Dumb Records

Dumb Records

Reviews Summary

Dumb Records is consistently praised for its friendly, knowledgeable staff and unique atmosphere featuring a pinball arcade and resident cat, Pepperoni Pizza. Reviewers highlight the great selection of affordable vinyl and CDs, with many noting the store's cool vibe and local charm. While most ratings are perfect 5s, a few mention minor drawbacks like limited inventory or strong incense. The arcade and special events like free record days add to its appeal, making it a beloved spot for music lovers and families alike.

About This Listing

Has Retro Games
Has Arcade Cabinets
Has Pinball Machines
Wheelchair Accessible

Who Can Play?

Most arcades welcome all ages (some may have age restrictions for certain games)
Minors may need parent/guardian supervision (policies vary by location)
No gaming experience required - games range from beginner to expert level
Comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes recommended for safety
Valid ID may be required for certain attractions or age verification
Groups and parties welcome (advance booking may be required)

*Note: Age restrictions and policies may vary by arcade. Check with your local facility for specifics.*

First-Time Visitors

First-time visitors may need to sign a waiver or register for a game card. Staff are typically available to help explain games and provide tutorials. Some arcades offer newcomer specials or free play sessions to help you get started.

Common Restrictions:

Age-Based Some games may have height or age requirements for safety reasons
Capacity Popular games may have wait times during peak hours

*Note: Policies vary by arcade. Confirm with your local facility.*

What to Bring

Cash or card for tokens/credits (some arcades are cashless)
Valid ID for age verification or membership signup
Phone to capture high scores and memories (check photo policies)

*Note: Payment methods and requirements may differ by arcade.*

Preparing for Your Visit

Check arcade hours and peak times online before visiting
Eat beforehand or check if the arcade has food options
Bring friends for multiplayer games and competitions
Wear comfortable clothes you can move freely in
Avoid bringing valuable items that could be lost or damaged
Check for special events, tournaments, or discount days
Set a budget for games and stick to it
Stay hydrated, especially during long gaming sessions

*Note: Tips may vary by arcade type and location.*

How to Get Started

Most arcades accept walk-ins, but call ahead during busy periods or for large groups. Check for membership deals!

Other Helpful Info

Most visits last 1-3 hours depending on games and group size
Popular games may have longer wait times during weekends and evenings
Many arcades offer unlimited play packages or time-based pricing
Some locations host tournaments and special events regularly
Prize redemption available at many arcades - save your tickets!

*Note: Policies, pricing, and features differ by arcade. Contact your local facility for details.*

What to Expect from Pinball Tables in Arcades

Step up to a pinball table and dive into a vibrant, hands-on experience! Modern machines, like those from Stern or Jersey Jack, feature dazzling LCD screens, immersive themes (Star Wars, Stranger Things), and dynamic soundtracks. You’ll use flipper buttons to launch a steel ball, aiming for targets, ramps, and bumpers to rack up points. Each table has unique missions—hit specific targets to unlock bonuses or multiball modes for high-scoring chaos. Expect tactile thrills, flashing lights, and a lively crowd vibe, with tables rewarding skill and quick reflexes. Perfect for casual fun or competitive play, pinball delivers timeless arcade excitement in 2025.

What to Expect from Retro Games in Arcades

Step into the glow of retro arcade games and expect a nostalgic rush! Classics like Galaga, Donkey Kong, or Mortal Kombat await, housed in vibrant cabinets with joysticks, buttons, or trackballs. You’ll dodge enemies, chase high scores, or battle opponents in fast-paced, pixel-perfect gameplay. Modern restorations include sharp CRT or LED screens and authentic controls, preserving the 80s/90s vibe. Games are easy to learn but tough to master, offering quick sessions or deep challenges. With leaderboards and arcade crowds cheering, retro games deliver timeless fun in 2025.

