How often do the record/CD shops in your town actually have what you're looking for?

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Inspired by this post on the "Vote for your favourite Fall album here" thread:

god damn it i've been looking for that fucking expanded remaster for like 2 yrs now and I REFUSE TO BUY IT ONLINE JUST BECAUSE BUT WHY CAN'T A SINGLE FUCKING STORE IN THE BALTIMORE-D.C. AREA STOCK THE THING?

-- wangdangsweetpentangle (teenagequie...), March 13th, 2006.

I share this person's pain, I really do. I drove all over Seattle this weekend in search of the first two Runaways CD's and came up with nothing. Sure, I usually call first, and probably would have if it hadn't been nice weather. But even when I call around, it seems to me 7 out of 10 times, I can't find what I'm looking for in a brick and mortar shop nearby. I must go online.

I realize there's the possibility of downloading, but sometimes things can't be found even for download, and/or you've simply decided you would rather purchase something.

Why can't the bleedin' record companies figure out already that people would be willing to purchase things for download? They could charge a few extra dollars/pounds/whathaveyou for the artwork, and I'd be set. But no. Many times I'm left with impatience, a phone and a vehicle.

Several folks I know are satisfied to shop at local stores. It's the activity itself that excites them, so they aren't disappointed. They don't have much in mind, really. They just go in and see what they find. I used to be more like that, but I did at least usually have a list of things with me. I'm not saying delightful gems can't be found, but then, a lot more money gets spent in these situations, too, that likely would not have been spent otherwise.

Unlike the poster above, I don't have any qualms about ordering online, but I know folks who prefer to do things the old fashioned way, and I often wish I could too.

What about you?

All The Furniture Is In The Garage (Bimble...), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:34 (twenty years ago)

will record stores in seattle really not order something (in print) for you if you ask them?

j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:37 (twenty years ago)

Well there's the one point I didn't cover yet - you see, I wouldn't bother because the point of me patronizing them is to get the CD quickly. I figure if there's a delay I might as well order it online, where I'll likely find it at a better price anyway. But I wonder what the poster of the quote above does.

All The Furniture Is In The Garage (Bimble...), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:45 (twenty years ago)

I don't have any qualms about ordering online, but I know folks who prefer to do things the old fashioned way, and I often wish I could too. What about you?

As my musical tastes have gotten progressively more obscure, I find that I now have to PLAN my instant-gratification trips to the record store, as it involves a day trip to NYC. Stores in Boston just don't carry the sorts of things I'm interested in, at least not since Other Music closed and Virgin gutted its (formerly amazing) international music section.

The remaining stores are good for two sets of circumstances: (1) if I want to own something quasi-mainstream urgently enough that I don't care how much I overpay for it; or (2) if I just want to play Russian roulette at the used CD stores, not with the goal of finding anything specific, but more just to see what sorta second-hand bargains or oddities I might unearth.

In most cases, though, I just end up ordering online and hoping it arrives quickly enough to feel like an instant-gratification purchase.

Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:05 (twenty years ago)

Heh. They NEVER have what I'm looking for, but almost always have something I had forgotten about that I suddenly got curious about.
But in thinking about how many years I've been selling shitty records back, and how many other people have too, I'm always amazed any time I find anything decent at all... My best hope is for albums that most other people think are crap.
New Radicals here I come!

js (honestengine), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:11 (twenty years ago)

None of you have a situation as bad as mine is in Singapore. Thank god for Gemm.

Jacob (Jacob), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 06:53 (twenty years ago)

Hardly ever. All the good stores are in the big city, about 20 miles south of here. Very little back catalog in the racks - oftentimes nothing but those fucking 20th Century Masters things. Thank g-d for Gemm (and Amazon and $l$k) indeed.

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 07:33 (twenty years ago)

Thank god for Gemm.

Oh god, I can't imagine having to rely on GEMM for anything...!

Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 11:20 (twenty years ago)

My town doesn't even have a record shop anymore. And since its over £3 for train fare to glasgow I'm as well buying online. Which is a shame as i love visiting Monorail Music because A) they actually stock a lot of great stuff and B) I've known dep for about 14 years , he has always liked the same music I do, so therefore always gets a lot of what I like in.

Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 11:47 (twenty years ago)

i'm lucky enough to live near a couple of good record stores, so they've got what i want like 70% of the time (but it's guaranteed if i really want something to the point of desperation they won't get it). i save the other stuff for my christmas list.

when i lived in florida, though, it was a bitch sometimes to get music. people would actually attempt to special order stuff for you back then, though.

baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 12:32 (twenty years ago)

I really only go to record stores to browse, without thinking of anything specific. Or I might have a list of 10-15 records in my head that I'm interested in, and I'll look for those, but without expectation. There are too many records out there for stores to stock even a fraction.

Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 12:53 (twenty years ago)


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