Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

	Try The Minor Chord in Acton.  They stock CD's (going for $16 now)
	and the owner told me that the prices were about to fall and that
	he would be taking a bath on his current stock.

	He carries Telarc, Sheffield (when available), and is working a
	contract with Mobile Fidelity.  He also carries others, but these
	are the highest quality out today.  He will order CD's for you.

		The Minor Chord
		77 Great Road
		Acton, Ma 01720
		(617)264-0299

	He's 2 doors down from Folsom's Chowder House, next to the Acton
	Cinema.

	Bob

  About once a month (including this week) Lechmere has CDs at 20 percent
off from their regular prices ($14-$20), which isn't too bad of a deal. They
have a fairly good selection (at least at the Cambridge and Springfield
stores). I bought my first disk at Strawberries -- and haven't bought one
there since because I find that they aren't that great in either selection
or price.

  Some CDs (notably new releases from non-digital master tapes) are listing in
the $14-$15 range now... 

							...tek

Lechmere in North Country (Mall of New Hampshire) has most CDs at $15.00.
Is a drastic price reduction coming?  Anyone know when the major record
clubs (RCA; Columbia) will go with CDs?

	LWP

  I dropped in at the Musicland at the Burlington Mall last night and, 
amazingly, they had a pretty good selection of CDs. I really didn't want
to count the titles, but it looked like they had about 300 rock titles
(I can't get a sense of the classical collection -- all I know is that they
had seven different 'vivaldi: four seasons' discs...). The prices were $16.99
for discs that didn't have the words 'digital mastering' or 'digital recording'
on them, and $18.99 - $22.99 for those that did. 

  In my experience, Musicland isn't noted for having great prices or selection,
so this may be a good sign....

						...tek

Lechmere told me that they're going to lower their prices in
mid-Sept.  Rock to about $12, classical (digital mastering) to about
$15.
Columbia is alread in CD in a joint venture with Sony.  Disks here

in USA soon.

Yes, CD's are cheaper in Europe.  Don't know why.

don feinberg

Fayad's in Merrimack NH, route 101A, is selling all CDs (to the best of 
my knowledge) for $13.99.  Generally, 1 day turnaround, you can order
by phone, for in-person pickup.  603-880-7891

	Laurie

Re: 1 (The Minor Chord, in Acton)

The owner will refund defective disks, even CBS (he considers it HIS
responsibility).

As stated before, he will order anything in "print" if he doesn't stock it.
                                --------

- dave

re: 23.1 & 23.7   "The Minor Chord - Acton (MA)
I have purchased CD's here.  Their policy is they to give you a $5.00 discount
for every 3 disks which you purchase at one time.  This includes all disks
in the store or any which they order for you.  They will count each disk
in a multi-disk set as a separate disk.  e.g. The Telarc collection of
Bethoveen's 5 Piano Concertos were counted as 3 disks.  [By the way very
good album]  They also have begun to carry the PPC and discount those disks
the same way.

re:.8

What are their usual prices? If they are more than ~$1.70 per disc than
other places, then the discount doesn't mean a lot, although $5.00 off
a three-disk set certainly does sound like a good deal.

Where in Acton are they, and what kind of selection do they have?

--- jerry

They are located on Great Road (2a) [east of the AKO facility] in the shopping
center that contains the Acton Cinemas and Folsom's.  They are a few doors
down from Folsom's Chowder House.  Their CD section was being changed a bit
when I was there just before the holidays.  They were setting-up separate
display racks for brands like Telarc, Sheffield and others.  They are a fairly
small store but had people available that new their stock well and were willing
to obtain just about anything for you without additional charge.  The Telarcs
which I purchased last trip were about $15-$16 each before the discount.
They were more expensive than most of the other brands.  I have found this
to be the case at all of the stores which I have visited so far.  They will
also let you see the product lists of some of the brands which they carry
to determine if a manufacturer has a recording which you desire.

The selection was not huge but I found it a pleasant place to shop for some
of the music (classical) I wanted at the time and to order some of the rest.

re. -1	I would go to Electric Grammophone first. There you will find the
	best selection of classical CD's in the area. That's all they
	do there, AND the prices are $1-$2 cheaper than the Minor Chord,
	PLUS he has a $13 bin of CD's. The Minor Chord does a little of
	everything, instruments, lessons, etc.

Ken.... 

    Someone mentioned that this week Newbury Comics in Framingham is
    having $3 off disk making it $12.99 (or was it $11.99)?  Anyway,
    can someone tell me where is Newbury Comics in Framingham?  Is it
    in the same shopping mall as Lechmere?  What's their store hours?
    
    Thanks
    Charles
    

    Newbury Comics is across route 30 from Lechmere.  It is located
    in a small mall with Channel building supplies. 
    
