How to get good CD's cheap.

Here's how to get CD's fairly cheap.
UPDATED SUMMER 2007 w/ affiliation links, help me out!

BARNES & NOBLE

Generally very good prices for CD's. They have a great selection, much better and cheaper than their actual stores. I'd say 80% or more of what I want is available for ordering, which is why I buy from here most often. Shipping is free if you spend $25 or more and you can use valuable coupons if you click:

HERE. You can also save an additional 10% each order if you sign up for a Reader's Advantage discount, which is $25 for one year. This may be a good value for you depending on how much you order.

With discounts and free shipping most CD's are under $13.

If you buy from B&N please use the above link (or HERE) so I can make a couple bucks.

Amazon (use either this link or the search field below to help me out via commission) and eBay are additional choices.

BEST BUY

Cheap prices and sometimes free shipping. Selection is not as good as B&N but pricing is on par, sometimes even better. For major label releases I usually buy them the week they come out, in the store, and they're very affordable.

INDEPENDENT SITES

If you have a moral objection to patronizing multi-million and billion dollar corporations in order to save a few bucks, as I occasionally do, here are some sites I recommend, all of which sell CD's that aren't available to order from Barnes & Noble and Best Buy.

Hiphopsite.com
Pretty good prices but the best part is all the free and exclusive CD's, posters, shirts, and other stuff they include. Somewhat unreliable availability and shipping; bonus offers subject to change without notification.

Fat Beats
Low prices and you can tell them to ship USPS ground shipping for only $3! It'll take longer than what you're presented with but it's cheaper. Anyway, great selection of hip-hop vinyl and many hard to find CD's. Friendly service and they give you lots of free stuff in your package if there's room.

Strange Fortune
At one time a very reliable and affordable site for buying somewhat obscure electronic music (including hard-to-find Coil albums), it has lately been a bit unreliable as the site owner/operator has moved to another part of the country. Worth trying once, at least. The time I ordered I got all of my items very quickly.
Bent Crayon
Decent prices; shipping's a bit steep. Great selection. Items come beautifully packaged.
In Sound
Very popular and affordable web site for ordering independent music of all types.
Deep Discount (Affiliation Link)
AWESOME web site. Rock bottom prices and FREE shipping. The only problem is the relatively small selection and it'll sometimes take an extra 2-5 days for your items to arrive vs. Amazon and BN.

Warp Mart
Great selection from the Warp record label. Includes both music from their catalog (much of which is no longer or has never been released in the U.S.) as well as other record labels, some of them tiny and obscure. Famous for including free stuff in your order. The only problem for us Americans is there's no U.S. location yet so we have to pay expensive shipping charges in addition to the higher prices music goes for in the UK. Unless the item is unavailable at the above web sites or there's an exclusive offer, I would recommend against ordering from here.
Label sites in general
A lot of indie label web sites let you order directly from them. Not only does this cut out the middleman (retailers) and give the artists and labels you like more money, it's almost always cheaper. Just two examples are Hefty Records and Tigerbeat6. Use Google to find record label URLs.

Rant: It's cheapest to buy CD's used, especially promos, but that doesn't support the artists because promos are pressed as free CD's meant primarily for journalists and radio stations in hopes of creating interest in the album so that people will legitimately buy them. These CD's are technically owned by the labels and are sent to people under the premise that they will write about it or play the music on air. Sadly, these get sold a lot (I've bought my share). So every time you buy a promo, whether opened or sealed, you're taking money away from artists who you would otherwise be supporting if promos could somehow be kept under control. On the other hand, if not for the cheapness of promos, you might never take a chance and buy it at all (and thus never become a fan, someone who would later pay for a legitimate CD, attend a concert, or buy merchandise). So it's a bit of a gray issue even for me.

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