Buy CDs Cheap!

by Tim Kurkoski

The other day I walked into Tower Records intending to buy a copy of Vertigo. I looked at the price tag and almost broke my jaw when it dropped to the floor. Eighteen dollars! Eighteen dollars for one CD! I rifled through the soundtracks and looked for some other scores I had my eye on. Out of Africa: eighteen bucks. Lonesome Dove: eighteen bucks. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure: eighteen freaking dollars! Why is it that consumers are being charged more for music when CDs are easier and cheaper to make then ever?

I am a college student and don't have a lot of money to spare on CDs, but my collection is growing faster than it ever has. I've found a few ways to sneak around the exorbitant price of retail shops and still buy great scores by Williams, Goldsmith, Bernstein, or almost any other composer you could name.

Buy Used

Okay, this is the obvious one, but I had my doubts at first. I thought used CDs would be all scratched up or the selection would be extremely limited. It turns out that neither is true.

The used CD market is growing rapidly and most cities have at least one store that sells second-hand CDs. The selection of film scores is usually pretty good, and some rare gems can turn up. One of my browsing trips turned up the remastered Enter the Dragon album, otherwise only available with the special edition video package.

Most stores check the physical condition of a disc before putting it on the rack. CDs can take a surprising amount of use and still be playable. Discs that look like they've taken a beating are usually discounted to an even cheaper price, and a good music store will let you bring it back if it has a problem.

That brings up a related point:

Listen Before You Buy

My favorite music shop allows the customers to preview any CD before deciding whether or not to buy it. I have been disappointed by several CDs I bought new just because I liked the composer or I read a good review. It's really hepful to be able to listen to a disc if I'm not sure whether I like just one track or the whole album, or if I want to check the sound quality or make a comparison.

If you can't find the album you're looking for in a used shop, CDNow.com offers selected clips of almost every CD they have for sale. Film Score Monthly's great website here even offers previews of the Silver Age Classics CD's.

New or used, it's always a good idea to try before you buy.

Great Deals Online

CDNow.com actually has pretty good prices and almost every CD you could possibly want. If you are looking for a rare or out of print disc, eBay's electronic auction has hundreds of listings with everything from promotional albums to autographed CDs.

Probably the biggest goldmine on the internet is Intrada's ninety-nine cent deletions. Every once in a while Intrada (www.intrada.com) goes through its catalog and clears out the items gathering dust and sells them for less than a buck each. Most of these scores are from films that failed to pass the box office exams, but that doesn't mean their music wasn't any good. I recently picked up a sweeping documentary score by Elmer Bernstein and a brooding James Horner piece.

CD Clubs

After buying your appointed number of CDs, music clubs can actually be quite a deal. They are always having sales, with bargains from buy one and get two free to a catalog clearance. Selection is sometimes limited and the pop music album tends to dominate the soundtrack section of their catalogs, but one can take great advantage of a CD club sale. The major downside is that they charge a horrendous amount for shipping, bringing a two dollar sale CD to almost six dollars.

I rather look forward to my monthly mailing to see if there are any good albums on sale. Columbia House has even stopped their automatic shipment policy, so I don't have to pay for a stamp to return the little card every month.

Lastly...

A true bargain hunter never forgets to look in the corners. Goodwill outlets, pawn shops, and garage sales can always reveal a good deal. The electronics section of my local grocery/department store occasionally clears out the racks and usually has some good picks.

If you're looking for the latest Ryko reissue or John Williams's newest album, you're not likely going to find it cheaper than brand new. However, if you're just looking for good music from good composers and aren't really picky about whether or not it was nominated for an academy award, a lot of CDs are available at bargain prices if you know where to look. Over five hundred new score albums were released last year alone. That's a lot of music. Let's start listening.

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