Before it burned, Charlie Springer’s house contained 18,000 vinyl LPs, 12,000 CDs, 10,000 45s, 4,000 cassettes, 600 78s, 150 8-tracks, hundreds of signed musical posters, and about 100 gold records.

Me and my high school friends, when we got tired of bemoaning Chicago’s crappy sports teams and our lack of success with girls, would often pass the time by debating ...