Where do you buy your cd's?

[Gordon]

Either it has not been covered (not likely) or I can't use the search function correctly (likely).

Where do you guys buy your music from? We picked up a couple cd's from BB this past weekend and I either got some poor recordings or my ears took a vacation. I'm just curious if there is a better source for music other then the big boxes.

Gordon

 

[Bernard]

I tend to buy a fair number from Amazon.

 

[DTB300]

CD Universe is where I buy most of mine. Great selection, competitive prices, great service.

 

[C.A.P]

I buy where I am closest to now! I am not big on mail order but with fuel costs a joke Ill be looking into that !

 

[amey01]

Or the search function doesn't work! Unless you know the exact terms for which to search, you're not going to find anything. If you look for "CDs" and someone has (incorrectly) typed "CD's" then you're stuffed! Then there's probably another thread about "Compact discs", "Compact disks" etc.

Now on to topic - you've hit a raw nerve with me. My taste extends beyond Eminem, Brittney Spears and the handful of other top-40 superstars.

I also demand to buy CDs I want - not CDs that are bought on impulse.

That is, I go to a record shop looking for a particular thing. I certainly do not go in there looking for something I may want / something to buy. To put it another way, I find the records, the records don't find me.

It irks me that I can never find it. Or very rarely anyway.

Yes, Amazon / CD Now does have a larger than usual selection and I have purchased a few things from there. I also used to use Tower.com, but not any more since I've had a few purchases not delieverd. Even with their large range, they're still catering for mainstream / box-moving items.

There are also a few great shops here in Australia - Bridland and Red Eye - that stock lots of great / obscure stuff, but as I said, I want the specific item I'm after, not just a shop full of obscure stuff!!!

If I have a disc in mind, I expect to get it. Bring on BitTorrent / FLAC!!

I've got a huge list of stuff I want but can't find. Not even on BitTorrent. Huge! I'll welcome any other suggestions people may have.......

No wonder the record companies are having problems when they're only interested in marketing / selling multi-platinum superstars.

 

[theWB]

Here's a couple of previous threads.
I get most of my music from Amazon.com
http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3837&highlight=amazon
http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=3659

 

[Bernard]

I buy where I am closest to now! I am not big on mail order but with fuel costs a joke Ill be looking into that !

I don't have access to a store with a good selection in Ottawa; the closest is in Montreal, 2 hours away. In any case, Amazon has an even better selection, at better prices. The thing that burns me is the high shiiping charges to Canada from Amazon.com ($6.99 for a CD), whereas it is $2.99 if I use Amazon.ca, but .com has a better selection. Now here's the weird thing: most CD's from Amazon.ca are shipped from the US. Go figure !!!

 

[lpaudio2]

prex (prex.com) when im in NJ, or bestbuy / target whatever is on sale. With the amount of music I buy sale prices help. A lot.

 

[Dreamer]

When I lived in the DC area, I bought a LOT of my music at Tower Records, untill they closed down. Then I got a lot of music at Borders--if they didn't have what I wanted, they could almost ALWAYS get it for me in a few days. And they even had a special section for HDCDs and SACDs, which was nice.

Now that I live in Fayetteville NC, there are little options. The Fye store in the mall sucks--most of what they carry is stuff that is currently on the charts, with a heavy emphasis on rap. The only chain bookstore out here is Barnes and Noble, and the selection they carry for different genres of music is pretty good, but they only have a small catalog at hand at any given time--lots of KINDS of music, but not many different titles, and they don't have the ability (or willingness) to special order hard-to-find titles like Tower did.

There is a used bookstore here called McKays, and I get a lot of music there. It's a real hit-or-miss proposition though. Sometimes I find a dozen titles there that I'm interested in, other times I might make 3 or 4 trips in a month and walk out empty handed...

I buy music when I travel back to the DC area to visit friends or family, because I usually make a point to stop into a Borders or one or two of the hi-fi shops up there when I'm in town.

I'm thinking that online may be my only reliable option, considering my taste in music, and my growing desire to find "high-end" recordings like SACDs and "audiophile" labels. The closest good audiophile-level retailers are a minimum of an hour away (in Raleigh), so I don't even have that option...

The last few CDs I've purchased (Patricia Barber, Amy Winehouse) were such huge disappointments that I've decided to lay off buying new music for a while. Summer is here, and there are lots of good concerts coming up, so I plan to spend my summertime entertainment money mostly on live music anyway...

--Richard

 

[Beakman]

Or the search function doesn't work! Unless you know the exact terms for which to search, you're not going to find anything. If you look for "CDs" and someone has (incorrectly) typed "CD's" then you're stuffed! Then there's probably another thread about "Compact discs", "Compact disks" etc.

Now on to topic - you've hit a raw nerve with me. My taste extends beyond Eminem, Brittney Spears and the handful of other top-40 superstars.

I also demand to buy CDs I want - not CDs that are bought on impulse.

That is, I go to a record shop looking for a particular thing. I certainly do not go in there looking for something I may want / something to buy. To put it another way, I find the records, the records don't find me.

It irks me that I can never find it. Or very rarely anyway.

Yes, Amazon / CD Now does have a larger than usual selection and I have purchased a few things from there. I also used to use Tower.com, but not any more since I've had a few purchases not delieverd. Even with their large range, they're still catering for mainstream / box-moving items.

There are also a few great shops here in Australia - Bridland and Red Eye - that stock lots of great / obscure stuff, but as I said, I want the specific item I'm after, not just a shop full of obscure stuff!!!

