response 2 of 195:

Apr 11 19:17 UTC 1996

  Record Town in Briarwood is way way too expensive, as is BMG music service,
but that is another item.

response 4 of 195:

Apr 12 16:51 UTC 1996

 When I go shopping for music, I usually have something in mind, and usually
don't want any help, unless I cannot find it in stock-- Like Abbey Road on
CD. 

response 6 of 195:

Apr 13 00:27 UTC 1996

I generally buy stuff from Schoolkids in Ann Arbor, sometimes from Borders
if Schoolkids doesn't have it.  Schoolkids has survived and prospered when
other chains moved in across the street, which is why I prefer to support it
over Borders.

response 8 of 195:

Apr 13 13:24 UTC 1996

I usually know what I want, unless I'm looking for something totally unknown,
like my unfulfilled quest a couple years ago to find "something like waltzes
performed by a Salvation Army size brass band".

response 10 of 195:

Aug 16 22:38 UTC 1996

Heh, I should probably link this to the music conference.
 
There probably is not one "best" shop in Ann Arbor.  It would depend 
on what you wanted.
 
If Best Buy's selection of the current hits covers your needs, 
they are probably the lowest prices in town for new CDs.
 
If you need a somewhat better selection of rock music, Where House
Records on S. University is likely to undercut the Big Three stores 
by a buck or two.
 
Schoolkids main store: ah, the homegrown favorite.  The staff is generally
knowledgable but tends to arrogance.  Prices are high - $16-$17 on 
most discs, and sometimes there are real gouges on more collectible 
items.  But you can manage the prices with coupons from CURRENT, 
the $1-discount on multiple purchases, and the frequent 20% off sale.
And they do get a lot of stuff that few other places do.
This is really the only good source in town for folk music.
 
Schoolkids annex: used CDs of many varieties.  New CDs of the most 
obscure trendiness here, still somewhat overpriced.  Basically, if you are 
over 25 and still shopping here, you need a life -- you shouldn't be 
listening to Come, Tsunami, the Boredoms, or bands like that anyway.  :)

Schoolkids Classical:  good classical shop, again somewhat pricey,
staff very knowledgable.  I often just buy whatever they're playing in the
store.  Selection is maybe "deeper" but not as "broad" as Tower.

Tower Records:  Ann Arbor's Tower Records is very well run.  
Good selections in all departments except folk music: Tower seems 
congenitally unable to comprehend folk music, chain-wide.
Prices maybe a buck cheaper than Schoolkids on rock and jazz, 
often $2-4 cheaper on some classical items.  I do not find that the staff 
has a lot of deep knowledge -- there were some folks who were very good 
with classical music some years ago, but they are long gone.
Tower has the best selection of "geegaws" -- cassette & video tape, 
storage units, things like that.

Borders:  Borders has decided that there is a mint to be made selling 
music to the middle-aged in a soothing environment.  Smaller classical
deparment, interesting jazz and rock selections, nothing too cutting-edge.
Borders' real strength is the hundreds of discs they have put into 
listening stations; you can spend hours there previewing the discs they 
are promoting this month.
 
I'm fascinated with how the stocks of Schoolkids, Tower and Borders 
are complementary.  When I start looking for an obscure rock, jazz or 
classical item, I can usually be sure that one of the three 
will have it -- but I can never tell *which* one will have it.
 
Encore Music (still says Liberty Music on the awning):  In the last year 
Encore has acheived critical mass in used CDs.  There's a *lot* of neat stuff 
in that shop for $9 or less.  Also lots of vinyl -- it amazes me 
that they are still buying old LPS!  Encore is probably one of the best shops 
in the country for classical LPs.  And the staff is fun, and they play 
neat stuff on the house stereo; this is a worthwhile place to go and 
browse.

Did that answer the question, Valerie?

vinyl.

response 12 of 195:

Aug 27 07:38 UTC 1996

 Liberty and Thompson.

response 14 of 195:

Sep 9 22:11 UTC 1996

to jeff way back in #5 -- I was in the Okemos Best Buy looking for a CD 
player last week, so I took the opportunity to check out the CD selection.
I think the Okemos selection is quite a bit broader than the Ann Arbor
store; there was actually some interesting stuff in the folk section.
 
I have to wonder about who does their ordering, though.  There were 
35 copies of the new Clive Gregson album, and over 20 copies of the 
WOMEN OF KERRVILLE collection.  Best Buy isn't going to sell all of these,
I don't believe.  Most of them will get returned for credit, which will 
choke the small labels which issued them.

response 16 of 195:

Sep 25 17:33 UTC 1996

  (((consumer #64   <--->   music #205)))

response 18 of 195:

Sep 25 22:25 UTC 1996

Though I'm generally not much on chain stores, I really like the
Tower Records outlet in the Galleria.  Their selection is a lot
more varied than I would ever have expected.  Schoolkids' is
always wonderful, of course.  I used to go to Wherehouse Records
(just down the street from Tower) all the time, but haven't been
there in a few years.

response 20 of 195:

Sep 26 16:14 UTC 1996

  A friend of mine who was friends with some Schoolkids employees said
that Schoolkids' owner is a real jerk, so he tries not to support them.
(I didn't ask about any examples of his alleged jerkiness).  To me, the
fact that they've survived in the face of bigger competition, and driven
out smaller competition, does not *necessarily* mean that they're worth
supporting, other things being equal.

response 22 of 195:

Sep 26 23:24 UTC 1996

Mmm, I don't know anyplace which lets you stack discount offers.

response 24 of 195:

Sep 28 02:13 UTC 1996

Re something way back there:  someone said BMG music service seemed way
overpriced to them.  If $7 a CD is way overpriced for you, I want to know
where you shop!