# Where do you buy your CDs from?



## LarryShone

Just wondering where everyone buys their CDs from, if you're in the UK?


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## Morimur

Amazon, of course.

Edit: Nevermind. Not in UK.


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## TurnaboutVox

Presto Classical; various second hand sellers. I don't buy from Amazon, as a rule.


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## LarryShone

Well obviously Amazon is global...so that's one on the list of outlets. I looked on HMV, one of the worst sites ever with only 'pop' classical listed.


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## Morimur

TurnaboutVox said:


> Presto Classical; various second hand sellers. I don't buy from Amazon, as a rule.


Howcome?
********
Actually I don't usually buy directly from Amazon either, but from re-sellers on Amazon -- whatever is cheapest.


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## brotagonist

I'm not in the UK, but, when doing mail order (that is most of my buying, as local is dismal), I often buy from Amazon.co.uk. I don't buy from Amazon directly, but from the re-sellers and wholesalers on Amazon Marketplace. Amazon UK has excellent freight charges, making them a feasible option for Canadians wishing to tap into European offerings. Unfortunately, the exchange rate, in the last 8 months, has gotten very unattractive.


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## ptr

Lope de Aguirre said:


> Howcome?
> ********


I'm with TV, I much prefer mom and pop shops that know me and my ways when I say my name on the phone!

Larry, I use Presto, MDT and Crotchet in the UK regularly, they are still very well stored and all three have excellent service policies!

/ptr


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## TurnaboutVox

LarryShone said:


> Well obviously Amazon is global...so that's one on the list of outlets. I looked on HMV, one of the worst sites ever with only 'pop' classical listed.





Lope de Aguirre said:


> *Howcome?*
> ********
> Actually I don't usually buy directly from Amazon either, but from re-sellers on Amazon -- whatever is cheapest.


Because I don't like Amazon's tax minimization / avoidance shenanigans, and because Presto is a bona fide Classical Music shop in the UK with a very good, well informed website and competitive pricing.


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## DavidA

Amazon usually. You can get some real bargains in their second hand lists if you look.


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## opus55

I'm not in UK but some of my amazon re-seller purchases come from a merchant called Zoverstock in UK


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## satoru

opus55 said:


> I'm not in UK but some of my amazon re-seller purchases come from a merchant called Zoverstock in UK


I buy a lot of CDs from this re-seller on Amazon, too. Hope we are not competing to each other! Oh, I'm not in UK either.

I'm lucky to have three used CD shops in the town with rich classical music repertoire so I visit them often. I know I have many competitors, so if I spot a CD I'm interested in at a bargain tag, usually I just buy it (if I wait, often cases, I find the CD's gone on the next visit). Other than that, I use Amazon and eBay.


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## Taggart

Norwich area - we tend to use Amazon or Presto on line. We also have Wells Photographic in Southwold who specialise in Naxos records and Prelude Records in Norwich who have an excellent classical section. Prelude do tickets for all the local classical events and we've started buying them by phone because every time we went in to the shop to buy tickets we bought far too many CDs.


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## elgar's ghost

Almost exclusively from Amazon UK marketplace, although I have occasionally ordered from Amazon US sellers, too.


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## LarryShone

We have one music shop in our town, HMV, and tho it has a classical section it's limited and the shop is geared towards the young uns. So you get to hear the latest 'toons' whether you like it or not!
We desperately need a Mike Loyd's Megastore!


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## joen_cph

Being Danish I mainly buy second-hand and some new CDs in Copenhagen, but I´ve had good bargains from _Presto Classical_ and _Crotchet_ in the UK, and various _Amazon_ sites, plus shops abroad.


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## SixFootScowl

The bulk of my buying is from Amazon and from Dearborn Music in Dearborn, Michigan. Also pick some up occasionally at used book stores, garage sales, other websites, other music stores.


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## Headphone Hermit

Charity shops, Ebay, Amazon, Second-hand record shop in Carlisle - in that order.