If I have a disc in mind, I expect to get it. Bring on BitTorrent / FLAC!!

I've got a huge list of stuff I want but can't find. Not even on BitTorrent. Huge! I'll welcome any other suggestions people may have.......

No wonder the record companies are having problems when they're only interested in marketing / selling multi-platinum superstars.

Oh man, you should get out more often j/k
I've found my best loved music by simply going off on a tangent. If I can't find what i'm looking for, I'll purchase a few "related artists", as recomended (nowadays) by peoples comments on music sites and other places. Or just do a complete crap shoot. Fer instance, a favorite album, actually two: Bowie's "Low" and Cracker's "Low". Doing some web surfing on these showed a totally unrelated artist group named "Low". What the heck, I bit after years of seeing this all the time and found this group to be one of the most interesting, different and creative performers I've heard.
Sure, I've had more than my share of bombs, but the gems make up for it. Same with cheapo downloads or used CD's.
Hey, I like my equipment but I really love the music better. I will always take a risk in checking out something new or different. Nobody hardly does THAT anymore, and this is where the music indutry follows.

 

[Rich]

In addition to Amazon, I purchase from:

CD Baby

CD Universe

Music Direct

Acoustic Sounds

 

[tonepub]

I buy as many as I can from the local used stores. We have quite a few good ones in Portland.

And from all of my friends that are buying music servers and dumping the originals!! I always tell them that if their music server takes a dump and they forgot to back everything up, they can always come over and borrow their originals back....

 

[Bernard]

In addition to Amazon, I purchase from:

CD Baby

I get a kick out of CD Baby's emails to me confirming an order. The sender in the email is, "CD Baby Loves Bernard", and the email is hilarious.

Anytime I'm in a city that has a Virgin Megastore I look for CDs. Boston and San Francisco have good ones. The range of Spanish music at Virgin in SFO is astounding.

 

[amey01]

Oh man, you should get out more often j/k
I've found my best loved music by simply going off on a tangent. If I can't find what i'm looking for, I'll purchase a few "related artists", as recomended (nowadays) by peoples comments on music sites and other places. Or just do a complete crap shoot. Fer instance, a favorite album, actually two: Bowie's "Low" and Cracker's "Low". Doing some web surfing on these showed a totally unrelated artist group named "Low". What the heck, I bit after years of seeing this all the time and found this group to be one of the most interesting, different and creative performers I've heard.
Sure, I've had more than my share of bombs, but the gems make up for it. Same with cheapo downloads or used CD's.
Hey, I like my equipment but I really love the music better. I will always take a risk in checking out something new or different. Nobody hardly does THAT anymore, and this is where the music indutry follows.

Don't get me wrong - I *LOVE* going out on a tangent and exploring new music. Some of my best music has come that way as well. It's just that I refuse to pay such big money to experiment.

I'll explore new music on the radio, online - listening to "clips" on artists' websites, or at the local library. Even on this very website. From MLO, I have discovered such artists as Vienna Teng, Heather Nova, Xavier Rudd to name but a few.

I regularly find stuff I like this way.........then comes the hard part

I go down to the local record store, armed with what I have "discovered" and try to buy it. Heaven forbid if I can find it..........

 

[Bernard]

One problem I have with mail order is that I listen to the 30-sec. sound clips and like the songs, but when I get the CD I don't like it. This happened recently with the CD by Sissel that was recommended on the Sunday Morning MUsic thread.

 

[amey01]

One problem I have with mail order is that I listen to the 30-sec. sound clips and like the songs, but when I get the CD I don't like it. This happened recently with the CD by Sissel that was recommended on the Sunday Morning MUsic thread.

Yes, it makes it tough, but it's better than nothing.

I'm not saying I haven't bought duds either - just that I refuse to walk in to a record shop with no CD in mind and start experimenting at $AUD30 a pop!

 

[DTB300]

One problem I have with mail order is that I listen to the 30-sec. sound clips and like the songs, but when I get the CD I don't like it. This happened recently with the CD by Sissel that was recommended on the Sunday Morning MUsic thread.

This is one reason why I subscribe to Rhapsody Streaming Music. While you cannot tell the true quality of the recording, at least I get to hear the entire song (that is if they have the album available to listen to). Rhapsody helped me find Classical music and to learn I liked the Classical and Baroque periods.

Dan

 

[Joey_V]

So there's really no way to get cheaper CDs than 13.99-ish?

I remember there were cd clubs before...are these any good?

Is there a cd rental service like netflix?

EDIT:
I'm interested in this Rhapsody music thing... it can connect with Squeezebox right? Also, does it have most albums for instant play? Or is it like Sirius or XM - you only listen to what's playing?

 

[amey01]

So there's really no way to get cheaper CDs than 13.99-ish?

I remember there were cd clubs before...are these any good?

I remember those - like the rest of the industry though, only any good if your taste doesn't extend beyond top-40. Or they might cater for top 50, just for those "out there" types that like different music!

 

[DrJRapp]

I remember those - like the rest of the industry though, only any good if your taste doesn't extend beyond top-40. Or they might cater for top 50, just for those "out there" types that like different music!

I buy from BMG....a so called "club" and I find that their selection in most genre be vast, but not all inclusive. The cost goes way down once you've bought your pledged allotment in return for all the "free" discs you get on sign up. I figure my average cost on the 300 or so discs I have purchased from them over the past 5 years to be about $8 including S&H and taxes.

OBTW BMG does a lot of remixes and reissues of old releases and I find the quality to be top notch.