Bad News

One of the best record stores I've ever had the pleasure of shopping at is closing its doors this month. I'm guessing they're just another victim of monolithic places like Best Buy. Well, I never have enough money to buy c.d.'s, but whenever I did, I bought them at 33 Degrees. Great staff, great service, all the things that we're losing under the corporate crush. If you wanted something and they didn't have it, they would order it without question and call you when it came in.
Damn, I want to cry now. Even the 20% discount they're offering isn't making this any better.
Support your local record shops. Never buy music from Best Buy if you can help it.

Edited to add:
What's really sad is we are on the brink of a proper indie music revolution because computers have made recording and releasing independently cheaper and easier than ever before. But with teeny record shops closing left and right, distribution means are disappearing. It's becoming harder than ever for there to be what I would call the musical middle class--musicians who are hardly super-rich megastars but nonetheless have long, solid middle class careers making and selling good albums with moderate sales. The record industry hates those particular musicians because they exercise an independence that stadium-show huge artists can't afford to have.