Thanks for the hints above - I shall be substituting Presto for Amazon in the future when I can do so


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## Bulldog

ArkivMusic all the way except for an Amazon gift from a loved one every now and then.


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## LarryShone

Funny I never considered ebay as a source of CDs! Yet I've used it a lot. Even bought my DSLR from there.


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## Manxfeeder

I get a lot of CDs from our local used CD store. Usually I go there twice a week, and it's not so much intentional buying as having a treasure hunt. Intentional purchases are from Amazon sellers.


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## mamascarlatti

Although in NZ, I largely use presto classical, and sometime Amazon UK. Presto is such a wonderful resource, great service, informative site, so I want to support it. Exchange rate is in my favour as the Kiwi dollar is strong.


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## Alypius

When I go to San Francisco in the summer, I explore Amoeba Records -- one of the few great record stores still flourishing (if you haven't seen it, it's an ex-bowling alley -- vast; right in the heart of the Haight-Ashbury district). Also their store in Berkeley which is also excellent but about 1/3 as large. In Berkeley, there's also a gem of a little store right off the Cal Berkeley campus called "A Musical Offering" with a coffee and sandwich shop in the front half and a classical CD store in the back half. On Sundays, a string quartet or other chamber group comes in and does a free informal concert. You have to pay full price for their CDs, but they have a great selection of all the newest offerings. So I do what I can to support them whenever I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. The rest of the time I mainly rely on the Classical Music Superstore (based in Tennessee, I believe) or importCDs or ArkivMusic or PrestoClassical. The first two usually have great prices.


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## DiesIraeCX

For CDs, about 90% Amazon (used) and 10% eBay. I'm thrifty so I always look for great deals and I have no problem whatsoever buying used CDs.


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## Pugg

I am not from the U.K but I use BookButler I copy the bar-code and who ever is the cheapest I buy there.
Never gain at Zooverstocks though 3 times parcel not arrived .


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## LarryShone

One option for me, which I always forget about or miss, is the town market. There is a record and CD stall there.


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## Figleaf

I've checked out some of the above suggestions and they look like they are good at what they do, but they don't sell historical recordings. Crotchet is particularly egregious in this respect: they have a section marked 'historical' which is full of Pavarotti CDs! What does that make the 78rpm era- prehistoric, I suppose! Does anyone know a good UK website for historical CDs, or a bricks and mortar store in the south east? 

I used to use Blackwells Music Shop in Oxford, back in the 90s when our historical friend Pavarotti was still alive and kicking. There was a great bloke working there called Raymond who knew absolutely everything about historical vocal records and would play them for me in the shop. We would listen to Battistini and have a nice chat. (Where do today's young fogeys get their musical education? On here, I suppose!) Then they moved premises. When the new store opened, all the old staff had gone and been replaced by teenagers whose answer to every question was 'dunno', and only pop classical and Maria Callas/ Three Tenors CDs were stocked. I don't want to come across like a whinging old fart (and yet here I am...) but town centres like Oxford generally did become very bland and corporate within the space of a few years in the mid to late nineties, and independent record stores were among the first casualties. There was Russell Acott on the High Street too, which had been there selling sheet music and discs since the dawn of recording, with its lovely mosaic floor and mahogany fittings. Now it's some chain bar like Ask or something. O tempora, o mores!


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## Guest

I buy from sites all over the web (the usual suspects) and shops like FNAC and Harmonia Mundi. In the shops I sometimes try to steal the more expensive CDs.


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## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> I am not from the U.K but I use BookButler I copy the bar-code and who ever is the cheapest I buy there.
> Never gain at Zooverstocks though 3 times parcel not arrived .


I have purchased probably a dozen or so CDsS/DVDs from Zoverstocks over the years and have always received them. Mine are shipped to the United States though.