    When you buy a disk there, ask to be included on their mailing list.
    They will give you a coupon worth $3 off each disc on your next
    purchase (no limit here!!).  Good through 7/31; double discounts
    not allowed.

    Newbury Comics is on the other side of the street from Lechmere's,
    if it's the one I'm thinking of.
    
    Dave W.

>   When you buy a disk there, ask to be included on their mailing list.
>   They will give you a coupon worth $3 off each disc on your next
>   purchase (no limit here!!).  Good through 7/31; double discounts
>   not allowed.

I bought 4 Telarc CDs on sale and asked to be placed on their mailing list
but didn't receive any coupon.

/ralph

    
    
    
    	Where is the Harvard COOP.
    
    	Still learning this wierd street layout.
    
    

    The Harvard Coop is smack in the middle of Harvard Square, directly
    across the street the subway station - you can't miss it.  The CD's and
    records are on the 2nd floor of the book building in the back, off of
    Palmer St., but just go in the store and ask.  Harvard Square is
    off of Route 2 in Cambridge.
    
    If you drive in, you can park free at the University Place garage
    on Mt. Auburn street for two hours, by taking the receipt for 
    your CD up to the cashier on the third floor and having them
    stamp your parking ticket.
    
    The Coop has a good variety of CD's at good prices, but has trouble
    keeping everything in stock.
    
    Michael

Avoid the wierd streets and park at the Alewife garage at the bottom of the 
big hill on Rt 2.  It costs $3 for all day.  Then go downstairs and take the 
red line (65� each way...less if you have french 10 centime coins) 3 stops to 
the Harvard Square Station.  When you Surface, look around the coop is right 
in the square.  Not far away on JFK Blvd is Newberry Comics and Boston CD.
All without a dent in your car!

						     
							- JP
    

    
    JFK Blvd.  Boylston Street is still what the locals call it.  Ask
    for JFK and you'll get a lot of blank stares.
    
    The red line costs $0.60, get two tokens at Alwife.
    
		    						-mr. bill

    
    
    Not driving right into the square is VERY silly, especially if you
    are planning on making purchases at one of the larger stores.
    
    Park underneath the Charles Hotel and get your ticket stamped at
    the Coop (probably other places as well) for 2 free hours parking.
    
    I only take the train when I take my 2 year old boy along. He loves
    the trains.
    
    Dennis Murphy
    

	Guess I'm just a kid at heart.  After 10 years of driving into
	town and fraying my nerves and brake shoes, I'd rather take the 
	train.  Let me know the next time your son wants some silly
	entertainment...

							- JP
    

    I agree. My clutch doesn't like the Square.
    
    Jeff
    

    If you are going to Harvard Square, you might as well stop be the
    other CD stores in the area.  Find a parking place and then walk.
    Starting from the square you have The Coop, a noname record store,
    Strawberries, Newbury Comics, and Boston CD.  This is just along
    Boylston (JFK if you are using a map); I'm sure there are others.
    
    The Coop has a good selection, but is slightly expensive.  From
    time to time they have 20%off sales, but I don't know how to predict
    when.
    
    The rinky dink record store and Strawberries have a generic selection
    at shopping mall prices.
    
    Newbury Comics is on the second floor of the Garage.  I've only
    been there once because I forget to go in to look for it.
    
    Boston CD is further on down towards the river.  They have a good
    selection and are cheaper than the coop.  The also deal with used
    CD's.
    
    The truly best way to get around Boston and Cambridge is by bicycle.
    That's why those things sticking out of the ground are called parking
    meters: they're about 40 inches long, and can be used to park bikes.
    
    -Jeff
    

    I believe the "noname record store" (aka the "rinky dink record
    store"?) from the previous reply is the one known as Discount Records.
    They have expanded their collection vastly in recent months, but
    it's still mostly shopping mall fare.  There are, however, occasional
    obscure gems in there, so it's worth checking out.  Of course, I
    guess it depends on what you call gems.

    There's a new store in Colorado Springs called The Prelude.  They
    specialize in classical and jazz recordings.  They carry vinal,
    cassette and CDs.  The CD selection is pretty good because they
    have some of the harder to find labels.
    
    They're at 128 N. Tejon (west side of the street, one block
    south of the Chinook Bookstore).
    
    Some of the labels that I noticed:
    
    	CBS, Angle/EMI, the Polygram family, RCA
    
    	BIS, Hong Kong Records, Telarc (they had a couple of the boxed
    	sets), Chandos, Hungaroton, Nimbus, CRG

    The prices are higher for the smaller labels, than I've seen else
    where (the Harvard Coop for example), but they have the advantage
    of being close.  I didn't check the prices for the "big" labels.

    The prices are high enough that you might get a better deal from
    one of the good mail order places, even with having to pay shipping.
    
