Retail Music Stores Gone

Audiophiles and music lovers may or may not download, but they do buy online. It amazes me that there are as many music outlets as there are (Borders, etc.) given their pricing, when you compare it to Amazon, etc. Way more convenient, way cheaper, much better selection. Only downside is you don't get it immediately, but that's hardly a big deal.

Retail outlets for all sorts of things will dry up in the coming years. For most things, I prefer the online approach anyway.

I would much rather shop Barnes and Noble or Borders. You get to listen to the CD before you buy and they have a very nice selection to choose from. I really hope Kthomas is wrong about retail outlets going away. We are becoming a nation with no social interaction.

As of late Tower was only relevant in the few cities it serviced, life can and does go on...........nobody cared about us yesterday and they wont start tomorrow.

I agree with Itsalldark that Barnes & Noble has the correct model for the brick & mortar music store in times of declining CD sales. They carry less inventory than the CD retail palaces of yore, but their corporate buyers have carefully targeted the 35-60 year old demographic that sustains hard-copy CD purchases. (Their jazz & classical sections are far better than my local indie record store.) The 10% membership discount, taken together with frequently emailed 15% off coupons, makes fair value for repeat buyers. Unfortunately of late the DVD department has displaced part of the CD department, so I don't know how long this will last. But in any case I'll probably die out along with other the audio dinosaurs who are not embarassed to admit they've never downloaded a single song...

I have to disagree with the first poster, I really have felt the loss of Tower. I have bought at Tower since there was vinyl and 8 tracks only. I usually could always be assured of finding what I wanted and cd/dvd is the only kind of shopping I enjoy. A chain called Rasputin is the only survior in my area and they ironically are moving to Tower's vacated building. The Rasputin store is a couple of blocks away. My last 2 cd purchases have been at Borders, I think that's sad. The selection is poor (my opinion) but they did have something that Rasputin didn't. I do buy at Amazon but no, I don't download for playback on my rig. I don't think it sounds as good.