Features

Has Retro Games
Has Arcade Cabinets
Has Pinball Machines
Wheelchair Accessible

Contact Information

Address

418 E Monroe St

Springfield, Illinois 62701

Hours

Monday 10AM-7PM
Tuesday 10AM-7PM
Wednesday 10AM-7PM
Thursday 10AM-7PM
Friday 10AM-7PM
Saturday 10AM-7PM
Sunday 10AM-7PM

Customer Reviews

Best record selection in town, best staff, and my son can play arcade games for HOURS for only $5 ???????? Top 5 weekend spots for us ?? #weloveyougreenelephant

Very fun! They had vintage records and new stuff! Very, very cool record store! August was very accommodating and friendly! Will definitely be back! From Decatur, and it was worth the drive!

Awesome record store! There is an arcade in the back and a cat named pepperoni pizza. One of my favorite places to go in Springfield.

Great record store. The have a good selection of records and plenty of affordable old vinyl. Plus, spend $10 and you can check out their little arcade in the back with several old pinball machines and old arcade consoles.

Decent shop. Feels like it's brand new. Lots of space, but hardly any stock. Which is okay, it'll grow and gain more and more of a selection and that's great too. In the back is a mini arcade. The selection was interesting for a few of the pinballs, but the paucity of games wasn't worth the "entrance fee". Would definitely visit again when I'm in town. Would love to see the progress of this establishment as time moves on.

Love this store! Great selection and friendly staff. Makes my daughter feel welcome and they are very good about helping her find records and talk music with her.

Really cool little record store in Springfield! I came to town to see a show they were putting on after hours and stopped in beforehand to kill some time while the bands were setting up. Interesting record selection in the store part. The back arcade was different for a record store/show space, but they had some great pinball machines. The show was pretty good for a Monday night, with positive vibes all around.

The Best. I love this store. I mainly come in to purchase cassettes and they always have a great selection at really reasonable prices. The only thing that could make it better is if they sold 8-tracks. Highly recommend

Very cool record store - and an arcade with a disco ball! A $10 record store purchase lets you play all you want. What's not to love? Would love to see a band here in the performance space.

Amazing store. Great selection, fair prices, and helpful staff. Springfield is fortunate to have Dumb Records in town!!!

Wow!!! My first experience with Dumb Records is an AMAZING one! not only did they have the extremely rare record I wanted (Radio Station WPOP 1410am's 1969 Hit Songs Album), but they sent me an additional record from the same era.....AND a wonderful and colorful hand written note of congratulations. Im a FAN of Dumb Records!! Lawrence Amaturo PS: my father, Joe, was the station owner of this little radio station in West Hartford, CT all those years ago. That's why the record holds such value to me.

Great place for vintage vinyl records and CDs. Well worth a visit.

It's pretty good I've gotten like 20 CDs from there so far. Last time I went the cashier/worker complimented my Lemon Demon shirt.

A very fun record shop! Great selection of new and vintage vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. Don't miss the arcade with both video game cabinet games and pinball machines!

So much fun! We popped in before prom to take pics. Will Smith promgoer found a Will Smith album so they made it the album of the day! So friendly and chill! Highly recommend.

Ordered a New Edition record and they shipped it with a hand drawn picture. Such a wonderful old school customer service feeling. We will find a frame for our artwork! You guys rock!

Amazing place! Chill and great selection. We even got free entrance to the cool little arcade room they have when we bought something.

This is a pretty badass place that I think anyone who appreciates music should make this is a stop to shop for vinyl and more! The owner was playing some killer punk that really excited me and there's a Pinball arcade in the back!!! And a cool small stage that definitely would be fun to see bands play on. i ?? dumb records

Great place to shop good variety great staffing and a cat that enjoys music as well.

Cool, locally-owned record shop with a great downtown location. Pretty decent selection of vinyl and turntables. There's also an attached arcade with free admission after a $10 purchase. Look for the giant green elephant!

Coolest store ever! Great prices on vinyl, their pinball machines and arcade is fantastic and they always have great live music going as well. Pick up your next CD or Record here!

