For almost five decades, Consolidated Music under its owner Jeff has provided everything customers want in a serious local music shop: a solid variety of instruments and equipment for rent or purchase, with an exceptional guitar section; a knowledgeable staff of working musicians; private music and voice lessons; attentive familiarity with its clients; and so much more, always with an air of genuine professionalism.
For six years, before our son headed off to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Consolidated Music was his second family. During his years at one of the finest music schools in the country, our son still traveled home to purchase his guitar needs from Jeff, instead of across the street from school at the Guitar Center on Massachusetts Avenue. Our son is still in touch with his longtime guitar teacher, although neither of them still lives in Barrington—one on the East Coast, one on the West Coast.
Our son met another of that same teacher’s students at a local songwriters’ circle hosted by Consolidated. Years ago, that young girl moved to Nashville, where she pursues her singing career, yet she too remains in touch—they continue to collaborate on projects and produce music together.
Over the years, we have recommended Consolidated Music to many of our friends whose sons exhibit a special interest in playing guitar or working with a band. Consolidated Music has always been much more than a local music shop—it serves as an artistic space, a gathering place for budding musicians.
My children take piano lessons from Amy. She is wonderful.
Love these guys! Great service and very friendly staff. Highly recommend.
3. The Music Room
Address: 26 N Brockway St, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Had my first lesson with Fredy Daza and I learned more with him with this lesson on flute and clarinet than I have learned in years. I think we are going to hit it off beautifully. PS I started lessons after I retired and I am now 76 and my hands are slowing down.
The Music Room in Palatine has been a part of my son Gabriel’s routine. His guitar teacher Bob has been very patient and kind. Bob has been Gabriel’s music teacher for about 5 years now and he has been learning so much from Bob. I am beyond grateful. Thank you to all the Music Room teachers and Employees. They are all wonderdul.
My kids take piano here with a patient and understanding instructor. This place has such a warm vibe that exudes true un-instagram-polished creativity. I love it!
Walked in this place for the first time being a non musician. Looks like a great selection of instruments and several training rooms. They have two floors of products and friendly and knowledgeable staff who can help you purchase. This is on the corner of brockway and slade.
If you want to learn how to play an instrument, don’t take lessons here. It may be good for children, but for the adult, not so much. Lots of theory, folk songs out of a book. A year or so of lessons, and I couldn’t play a thing, 4wks of lessons elsewhere and I can play 5 rock songs, this sums up the wasted money. Also instruments and gear over priced, and not gig quality.
4. Music & Arts
Address: 1476 E Golf Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
I found a guitar online but it showed in stock locally so I was able to put my hands on it before deciding. Staff was very accommodating. First time in and it was a great experience.
Amazing teachers & extremely helpful staff. My both kids are so happy to be here. Special thanks to Mr. Ross, Mr. Eric, Mr. Nate & Mr. Max
Do you guys also have arranger keyboards?
Good customer service
Brought my Horn in for a small valve string that came undon. Cost me about $171! DONT COME HERE! very overpriced for a basic service.
Their phone and chat customer support service is terrible. If you need help with orders or billing you are out of luck.
5. More Gain Music
Address: 17 E Palatine Rd, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
I bought a trumpet from PJLA Music a PHAETON Trumpet PHT-2040 Black Chrome Onyx plated finish with 24 K Gold Plated finger buttons, top/bottom caps & water keys. I have been playing trumpet for 40 years and I have never had a better horn then this. I got it and starting playing and it played freely and was open and the horn allowed me to do as i wished with it and truly went over the top with its performance.. Thank you for my Horn!
7. Vintage Violins Ltd
Address: 117 W Slade St #4, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Staff was awesome and very informative. Can’t wait to attend my daughter’s 1st concert!!! Viola we recieved was in great condition. It’s a great instrument.
They were very knowledgeable and helpful with our child’s needs. Great service
violence ! Violins.
8. Offbeat Music Store
Address: 3 S Old Rand Rd, Lake Zurich, IL 60047 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Great little gem in LZ. Lots of good finds, owner is very helpful and knowledgeable.
Friendly service. Went in for instrument repair and walked out with vinyl. They have instruments and music lessons.
Support your local music shop.
Very cool little place. Had a guitar set up by them. Service was fast, fair and clean. Awesome people work there make you feel very welcome. Love the room full of wornstar products. Strongly recommend this place for your music needs.
