[Tonto Yoder]

When visiting recently to find an obscurish James Keelhaghan CD, I discovered that a local chain, Spec's Music, is closing its doors. Spec's had once espoused the philosophy of carrying a wide variety of artists and titles, but at fairly premium prices of maybe $17.99/ disc or more. I seldom shopped there because of the prices, but it was good when looking for immediate gratification with obscure titles that Circuit City wouldn't carry. It reminded me of a store in Cleveland (My Generation) that carried "everything" but charged an arm & a leg.

Best Buy used to have a big selection, but has seemed to cut back on titles recently--the going rate seems to be $14.99/disc for titles not on sale.

Pricewise, Circuit City offers the best price but limits its titles to those that will move quickly.

[Mike-48]

I live in rural America.  There is Walmart, and you know what their philosophy is.  And there is On Cue, a smaller chain, whose philosophy is to stock whatever teenagers are likely to buy within two weeks.

On the other hand, there is the Internet.  I have bought records from Germany that were cheaper that way than having them shipped from Tower Records!

[Hantra]

We have a great local store here called BB's.  I am a lifetime club member there, which means I get a discount on all purchases.  It makes prices a little bit more than what I could get online.

I used to shop there all the time b/c they are one of the few that still will crack open a disc and let you sit at a listening bar.  The reason I stopped shopping there is because they have this strange philosophy of talking crap about the Best Buy's and how they exists to put them out of business.  But that's normal for small shops to feel that way.  

The problem is that they also have this philosophy of selling bootlegs.  I don't mind buying and selling bootlegs of bands that I would otherwise never be able to get live, but these guys have HUNDREDS of Grateful Dead, Phish, and other bands' live shows for sale at extremely high prices.  

I have the utmost respect for bands that allow taping and trading, and I will NOT support a store that sells a 3 disc GD show for $50.  This goes against any stratements ever made by the Dead, Phish, SKB, or ANY band who freely allows taping.  They want the music out there, but they don't want people selling it for insane profits.  

I just don't see the difference in "Best Buy is out to get us", and "We have the widest selection of illegal bootlegs in the state!". . .  Makes no sense to me, so I started getting most of my new stuff at Amazon and Borders.

[ohenry]

In Charlotte, there's Repo Records.  It's a funky and interesting store in the sense that although the inventory isn't huge, there's always a few unexpected nuggets hiding in the racks.  They also have lots of used CD's for $8.

The disappointing and curious part is they have decreased their vinyl inventory (now that it seems more folks want them), but they still have some good finds at moderate-high prices.

The store's enigmatic scheme reflects the owner's schizoid nature.  One day he's a swell guy; the next, a record Nazi.  I once heard him rage at a customer that he wasn't ordering any more GD boxed sets from this certain group and that he should have bought the f'ing thing when it was in stock.  Could be the meds?

All in all, a cool place to spend your lunch hour...

[Gordy]

Here in Wilmington, De. we have Bert's Tapes, but he doesn't have any!  A very good selection of CD's though...  Highish prices compared to the big box  stores due to being in a relatively small shop.  He's an old time rock and blues fanatic and the kids working there keep him up to date on the newer genre's.  He has also expanded his classic selection/knowledge!  The place smells funny sometimes...  meds?

[beat]

The best places to shop here in NM are the little guys. (I'm sensing a trend here) Namely Bow Wow, Natural sound, the warehouse. All are likely to have obscure things at real prices. Back in the 80's when Bow wow opened, it was the only place to find anything remotely punk. Aside from feeling good about supporting the little guys it is nice to walk in and not be amongst "a million screaming kids" and "pushy sales people"...Unless those are names of punk bands I don't know about    You do however, get to hear the latest from the "smooth and smarmy"