    					Alan
    

    
    It's time to mention a 'new' store in the Manchester, N.H. area
    (for all the CD addicts who are tired of Lechmere & Strawberries
    in this vicinity).
    The store is on Elm Street and is called "Manchester Compact Disks".
    I visited it last night for the first time, although I think it's
    been there for a while.
    Review:  they have about 14000 discs, anywhere in the area of 3
    - 5 thousand titles (hard to approximate).
    The usual titles sell for an average of $14.99.  It's nice to see
    a store that carries titles that were released last year.
    They're good about stocking these domestic titles, you can find
    most of your favorite artists.
    They have the best blues selection I've seen, about 3 times the
    number of titles Strawberries has.
    Imports sell for $18.99 to 19.99 (rarely for more).  The imports
    I saw last night included early New Order (FACTUS, Power,Corrpution
    & Lies), earlier OMD, XTC (Big Express & earlier albums), about
    6 Tangerine Dream discs, all the Brian Ferry solos, Japan, Cocteau
    Twins, Queen's Night At the Opera, etc.
    They carry a good selection of Telarc, all priced at $13.99.
    I also saw about a dozen import singles discs (such as U2) and I
    think they were priced around $12 to $14.
    Used discs were in good condition and cost $9.
    
    Another thing you don't see too often:  All discs for sale were
    taken out of their plastic/cardboard packaging and put on the racks.
    The owner told me I could audition any discs I wanted ( as long
    as the store wasn't packed with customers requiring sales attention).
    The next time I go back I'll spot-check discs for fingerprints or
    damage that might occur from this.
    
    This store only carries discs.  Happy hunting.
          Marty
    

    Here's an addition to note 23.26 regarding Manchester Compact Discs.
    The owner says he tries to stock about 8000 different titles.  I've
    seen at least a couple hundred import titles.
    
    They also special order discs not in stock (at no extra cost) and
    do mail orders.  Their mail address is 1087 Elm Street, Manchester,
    N.H.  03104
    
    Marty
    

    re: .26, .27
    
    When is the store open?  I'll be in the area this week and
    would like to do a little shopping.

    Re: .28
    
    Manchester Compact Disc is open Sun-Sat.  Hours are about 10 a.m.
    to 7 p.m. weekdays.  Thursday is shopping night in the downtown
    area, so he's open a little later on Thurs.  Sundays til 6.
    Interesting thing, he runs his shop similar to ones in Europe.
    The jewel boxes in the racks are empty.  He keeps the discs in
    protective cases behind his counter.  I didn't know that until I
    picked out a copy of "The Best of Silly Wizard" and checked its
    contents.
    
    If you're not familiar with Elm Street, 1087 Elm is practically
    on the corner of Elm and Bridge Street (near the infamous black
    skyscraper)There's a new parking garage nearby.  It's on the second
    floor just above the Renaissance Restaurant.
    
    Marty
    

    FYI, I stopped in at the store last night on my way home. It is
    quite easy to find, but parking is not great, because it is right
    downtown and next to a business college. 
    
    I am interested in classical music and was very impressed by the
    store's policy of stocking the complete TELARC line, all priced
    at either $12.99 or $13.99. In addition, the owner now stocks between
    150-200 other selections, distributed among several labels. He did
    verify that he is in the process of expanding the classical selection
    as fast as he can, and that he will special order anything, with
    the price remaining at $12.99 or $13.99.
    
    I suspect (because the store is relatively new and the owner is
    obviously pouring his profits back into the stock) that this would
    be a prime place to make a bid for quantity pricing, and get some
    real breaks for a large order.
    
    I did check out the used section, and did not find a lot to choose
    from. That may be because people who buy classical tend to know
    what they want to buy and then keep it, or it may be that he is
    not yet selling enough classical to have built up a big enough audience
    who would be interested in dealing in used stuff.
    
    Anyway, it certainly is worth a trip to this store if you'r planning
    any major purchases, what with there being no sales tax, etc. 
    
    Also, the store is now called New Hampshire Compact Disks, same
    location.
    
    Lee Parmenter, DTN 273-3348
    

    re: -1 
    
    The store is in fact called Manchester Compact Disks. The old name
    was NH CD, but the owner hasn't changed the building signs yet.
    

    I've been seeing alot of interest in the Minor Chord in Acton, Ma.
    There's another place in Acton you should check out if your there.
    It's called Acton Music. They sell mostly musical equip. there,
    but they also stock some C.D.'s. They don't have a very large
    selection, but there prices start at $8.98 and up.
    I've gotten some extremeley good deals there, like Genesis- Live
    with Peter Gabriel, Steppenwolf, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Ten
    Years After (a space in Time), and a few others I can't think of
    right now. Anyways, if your ever in Acton give them a shot, They're
    located on the corner of Central St. and Rte 27 - right across from
    the train station, they're in a big blue what-used-to-be church.
    You can't miss them.