Friendly people
Music store with a nice selection of instruments. Some vinyl and CDs too, although it has very few, if any, hidden treasures. 2 stars removed because the one employee and 2 of the customers were not wearing masks when I visited. I would have spent more time and money here if they were. Stay safe, everyone.
I was very dissatisfied with this location as they don’t offer any instruments that would allow the user to produce the sounds of Echolocation
9. Fundamental Records
Address: 330 E Main St, Barrington, IL 60010 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Owners very nice people. Good selection of albums.
Excellent selection. Stores like this are rare these days. Worth stopping in if you love music.
Went there looking for used CDs as directed by Google no CDs but what an amazing bunch of music all sorts of really cool stuff
Gotta say it looked good from the window, open Saturdays only. To be updated with in store experience
Nice old school record store
Great little vinyl shop! Took my daughter (15 yrs old) to let her browse and she found a couple Christmas albums she bought. Wonderful vibe and a place you can’t just hang out.
– Lots of product
– Super clean store.
– Unfortunately this place has a very boutique feel to it, and that includes the prices. Used records are definitely over priced.
– Could benefit from more proper/accurate labeling/organization
– Lady at the counter was more interested in her phone than anything else.
I used to go to Rainbow Records often and Loved It!!! John was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and the place exuded the love of music. Scratched Vinyl doesn’t have that vibe; it’s more of an overpriced music boutique than a true “record store;” selling good condition used vinyl at the price you could find it new and playing music that once would expect to hear in a trendy clothing store. I really think it’s a shame that Rainbow Records’ legacy wasn’t carried on with the new ownership and location but all good things must come to an end.
11. The Audio Experience – Home Audio & HiFi Boutique
Address: 1314 W Northwest Hwy, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Jamie, the owner was fabulous working with me in the sale of a set of speakers. He spent extended quality time with me, sharing the audiophile passion, and adding no sales pressure whatsoever in his dealing with me. We even sat and listened to the speakers for an hour after the store closed and I had not made any commitment to a purchase. I went in just to browse with no intent to buy, but after a few days of internal debate I ended up buying some high quality Magico speakers after one experience in the store. Great experience and highly recommended.
Jamie and his team here are not only knowledgeable, but approachable. When was the last time you saw those two words in the same sentence when talking about a high-end audio equipment retailer? Jamie’s prices are also exceptionally fair and felt within reach for even my modest budget.
If you are looking to upgrade your stereo to a listening experience generator, and don’t want to be talked down to while you learn, you owe it to yourself to visit F1.
My husband and I came to the Audio Experience looking to upgrade the speakers in our home. Jamie spent a good amount of time with us and had a great deal of knowledge about his products. He gave us a few options for what we were looking for and was more like talking to a friend than a salesperson. Thank you!
This place was not knowledgeable about their products , it smelled and looked unsanitary compared to the pictures online I could not sit anywhere,
I WOULD NOT sit anywhere.
highly dissatisfied with my visit.
Will not go there again.
12. Mark Miller Piano Studios
Address: 421 N Northwest Hwy, Barrington, IL 60010 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
I reached out to Brittany last minute for a holiday party, and she was incredibly responsive and accommodating. She asked if I had special requests, and all I asked was that she do her thing, and she delivered, which made booking even easier. She is experienced, professional, and a skilled performer!
Brittany is a gifted harpist. She played Christmas music for our holiday tea. Guests that entered were greeted with her etheral sounds. She was easy to work with and good at communicating. Her contract made everything easy to understand and I felt very well cared for. Thank you Brittany – we will definitely be reaching out to you again in the future!
Words cannot describe how perfect Yazz Jazz made our wedding! Everything was perfect! The dance floor was PACKED the whole reception! The music variety was excellent! Our DJ, David, was the perfect MC and the owner, Amy, was the perfect helper for anything and everything that needed a little extra attention! I can’t thank them enough for making everything perfect!!! 🙂
Yazz Jazz provided a swinging trio for an evening dinner party that I ran for family and friends. The guests were thrilled with the music. Many people commented about how good they were. Their choice of tunes, their arrangements and improvisations were right on. We’d hire them again in a heart beat. Amy is a professional through and through. You will enjoy working with her as much as the music she provides.