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## Headphone Hermit

Figleaf said:


> I've checked out some of the above suggestions and they look like they are good at what they do, but they don't sell historical recordings. Crotchet is particularly egregious in this respect: they have a section marked 'historical' which is full of Pavarotti CDs! What does that make the 78rpm era- prehistoric, I suppose! Does anyone know a *good UK website for historical CDs?*


Pristine Classical - has an excellent selection of historical recordings and offers the chance to sample entire movements of a large number of their wares http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/indexes/artist.html

Symposium are also very good and have a large selection of rather obscure works too http://www.symposiumrecords.co.uk/


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## StlukesguildOhio

Mostly through Amazon.com and Amazon's Marketplace Dealers... but from time to time I have also purchased directly from said dealers as well as Barnes & Noble.


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## Tortue Supris

Being from the UK, I would look naturally to Amazon.co.uk for most CDs - I've always noticed the availability of certain recordings are somewhat lacking in comparison to Amazon.com however - that's not considering the Marketplace of course. I tend to avoid eBay for similar reasons. Prestoclassical is probably my best source, I'd strongly recommend it.


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## Figleaf

Headphone Hermit said:


> Pristine Classical - has an excellent selection of historical recordings and offers the chance to sample entire movements of a large number of their wares http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/indexes/artist.html
> 
> Symposium are also very good and have a large selection of rather obscure works too http://www.symposiumrecords.co.uk/


Symposium are the best- I have nearly everything vocal they have released. It's good you can order directly, but there's an eBay seller called Upspoke who specialises in their CDs and he's good and cheap.


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## Itullian

Amazon

Presto and Arkiv charge way too much.


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## Vaneyes

Re UK or North America, VAT aside, I can't imagine things being too different when ordering from Amazon Marketplace, MDT, Presto.:tiphat:


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## Piwikiwi

www.bol.com a dutch web store.


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## Itullian

Vaneyes said:


> Re UK or North America, VAT aside, I can't imagine things being too different when ordering from Amazon Marketplace, MDT, Presto.:tiphat:


They are............


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## Figleaf

I underestimated Presto: I just managed to get all the Naxos John McCormack CDs at £5 each plus p&p. I can start getting rid of those 78s now!


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## Markbridge

I buy most of my cds from Arkiv when they run a sale. One thing they offer for US deliveries is free shipping for an annual $10 fee. The downside, they now charge state sales tax (not happy anout that at all).


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## Guest

Amazon US for about 90% (3rd party sellers--very rarely from Amazon itself). MDT, Arkiv, and Records International make up the balance, with the _occasional_ excursion to Amazon UK, Elusive Discs, and Acoustic Sounds.


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## Dave Whitmore

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Mostly through Amazon.com and Amazon's Marketplace Dealers... but from time to time I have also purchased directly from said dealers as well as Barnes & Noble.


Our local Barnes and Noble has a surprisingly decent collection of classical music cd's. I've bought several from there. I also ordered a few from Amazon.


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## Levanda

On Sunday I went to car boot is second hand junk sale. I bought BBC proms almost new few was still not even was open. 16 CDs for only £6


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## Itullian

Levanda said:


> On Sunday I went to car boot is second hand junk sale. I bought BBC proms almost new few was still not even was open. 16 CDs for only £6


Great deal!!!!


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## Declined

I buy my music from Amazon.


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## tgtr0660

Not in the UK. But Amazon anyway.


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## PeterPowerPop

mamascarlatti said:


> Although in NZ, I largely use presto classical, and sometime Amazon UK. Presto is such a wonderful resource, great service, informative site, so I want to support it. Exchange rate is in my favour as the Kiwi dollar is strong.


I agree about Presto Classical. They have a splendid range, and shipping isn't too bad for me here in Australia.

These are always the first three places I visit online for CDs and DVDs:


eBay
Fishpond.com.au
Amazon.co.uk
I don't know why, but for me the English Amazon's shipping is much cheaper than the American Amazon. (The Canadian Amazon is somewhere in between.)

As for Fishpond, they might not always stock what I want, but prices are excellent, and shipping is free on everything.

I'm pleased to say that Fishpond also has a New Zealand site:


Fishpond.co.nz
The NZ Fishpond is the same: great prices and free shipping.


