Where do you buy your music from?

[Mr.Arroz]

I order mostly used CDs on Amazon.com.

Almost always in good condition and for cheap.
Can't really beat it to be honest.

I refuse to buy digital.

Now that I am working again I was thinking of doing this for US stuff.

My first mission however is to import a bunch (50+) UK releases. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a site that does this with good prices and reasonable shipping charges?

[rossaroni]

Now that I am working again I was thinking of doing this for US stuff.

My first mission however is to import a bunch (50+) UK releases. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a site that does this with good prices and reasonable shipping charges?

You should look at Amazon Marketplace. There are a lot of sellers that are dedicated to imports and the shipping is reasonable(most of the time).

Just click the new and used links on any item from a UK artist when you search Amazon.com.

Or just go to Amazon.co.uk and get the stuff directly. I just pre-ordered an album from there and it was way cheaper than I thought it would be.

My account on Amazon.com has a Visa card tied to it, so logging in on Amazon.co.uk keeps the stored CC and makes it super easy. And then I take the total in £'s to google and type [insert total here] gbp to usd into the search box and it will convert it for me so I can see the USD equivalent to see if I am getting a good deal or not.

[Ice Cream Skies]

I usually browse record stores for cheap CDs, and buy the latest CDs from CDWow. The site isn't ideal though; orders take up to two weeks to arrive and there's always the 10% chance that the CD is slightly damaged, but at least it's cheap.
I used to visit Record Fairs all the time, and I've found some really great CDs there, but it's becoming a bit too expensive, so I haven't been to one for ages. I really want to though, I miss buying loads of CD singles at once!
When I'm on holiday, especially in the UK, I always visit record stores (well-known ones as well as small ones) as there's always something interesting to find.

[_hazzie_]

I mostly use iTunes to buy my music now. I buy most physical copies in store at HMV/Fopp. For Korean and Japanese CDs I usually use YesAsia and eBay. I've used all sorts of places to buy from though for random offers and songs like 7Digital, MFlow, Napster etc.

[Mr.Arroz]

Now that I am working again I was thinking of doing this for US stuff.

My first mission however is to import a bunch (50+) UK releases. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a site that does this with good prices and reasonable shipping charges?

You should look at Amazon Marketplace. There are a lot of sellers that are dedicated to imports and the shipping is reasonable(most of the time).

Just click the new and used links on any item from a UK artist when you search Amazon.com.

Or just go to Amazon.co.uk and get the stuff directly. I just pre-ordered an album from there and it was way cheaper than I thought it would be.

My account on Amazon.com has a Visa card tied to it, so logging in on Amazon.co.uk keeps the stored CC and makes it super easy. And then I take the total in £'s to google and type [insert total here] gbp to usd into the search box and it will convert it for me so I can see the USD equivalent to see if I am getting a good deal or not.

Thanks for the tip! I may just do this.

Love your avatar by the way, best bit from the whole video!

[David_X]

Mainly online, but if I can't be arsed to wait or if I didn't pre-order then i'll whizz into HMV on day of release. I occasionally browse CeX too, they have some wonderful stuff in there for very cheap if you can stomach the smell.

[ChloboShoka]

Amazon, iTunes, Poundland, Cash Converters, Charity Shops, Record Fares, HMV, Local sales... anything that sells music I'll have a browse.

[vasilios]

Mister CD was the one on Berwick Street in Soho (that's gone too), but I know the one you mean on the edge of Chinatown. There used to be a CD and DVD shop next to each other, run by the same person.

I think I may have spent half my time in London inside Mister CD.
I found the Chinatown one way too late. But loved the Saturday releases and the cheap prices.

[duffy]

I occasionally browse CeX too, they have some wonderful stuff in there for very cheap if you can stomach the smell.

The smell lingers though...

[Crayons]

Amazon and HMV instore for new releases, Cex and Amazon Marketplace for everything else.

I always seem to get a £15 iTunes voucher at my birthday and Christmas which I spend on random singles.

[nicola]

I use iTunes.
But also buy my music from Amazon, HMV. And Asda.

[Charley]

I too have, as people discussed on the first page of this thread, based holiday locations on music purchases. After years of not being able to get Lene's Play With Me album I ended up deciding to just take a trip to Copenhagen and try my luck there! There was a secondhand record store across the hotel so naturally that was my first destination and despite the owner being sure he had a copy he couldn't find it. After a week of going into possibly every record store in town I went to check the one across the hotel one last time and found it hidden away in a bargain bin after all!

Now for the actual topic of the thread, I use Spotify as well (super practical for listening to music when at the office) but still buy loads of CDs. Most international releases I get from Play since they're pretty cheap and don't charge shipping. I've recently taken to buying as much Belgian pop releases as I can when they're released, because after a while they either go out of print or get ridiculously expensive. I usually go to Saturn (sister company of MediaMarkt) for those because 9 times out of 10 they're the cheapest. For the few Belgian singles that still get released I get them from Free Record Shop when I think there's a chance the act'll never get round to releasing an album.

As for old stuff, I mostly get them from eBay or PlayTrade. (Most recently the Sinéad Quinn album for €1,5) I try and check the secondhand stores in Bruges and Ghent every couple of months to see if there's anything interesting there as well. I also go the yearly record fair in Bruges, but the last couple of editions I haven't bought much.

Oh, and finally, I always check the CD section of toy stores as well, haha! There's usually not much there, but I've done some pretty great bargains in those, like €1 for the last copy of an album they wanted to get rid of!

[SockMonkey]

Not sure where to put this, but I noticed in my local Sainsbury's today that they've now gone from a Top 75 CD chart to a Top 40. I assume it's not just my store as the pre-printed chart they have out only went 1 - 40 as well. As stuff tends to just leave the store when it's out of the charts there, I guess it means things will have even less time on sale, and less chance of getting into their chart. Plus compilations aren't charted separately there, so artist albums will struggle more.

A small change, but another bad sign for music retail.

[Vashetti]

I generally buy all of my CDs online, because Brick-And-Mortar shops charge you £10 (looking at you HMV) for an album and then wonder why they are going out of business.

I rarely buy downloads, though I always support Leona's releases by downloading.

[Stacey.]

Only download online, and buy physical copies of my fave's singles/albums.

[Eric Generic]

Not sure where to put this, but I noticed in my local Sainsbury's today that they've now gone from a Top 75 CD chart to a Top 40. I assume it's not just my store as the pre-printed chart they have out only went 1 - 40 as well. As stuff tends to just leave the store when it's out of the charts there, I guess it means things will have even less time on sale, and less chance of getting into their chart. Plus compilations aren't charted separately there, so artist albums will struggle more.

A small change, but another bad sign for music retail.

Most of my local Sainsburys have been reducing their music sections this year....there was one which still went down to 75 the last time I was there, but I imagine that may have changed by now! The ex-chart stuff seems to simply vanish, and it's always the same budget titles left there unloved for months on end. I did spy Teenage Dream Ultimate Confection for £6 and a few new (for them) "Essential" titles at £3 though.

I won't even discuss how crap Tesco are.

[duffy]

Not sure where to put this, but I noticed in my local Sainsbury's today that they've now gone from a Top 75 CD chart to a Top 40. I assume it's not just my store as the pre-printed chart they have out only went 1 - 40 as well. As stuff tends to just leave the store when it's out of the charts there, I guess it means things will have even less time on sale, and less chance of getting into their chart. Plus compilations aren't charted separately there, so artist albums will struggle more.

A small change, but another bad sign for music retail.

The big one near me still has a top 75, and the little one a top 30 I believe.