My husband and I are SO HAPPY we hired Yazz Events for our October wedding; each member is extremely talented. For our wedding, we decided to have a string trio for our ceremony, quintet for our cocktail hour, and a DJ for our reception. Amy and DJ Dale helped us every step of the way in planning our music for each part of our wedding; even making music recommendations when we felt lost. They were an absolute joy to work with and I felt like after each meeting/conversation we were always on the same page. This helped decrease our stress level 🙂
The event portal was user friendly and helped us organize the music and timeline for my event. I cannot say enough positive things about Yazz Events. Amy and DJ Dale were flexible in scheduling meetings, very communicative, and always responsive to any and all questions that we had.
Our guests absolutely LOVED the music and even mentioned that they could tell that we handpicked each and every song that was played on our wedding day. Every song that was played, our guests thoroughly enjoyed. During and after our wedding, we had several guests ask for their contact information, which we gladly provided. We hope to attend future events with you guys performing 🙂
All in all, Yazz Events is hands down THE BEST entertainment there is! We highly recommend hiring them for any event!
I saw Yazz Jazz perform at the showcase at the Crowne Plaza in Burr Ridge in March. Amy’s performances were subpar. She appeared lethargic. As a whole, Yazz Jazz was a mess when it counted most.
18. Holy Family Catholic Community Parish and Academy
Address: 2515 W Palatine Rd, Inverness, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
HFCA is an outstanding Catholic Academy.
I can’t say enough good things about this school! I have 2 children that are currently attending, we have been part of the community at Holy Family for over 10 years. I couldn’t ask for a better faith based education that is provided by a loving, caring and nurturing staff and teachers. The Principal and administration ALWAYS have every child’s best interest at heart. I GIVE THIS SCHOOL A 5 STAR and highly Recommend to anyone wanting the best education, experience a Catholic school can offer!
Wonderful holy place to pray and praise our God. Music is extraordinary. Our beautiful crucifix is a work of art. A must see.
The warmth and music make this an amazing uplifting place to worship
It’s big…
If you like to listen to an amazing music (modern music), I have to say this church can be one of the best in the world. Yes, I was saying in the world. The pianist who is also the choir director, plays and sings like a professional (I guess he is a professional). Sometimes, his choice of songs can be too wordy though. It can be difficult to keep up with him. Very nice people, and the sermons are very good, especially, John Paul Cafierro’s. Down side of this church. It is a very progressive church. People do not kneel even during consecration! They do not like anything old, they always want to be at the cutting edge!
I would not go back to the Church after they fired the very talented and devoted music director for marrying the man that he loveswell they claim that he went against Catholic teaching, why not kick out all the adults how are living together and not married, and those that have divorced? They are obviously biased against one type of so-called Sin. I cannot feel comfortable with a group of hypocrites. Jesus does not judge and neither should we .
If you wanna be cringed out just come to this church. Go to the latin mass!
It is one thing to be overly charismatic and have the worship be more similar to a Protestant service rather than something you would see celebrated at a notable Catholic Holy Site such as the Vatican, but the priest is breaking canon law by altering the Missal during mass, which I felt drew so much attention away from the personal connection that you can have with Jesus in the Eucharist. This Church may think it is promoting unity among the parishoners, but it is doing the opposite by veering its worship so far from what the Vatican has laid out for us to do. Other red flags are the constant playing of contemporary music before and after the mass, no visible Tabernacle, and a loose structure for the mass, such as a layperson giving the homily for a mass. I understand that many parishoners there may not understand that many of these abuses are grave matters. Overall, incredibly disappointed and saddened. Pray for this Church’s revival.
19. Palatine Music Center Inc
Address: 766 Euclid Ave, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
Wonder what ax the previous reviewer had against music, music stores and this business. Any which way – a reasonable treasure for a community – Platine Music has the deep history of being able to provide excellant music instructors/teachers/coaches – plus a great collection of sheet music, instruments and accessories – plus they do repair – Basically, it’s a community music retail store – a welcome addition to any community –
I was glad to have found this store. There was a good selection of sheet music and everything was easy to find. Prices were also fair and reasonable. Best music store in the area.
Nothing against the instructor, but the owner is not flexible and not care about the customers. He was really mean when we were late for the first class because I remembered the time wrong. On 2nd week, my wife came back saying he was mean and cold.
This owner may be a musician, but does not know how to run the business to keep happy and loyal customers. Will not come back after this session. Not recommended.
20. Don Lee Drum Tracks
Address: 350 N Eric Dr c201, Palatine, IL 60067 , Inverness , Illinois , United States
