found several more that I normally would have bought at another store. So I will have to come back.
Another great thing about Rainbow Records — the owner took the meticulous time to alphabetize the records. I was able to look for my entire list of about 20 records that I need, in only about 40 minutes. At most record stores, I have to search just within the letter of the alphabet. But here, I could find the Clash, Van Morrison, or Otis Redding nicely grouped in alphabetical order.
The only negative about the organization of the store is that there were two sections of rock and pop records, so you do have to look for every band twice. I did not take the time to ask the owner why there were two sections. And unfortunately there was no sign marking any difference. But while looking through both I believe I figured it out:
One section had pricier stuff all in nice plastic sleeves. This stuff ranged from about $ 10-​$ 50 each. And again, this was stuff in very nice condition and not so easy to find.
The other section was the typical that you would see at most record stores — this time not in plastic, and in lesser condition. I spent most of my time looking in this section, which ranged from about $ 6-​$ 16 each.
So overall, I’m giving Rainbow Records a very good rating because of their selection. I’m not a veteran record collector by any means, but I’ve been to about a dozen stores now in the Chicago area, and even though you wouldn’t think so judging by its size, Rainbow Records has one of the best selections around.

I came up here a couple years ago and keep meaning to go back. I was very impressed! This is definitely not your typical used record shop, where scratched-​up rock albums that sold 4 million copies 35 years ago are priced at $ 15 because «ooh it’s vinyl!» Rainbow Records gets it right. The prices here are very reasonable, and you can have a conversation with the very down-​to-​earth owner while you’re shopping. Now I’ll have to make some time to stop in this weekend!

Awesome local record store. Although I don’t collect vinyl, I browse their CD collection and always find hidden gems that I can’t find anywhere else. I found a Wishbone Ash CD there recently. John, the owner is very knowledgeable and it is so easy to get roped into a long conversation about music with him. He takes personal requests. I wish he would update his social media pages more as well as have more hours of availability. Overall though, I always have fun coming here.

This place is great for vinyl lovers. Boxes and boxes of records. Prices are decent and the owner is very friendly and helpful.

As the other reviewer noted, this place has a lot of great VG records (vinyl records) priced to move. The selection is great for rock/​pop and country, less good, but still pretty decent for jazz. Also has a very nice selection of cds in the same genres. The people that run the place are also very nice, extremely knowledgable, and record rating seems fair.
Downsides are that some of the records are not always as clean as one might like (dusty) and less diverse selection of material beyond rock, country, and jazz. Prices on the stuff they do have make up for this though (no gouging like Kiss the Sky out in Geneva). Definitely worth checking out.

A very nice record store. Owner was very nice and welcoming, and they have a good mix of vinyl, including a hefty amount of CDs. And almost all of the vinyl, including the cheaper racks, are in alphabetical order! Which is really nice. Like every independent record store, the prices are a little higher than what you’d spend at, say, FYE, but hey, if you want good quality and have shopped at independent stores before, you’ll know what I mean by «a little more expensive». All in all, it was a very nice shop. I will be going back.
Shop independent!

Great record store. Carries new and used vinyl. Very reasonably priced and a great selection of CD’s. Not stocked with the same old CD’s you can buy at best buy ether.
Vinyl selection is more rock based, but has a good amount of Jazz and country. There is a TON of VG records priced to move.
Also it should be noted that they recently moved to 421 N. Northwest Highway, Barrington, IL 60 010