Great place to get cds. Staff is always chill, they play good music and have a good selection of things other than records. Really fair prices on the cds too, like 9 dollars max. Super awesome

Great selection of records, the arcade is an awesome bonus

Good selection of new vinyl but if you're looking for original (used) records you'll be disappointed. Selection is limited in this very small sampling.

Loved this store. The staff is friendly and helpful. They clearly have a passion for what they do. This quirky little store has a pinball arcade in the back and a small stage for band performances. Sadly, I did not get to meet the resident cat, a ginger tabby named, pepperoni pizza.

Awesome hometown record shop with plenty of treats for physical media lovers. Excellent, attentive staff as well. Long live the true, old school record shops!!!

Although I haven't been to those hardcore punk shows for a while, it's still a great place to hang out with friends or make new ones when there's a show. The vinyl selection is pretty good, and the prices are great too; I bought a couple of Nirvana vinyl records from here.

A fine selection of ?wax of stacks?- although the record industry tried to bring back albums, it fell far short of a bygone era when most of us yearned for the next LP from our favorite soloist or rock band. However, you can relive those nostalgic days by dropping by this last bastion of LP records.

Great selection of records (vinyl of various sizes), CDs, and a great arcade room with cool classic arcade games (that is free to play with a purchase of $10 or more.) Always come home with great finds. Is clean (none of the weird smells you usually experience in such places), and all of the media we have purchased has been in good to great condition. They also sell reasonable turntables and speaker systems. Loved all we have purchased.

I had been meaning to check out this record store so I'm glad I got to it was utterly charming

Literally one of the coolest places i?ve ever been to. Probably the coolest place in Springfield. The place is small, but has tons of different records of many genres. They even have a cool little retro arcade place which you dont have to spend any money to play. The woman working there helped me look for different albums and was very helpful. She also liked paramore which is a bonus. Wonderful place.

It's great having a local owned record store here! We have scored some great finds here. Plus, seeing pepperoni (the store cat) is always a bonus.

Been there once on a road trip. Great selection of records with reasonable prices. However, there's this one dude with glasses who just looked unenthused the entire time in checkout while I was just making some small talk so unfortunately, I have to dock some points off. Hope he doesn't work here again.

Pretty cool place. Has some great albums in stock and the staff was willing to look through inventory for particular artists and album.

Amazing record store! The owner and his and his team are very polite and knowledgeable. Once you go you'll be hooked! Oh and I almost forgot to there is also a great pinball arcade in the back!

I was graciously greeted by the orangest hardest working cat in show business, Pepperoni Pizza. His album of the week Choice is always on point. Brian is also amazing and has an incredible store filled with excellent music, a pinball arcade, and fun atmosphere. Best record store ever

Great store. Cool vibe

Fantastic Pinball Room with spectacular Godzilla game. Also, crates of $1 records: what a bargain! ??

The first time my husband and I stopped by here we were thoroughly impressed. Although its a smaller store than we are used to roaming through, they have a great selection at phenomenal prices. We scored a few great finds, and really enjoyed talking with one of the owners. We definitely will be back!

Stopped by to check out the record collection and ended up being fascinated by their pinball lounge- I'm a baby boomer so I grew up with them?Nice! Drop $5 and play your heart out. Fun visit!

Experienced a show there and it was simply amazing

A pretty cool spot. Cozy feeling place...but with a decent collection. Absolutely love the "arcade" with unlimited play. (and it's free with a $10 in-store purchase)

I really love this place for discovering new and obscure artist. The price for most are under $10 even finding many for $3-5. Staff is always friendly.

Very friendly with a great selection!

Great shop, great staff and a cool small venue for local shows.

Where else can you get such a selection of vinyl AND play vintage arcade games! Awesome place indeed!

Trippy record store with some amazing collecter's items (saw some on the wall for $100.00+) and a $1.00 per record room and a huge selection of CD's, many of which were still in original wrappers for around $8-9.00. They apparently have live groups who perform regularly on a small stage in the adjoining room. They also sell actual record players at a very reasonable price. I couldn't pass up the mug. See my "mugshot" attached!

