Cory Campbell browses through vinyl at Val's Halla Records, a 40-year-old Oak Park establishment. (Sun-Times file)

For dedicated music lovers, every day is Record Store Day, but in these times of turbulent change in the music industry, Saturday has been singled out by retailers for a special celebration of the sort of independent, Mom-and-Pop shops that not only stock the great stuff you'll never find in the big-box stores but also remain invaluable centers of this city's musical community.

A full list of participating stores can be found at www.recordstoreday.com, and most are planning free in-store performances as well as selling the soon-to-be-collectible special releases issued by many bands to mark the occasion.

Among the local highlights are appearances by Disappears (5 p.m.) and "a long-standing and well-liked Chicago punk band" at Reckless Records at 1532 N. Milwaukee; Azita (noon) at Laurie's Planet of Sound, 4639 N. Lincoln; Company of Thieves (call 708-456-0861 for time) at Rolling Stones Records, 7300 W. Irving in Norridge, and the Luck of Eden Hall (2 p.m.) at Vintage Vinyl, 925 Davis St. in Evanston. -- Jim DeRogatis