Oh, I'm just annoyed that I gave Tower Records $18.99 for the new Brian Eno instead of waiting another day and buying it anywhere else.

At least the White Stripes and Foo Fighters were on sale, but didn't Tower used to put most new releases on sale for the first week?

I refuse on principle to buy anything at Tower for more than $15, so I ended up doing what I usually do--wander the aisles for 30 increasingly soul-crushing minutes trying to find something good on sale. Tonight, it was full price on the new Robbie Fulks, Jon Hassell, Petra Haden, Akron/Family, Damien Jurado, John Doe, Nouvelle Vague and half a dozen more...plus they didn't even have any of the three (!) new Michelle Shocked CDs.

I only recently even bothered to look at the CD selection at Best Buy and was amazed that their prices are pretty darn reasonable. I'da gone there tonight if I'd had any faith that they were going to stock the Eno.

Borders and Barnes & Noble are only good if something's on sale. I haven't set foot in a Coconuts in probably a dozen years, and don't imagine they've improved. Are there any chain stores with a surprisingly large selection and/or surprisingly low prices?

best buy can be pretty damned surprising. so can borders if you have a good one. mostly though i stick online.

as far as chain stores go, for surprising finds, generally Borders. For good prices, generally Best Buy. I stay away from B&N b/c 1--their selection is usu. horseshit and 2--it's absurdly expensive.

I like Tower, but for the last month or two they haven't had much on sale or used that really interested me much at all.

There have been days though when they run those classic artists type [Neil Young, Springsteen, Stones, Who, Van Morrison] sales at 25% off and you can gobble up a bunch of shit and fill in lots of holes.

Believe it or not I've found good prices at Virgin occasionally.

Steve

Unfortunately, I've filled most of those holes. Although off the top of my head I must go on a Leonard Cohen binge sometime.

yea, if you can find what you want, you're not gonna beat Best Buy's prices...it seems like they used to have a better selection than they do these days

I suspect that everything you want is there, it's just misfiled.

Does anybody else refile misplaced CDs in stores if the right slot is in arm's reach?

best buy can be surprising.
and so can circuit city.

actually, i tend to find the selection sometimes better. (but often picked over.) prices are comparable.

sometimes circuit city has this amazing sale where a TON of cds are only 9.99 or something.

i got the new david chapelle season II for $20 at best buy.
that made my day.

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i never shop at chains - other than the fact that I buy about half my cds from amazon.com or their used suppliers.

i buy almost everything else from everyday music or music millenium, local shops.

I've spent the last few weeks scouting LA trying to find spots other than my 2 standbys Amoeba & Fingerprints & have found nothing. The chains where I live suck. I went to both Tower & Best Buy in the last few week trying to give them a shot & pickings were slim. There's a big Tower in Long Beach that's better, but it's so close to Fingerprints I'll just as well go there. Wherehouse used to be decent I'd go to the flagship one they had in Torrance (same city they're HQed) & sort thru the used CD's & I got some great stuff there. But now it & the last decent indie place in the Southbay are gone.

I even tried Poo-Bahs which is a haul for me & was a bit dissapointed eventhough I bought stuff (and I think the clerk laughed at me cause I got Yaz "Upstairs At Eric's Room" I guess it was Yaz & not the Meat Beat, Laswell or Cabs)

Picked up Nouvelle Vague for $5.99 at Amoeba used the other day. Funny they had it in the Electronica section I guess since it's on Peacefrog.

They both have perpetual coupons. This should get you started, but I just got a 25% off coupon in the email from Borders, if you search around, you should be able to find it.

The only chain I buy cd's from is Newbury Comics and even there I only buy them on sale or used. I refuse to pay $14.99 for any cd when I know I can find it for cheaper online.

I very rarely even go into chain stores now. I think I've bought one solitary CD from a chain store this year. But I live in a reasonable big city so I probably have more choices open to me than some people.

Not everyone has independant records stores in their area these days though so I guess for some people the chain stores are an necessary, unless you go online.

In Glasgow, Tower was put out of business when an independant shop (Fopp) opened round the corner. They were just much more tuned into what 'serial' record buyers (like me!) were going to buy than the big stores.

i only order online if i can't find what i want.
i hate waiting for stuff to be shipped.
i want immediate satisfaction dammit!

I'm with you, but $14.99 is actually kinda cheap considering that it's not uncommon these days to find them selling for $18.99.

Steve

Yeah.

I've found that Media Play is as good as any place. plus i have a replay card there so that's usally where we go. plus they have good dollar bins that get re-filled on a semi-regular basis.

the Borders near me is great for selection, but horrible for price. however, that being said, i had a friend who used to work there - he got a very nice 33% employee discount that i took advantage of once or twice.

Back in the late 80s/early 90s there was a smaller chain around here by the name of Kemp Mill Music who had an advertised and verifiable pricing policy of no single cd priced over $12.99, every day. Cassettes were $7.99 or $8.99, I don't remember.

They would run sales often, especially on new releases, getting them down in the $8.99-$9.99 range. For a kid living on middle school and high school money, it was badass. I wouldn't set foot in any other music store outside of Kemp Mill until they went out of business, sometime when I was in high school.

As much as most of the prices in TOWER disgust me, for a chain store, I often find plenty of good deals on new stuff as well, as well as catalog pieces...

I've actually found that the regular CD prices are often cheaper at Circuit City than any of the other chains. The one here in Buckhead seems to price everything at $12.99 no matter what it is, even if it's a 2-disc set or an SACD hybrid. I've bought a lot of stuff there that retails for $18-$19 everywhere else. Too bad the selection is crap.

I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went into a store & bought a CD. And I live within walking distance of 3.

The reason Best Buy's selection has waned is that they're giving floor space over to DVD's.