Good selection and friendly staff, but not, like, weird-friendly. Record Cat is cool, if you like cats. Cool pinball arcade in the back. Lots of stuff in the neighborhood. Very few ghosts.

Great local record store with a wide ranging and ever growing selection of vinyl, compact disks (CD) and even some cassette tapes. The knowledgeable staff is helpful, friendly and exhibit a creative approach to marketing which is hard to pass up. I hear tell of live music performances within the store adding another layer of appeal to this your group of movers and shakers. These people are going places so buy a shirt while you can.

Great selection and friendly staff!

If you like subculture this place is the place to be. I am not into most music, but I appreciate that this place carries cassette tapes ($3 and up) and vinyls of local bands and local record labels--often with wonderful graphic design. They are like little art pieces. Probably the only place to carry any zines or similar sub-cultural publications in town. Dumb Records carries unique t-shirts (new and used), offers free coffee lately (so bad so good), and you and dig out some free past event posters to

Great local record shop and has very personable people working there. Brian really knows his stuff and I'm sure would do anything to make sure your happy with your purchase. Support Local !

I'm an infrequent visitor of Dumb Records, but I do love their store! Everyone has been extremely helpful and awesome to just talk to. Today was their 4th Anniversary and FREE Record Day, so I'm happy that i was able to take advantage of such an awesome deal!

Hell of a selection for RSD 2021. Keep up the great work. The Dolly Parton pinball machine was the shiz-nit. PS the reissues are kept well in stock, and the used selection is great, in great condition. Springfield's best record store.

This Record store is one unique spot. The selection of artists they have available only go deeper as you begin to look. I guarantee you would not leave empty handed or disappointed which is why I recommend this place to people who are passing through or want to find a new track to drive home to.

Killing time in Springfield, I roll through with a friend, and even though I don't listen to music, I enjoyed this place. Cool arcade, super-nice staff. Give them a spin!

Great store, with good selection, especially on the used vinyl, fairly priced and typically in great condition. Friendly staff, and friendly cat.

Great shop, in it's prime.

I stop in here from time to time when I'm in Springfield. The new location seems to have a bit more than the old but it's still a small shop with limited inventory. It has kind of a hipster vibe and is worth a look if you have the time.

Great prices on used LPs plus they had a Special Death 7? that is amazing and they had the soundtrack for the 1999 classic ?Go? featuring the amazing ?Steal My Sunshine? by one hit wonderfuls, Len.

I got a KoRn CD and saw a cat. Arcade is fantastic too - good family fun. I heard there is a secret blockbuster in the basement but I didn't have the code.

Awesome staff, good prices, adorable cat. This is my go to place when I have people in town. The Dolly Parton Pinball is also a plus.

Friendly staff, however, didn't have the record selection we hoped for.

What a wonderful business! The arcade is super fun and the records are great. Totally worth a stop in.

Went there on Black Friday with my daughter because of their sale. To be fair, I think they are just about to move downtown so there wasn't as much inventory as you'd expect. Will revisit after the move.

This place is great! Fair priced records and the arcade is so much fun. It's the best place for pinball in Springfield right now.

Good selection, fair prices, and there's always something new to check out every time I go in. Can't ask for more from a record shop!

Looked around bought a few records.

Loved the place with a wide selection of sound devices and more than twice as many music files such as records, cassettes, and CDs

Dumb Records is a fantastic record shop for Springfield. I always find something I want and often come away with some titled I wasn't expecting to find.

Some truly awesome records up on the wall, great selection throughout the bins, and a fun place to catch a show at night. Will come back for sure.

Solid selection at various price points. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Video games and a cool orange cat. What more could you ask for?

Pretty cool store full of records, record players and accessories. Plus they have an awesome arcade.

Nice little arcade in the back of the store 5 bucks and play all games for free as long as you want I got my 5 bucks worth!

