among others. I'm from the West Side, so any West Sider can tell you about MM or Partee's.
But to be honest, I usually went to record stores with my friends after school, or by myself. There was a store on Madison and Cicero ( can't remember the name )that sold 45's for a dollar and no Tax, so they pretty much got most of my scratch. Fuck a school lunch.
Anyway, since it's always a common question in posts of this type, I'll offer this:
First record I ever bought with my own money: "This is is"- Kenny Loggins ( 45 of course )
First Full-Length Album I ever bought with my own Money:
(I was only 9, but my Pops took me with that good Birthday Money) "Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome"- Parliament. Ironically, I'm not really a huge Parliament fan, but I thought the cover was cool and I had Ten bucks. So yeah...
Eventually, me and my main man DJPLR started hitting up the hops for 12-inches, and we'd go to Baby O's See n Hear on Oak Park or Coconuts and/or Peaches right across the street. That place actually stood until the 90's.