How to get good CDs cheap.

Here's how to get CDs fairly cheap (yes, I still buy CDs).

BARNES & NOBLE

Generally good prices for CDs. They have a good 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 for members and reasonable for nonmembers. You should use the valuable coupons found:

HERE and

HERE.

With discounts and free shipping, most CDs I order are under $13 and often under $10.

~~If you buy from B&N please use the above link (or HERE) so I can make a couple bucks~~ (update: this ended in 2014 if not earlier).

Amazon (use this link to help the Service Dog Project via commission) and eBay are additional choices.

BEST BUY

Relatively cheap prices and sometimes free shipping online. You can also ship free to a store for pickup. Selection is not as good as B&N. For major label and some indie label releases, I usually buy them the week they come out, in the store, when they're usually $9.99 or less, excluding special editions that run a little higher.

INDEPENDENT SITES

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

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 CDs. Friendly service, and they give you lots of free stuff in your package if there's room.

Bent Crayon
Decent prices; shipping's a bit steep. Great selection. Items come beautifully packaged.
In Sound (affiliate)
Very popular and affordable web site for ordering independent music of all types.
Deep Discount
AWESOME web site. Rock bottom prices and FREE shipping. The only problems are the small selection and that shipping sometimes takes longer than comparable sites.

Bleep (formerly Warp Mart)
Includes music from both the Warp record label catalog (much of which is no longer available or has never been released in the U.S.) and many other labels, some of them very niche-based. Famous for including free stuff in your physical order. In recent years, this has been relaunched as Bleep with the emphasis on downloads.
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. Use a search engine like Google to find record label sites.

Rant: It's cheapest to buy CDs used, especially promos, but that doesn't support the artists because promos are pressed as free CDs meant primarily for journalists and radio stations in hopes of creating interest in the album so that people will legitimately buy them. These CDs 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. So every time you buy a promo, sealed or not, 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 gray issue.

@@@@ IMPORTANT LINK: DISCOUNT CODES @@@@

home