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## PeterPowerPop

PeterPowerPop said:


> I agree about Presto Classical. They have a splendid range, and shipping isn't too bad for me here in Australia.
> 
> These are always the first three places I visit online for CDs and DVDs:
> 
> 
> eBay
> Fishpond.com.au
> Amazon.co.uk
> I don't know why, but for me the English Amazon's shipping is much cheaper than the American Amazon. (The Canadian Amazon is somewhere in between.)
> 
> As for Fishpond, they might not always stock what I want, but prices are excellent, and shipping is free on everything.
> 
> I'm pleased to say that Fishpond also has a New Zealand site:
> 
> 
> Fishpond.co.nz
> The NZ Fishpond is the same: great prices and free shipping.


I forgot to mention that I haven't bought a CD from a bricks-and-mortar shop in a long, long time.


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## senza sordino

I buy from a shop. I order CDs from them to keep them in business. Their prices are comparable to Amazon. They have used CDs and LPs. I can browse and they know my name. Their staff are knowledgeable. I met a music producer / manufacturer once in there too. One of the last shops around.


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## Pugg

My local secondhand shop calls me when he has a new arrival.
People cleaning out because the all go on Spotify and store on their PC.
I like to hold the cover and I do love vinyl .


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## tgtr0660

Well I forgot in some strange cases when Amazon doesn't have them I go to Presto Classical to order me some Melodiya recordings. Oh how I love the sound and playing of old USSR orchestras and recordings...


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## tgtr0660

And, finally, the last two times (last year and the previous one) that I went visit my sister in Switzerland I bought a TON (I think it literally weighed a ton ) of cds from Musik Hug in Zurich and Ludwig Beck in Munchen, Germany (really, in between the two opportunities I came back with like 100 cds)


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## Vaneyes

tgtr0660 said:


> And, finally, the last two times (last year and the previous one) that I went visit my sister in Switzerland I bought a TON (I think it literally weighed a ton ) of *cds from Musik Hug in Zurich and Ludwig Beck in Munchen, Germany* (really, in between the two opportunities I came back with like 100 cds)


New, used, both? Thanks for the mentions.:tiphat:


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## tgtr0660

Vaneyes said:


> New, used, both? Thanks for the mentions.:tiphat:


Mostly new, I think only one used.


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## Figleaf

senza sordino said:


> I buy from a shop. I order CDs from them to keep them in business. Their prices are comparable to Amazon. They have used CDs and LPs. I can browse and they know my name.  Their staff are knowledgeable. I met a music producer / manufacturer once in there too. One of the last shops around.


Is the identity of this shop a closely guarded secret, or are we allowed to know what it's called and where it is? (Assuming you're in the UK that is- I probably wouldn't cross the Atlantic just for a CD shop!) It sounds very good!


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## SixFootScowl

Compared to US Amazon, Half.com sometimes has the same CD, even the same seller, and Half charges only $2.99 shipping to Amazon's $3.99. Somehow my last CD set (Daughter of the Regiment, 2 disc) was used for $1.50 and said fulfilled by Amazon, so had free shipping on orders of $35 or more. I just happened to be buying a couple TracPhones so it worked out nicely.

But I still like to support my local music store, Dearborn Music, as it is great fun to browse the racks of actual used and new CDs. If you live in the Detroit area, I highly recommend a visit to Dearborn Music. They also buy used CDs, DVDs, and LPs.


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## senza sordino

Figleaf said:


> Is the identity of this shop a closely guarded secret, or are we allowed to know what it's called and where it is? (Assuming you're in the UK that is- I probably wouldn't cross the Atlantic just for a CD shop!) It sounds very good!


I live across the Atlantic and across a continent from the UK. I'm in Vancouver, the name of the shop is Sikoras Records. They take phone orders.


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## Figleaf

senza sordino said:


> I live across the Atlantic and across a continent from the UK. I'm in Vancouver, the name of the shop is Sikoras Records. They take phone orders.


I'll try to send my parents there next time they holiday in Vancouver. If they are going to spend my inheritance now I might as well get a few Marston box sets out of it!