Excellent experience! Watching the performances that included my son Squalee2X It was a very positive experience

Awesome selection , great prices. Very fun arcade. I will be back

I wish they had more of a cd selection but their pricing is great & very reasonable.

Very cool place, great guy behind the counter. Looking forward to going back and spending some time in the arcade.

Great selection, friendly customer service and a fun atmosphere! Brian and the staff at Dumb Records are fantastic!

Pretty cool place, and some good deals on records. Could chill a little with the incense, though.

Definitely worth checking out the selection of records. Many genres to choose from! The only real "gripe" I have is that the music playing was shuffled via iPod or computer, instead of records playing.

Very cool vinyl shop, nice that it was open on Sunday. Neat throw back to the 60's and 70's.

Neat little record store. Want to come back and check the pinball arcade out.

Loved the selection, picked up quite a few gems! Worth thumbing through to find all the good stuff ????

Best record store in a 100 mile radius. Great people and a great selection.

Awesome people! Helped me find exactly what I needed and at a great price. Above and beyond service! Love em! ??

Very friendly service, clean and organized store-just what you want in a used record store!

The arcade was AMAZING and the store cat was sooo cute, great records as well! ??

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s it like visiting an arcade today?

It’s a mix of nostalgia and high-energy fun! Many arcades blend retro classics like Pac-Man and pinball with modern VR games, racing simulators, and rhythm challenges — often with music, lights, and a social vibe.

Is it better to go alone or with friends?

Both can be great! Solo visits let you focus on your favorite games, while going with friends adds competition, teamwork, and laughs. Many people plan arcade meetups as a casual hangout or even date spot.

What should I bring to an arcade?

Usually just yourself and a way to pay (some arcades still use coins, others use cards or apps). If you're competitive, bring your A-game. If you're social, bring friends or meet new ones over multiplayer games.

What’s the best time to visit an arcade?

Weekdays or early afternoons are usually less crowded — perfect for focused play. Evenings and weekends bring the buzz, especially at barcades or venues with DJs, tournaments, or themed nights.

Can I meet new people at arcades?

Absolutely! Arcades attract a mix of casual players and serious gamers. Whether you're jumping into a four-player co-op or chatting between rounds, it's a fun, low-pressure way to connect over shared interests.

Are arcades still just for kids?

Not at all. While many arcades are family-friendly, there are also adult-oriented ones with full bars, 18+ nights, or vintage nostalgia themes. Arcades today cater to everyone — from first-timers to lifelong gamers.

Are there events or tournaments I can join?

Yes! Many arcades host regular competitions, retro nights, cosplay parties, and more. Whether you're into high scores or just want to watch and vibe, events add an extra layer to the experience.

What if I’m not great at arcade games?

No worries — arcades are about having fun, not being perfect. Try a variety of games, ask others for tips, and remember: the vibe is more “let’s play” than “let’s win.”

Are pinball tables still good in this modern age?

Yes, pinball tables in arcades remain a blast. Their hands-on, skill-driven gameplay delivers a thrill digital games can’t match, blending nostalgia with modern flair. Newer tables from Stern and Jersey Jack feature LCD screens and themes like Avengers or Stranger Things, keeping things exciting. Arcades are seeing a pinball resurgence with vibrant scenes and tournaments like IFPA events drawing crowds. Though less common than video games, pinball’s tactile charm and community vibe make it a standout arcade experience in 2025.

Are retro games in arcades still good in this modern age?

Absolutely, retro games in arcades remain a thrilling draw in 2025! Classics like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Street Fighter II offer simple yet addictive gameplay, blending nostalgia with timeless challenge. Modern arcade cabinets often feature crisp displays and restored controls, enhancing the experience. These games thrive on quick reflexes and strategy, with vibrant pixel art and iconic soundtracks that spark joy. Arcades host tournaments and leaderboards, fostering a lively community. While modern games dominate, retro titles provide a unique, accessible thrill that keeps arcades buzzing.