strangeanimal | why actually walk into a music store these days?

... so i'm hitting the music stores after work today, looking for the new Holly Cole Chistmas CD. first store i hit has it... for 25 bucks. i think not.

store #2, nuttin'. but they had the Pink Floyd greatest hits double-CD for 22 beans, so i bought that.

store #3, nuttin'.

store #4 is a certain chain which recently declared bankruptcy, let's call them Cletus The Record Person. so i'm looking for the Holly CDs, and find 'em, but not the one i want. so i ask friendly store person...

"yeah, we have them in the store but they're not out yet."
"will they be out soon?"
"next few days yeah, we're just starting to put out our christmas stuff you know!" (said in an annoyed voice)
"sheeesh, ok..." (me, walking off)

great customer service there, really. it was all my fault, interrupting her to ask an actual music-related question. and implying they should actually serve a customer by moving a CD all the way from a box to the client's grubby hands. what was i thinking??

so back home, i decide to look for the CD at some friendly Canadian online music stores. store #1's online store had it... for EIGHTEEN, not 25, bucks. WTF?? not only that, they had Holly Cole's other Christmas album, an EP from '90, which is virtually impossible to find in stores.

needles to say, i should be receiving them both in a few days. yay me. :)

but still... it seems silly to have stuff that much cheaper at the online store than at the actual store. more selection i can understand, but that much price diff? huh.

of course, this is all only temporary... i buy CDs in spells. i've bought a good dozen in the past month or two... after the holidays, i probably won't pick up any for months.