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## Vaneyes

tgtr0660 said:


> Mostly new, I think only one used.


Pardon me, I meant the stores.


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## starthrower

Itullian said:


> Amazon
> 
> Presto and Arkiv charge way too much.


Presto has some good deals with their specials, and I like the links for other recordings of whatever work you look up. Arkiv is great for looking up recordings. Very good detailed information and reviews.

But I've been buying a lot from Importcds lately.


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## DiesIraeCX

Amazon and eBay! I find amazing deals on both. Often, most of what I'm paying for is the $3.99 shipping on Amazon since I frequently find CDs for less than a buck.


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## Itullian

starthrower said:


> Presto has some good deals with their specials, and I like the links for other recordings of whatever work you look up. Arkiv is great for looking up recordings. Very good detailed information and reviews.
> 
> But I've been buying a lot from Importcds lately.


They have some good deals, but no tracking unless you use their Amazon listing.
And beware their packing. bare minimum used.


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## starthrower

Actually, they do have track listings for quite a few CDs. They are also having a 10 percent off sale this weekend. I'm putting together an order right now! Some Tull, and Mahler!


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## SixFootScowl

DiesIraeVIX said:


> Amazon and eBay! I find amazing deals on both. Often, most of what I'm paying for is the $3.99 shipping on Amazon since I frequently find CDs for less than a buck.


Yeah, I love it. I just found a box set of Beethoven symphonies for 25 cents! Like I need another set of Beethoven symphonies, but how can one refuse such a great deal? Sometimes it's fun to have another CD coming in the mail so you surf Amazon for a deal. I do also like to go to my record store and buy CDs. It is a lot of fun filing through actual CDs.


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## KenOC

starthrower said:


> Actually, they do have track listings for quite a few CDs. They are also having a 10 percent off sale this weekend. I'm putting together an order right now! Some Tull, and Mahler!


Jethro Tull doing Mahler? I'd go for that!


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## DiesIraeCX

Florestan said:


> Yeah, I love it. I just found a box set of Beethoven symphonies for 25 cents! Like I need another set of Beethoven symphonies, but how can one refuse such a great deal? Sometimes it's fun to have another CD coming in the mail so you surf Amazon for a deal. I do also like to go to my record store and buy CDs. It is a lot of fun filing through actual CDs.


I couldn't agree more, getting a package in the mail is a great feeling. plus Amazon thrift-surfing is pretty great too. 

Plus, there's nothing quite like having an actual physical CD, having a collection for the bookshelf. By the way, speaking of record/CD stores, I recently was driving and saw a shop called "Joel's Classical", I couldn't believe it, a music store dedicated to classical, seeing how record stores are becoming rarer and rarer nowadays. So, I go there now in addition to Half-Price Books, increasing my chances of finding a great deal.


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## Woodduck

DiesIraeVIX said:


> I couldn't agree more, getting a package in the mail is a great feeling. plus Amazon thrift-surfing is pretty great too.
> 
> Plus, there's nothing quite like having an actual physical CD, having a collection for the bookshelf. By the way, speaking of record/CD stores, I recently was driving and saw a shop called "Joel's Classical", I couldn't believe it, a music store dedicated solely to classical, seeing how actual record stores are becoming rarer and rarer nowadays. So, I go there now in addition to Half-Price Books, increasing my chances of finding a great deal.


"Joel's Classical" in Houston? It's enough to make me forgive Texas for giving us...

(Oops! Now where's that "politics" thread?)


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## JACE

starthrower said:


> But I've been buying a lot from *Importcds *lately.


I like these guys too. Great service. Very reasonable prices. Excellent selection.

Plus they stock CLASSICAL and JAZZ.


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## DiesIraeCX

Woodduck said:


> "Joel's Classical" in Houston? It's enough to make me forgive Texas for giving us...
> 
> (Oops! Now where's that "politics" thread?)


Haha, I know, I know! But thankfully, Houston, because it's a big city, is very un-Texan in very important ways, it's immune to what most people associate with Texas... well, to elaborate, I'd also need to find that "politics" thread!


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