The Channels

Issue date: 10/25/06 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Ryan McShane Morning Glory has a selection of new and used CD's in a clean and organized environment

With the popularity of the iPod and so many mp3 web sites to choose from these days, CD shopping seems somewhat obsolete. Why scour some dusty bin when you can pop onto eMusic.com and find most of today's hottest indie records or sign onto iTunes for the latest top-10 single?

Despite the futility of CD shopping, I set out to find the best place to buy music in Santa Barbara. So I set out with a cursory list encompassing a few genres and decades, and set to work comparing the store selections.

Sadly, Morninglory, Just Play Music and Borders all measure pretty equally in terms of selection. Warehouse is great for top 40 from current day back through 40 years ago. But it hasn't kept up with the major independent distributors responsible for Borders surprising selection.

For vinyl, Just Play Music is the place to go. Oh, and they sell bootleg CD's with a fancy "IMPORT" sticker and $25 price tag. They aren't even that good, but they're a cut above the rest.

For CD's and friendly staff, Morninglory is the best. For jazz, classical and musicals, Borders has the locals beat.

Just Play Music and Morninglory had a slightly better selection than Borders. They were both only missing one artist from my list and had seven exact albums. Borders didn't have anything from Murs, Public Image Limited, Maximo Park, Be Your Own Pet or Autechre. But it did have the exact album in all but two cases.

So really, it's a crapshoot.

The only obvious difference in the stores was the atmosphere. Morninglory and Just Play are both local businesses with staff-picked music on the stereo. While Morninglory is airy and bright inside, Just Play is a narrow hole, with all-black walls. The music at Morninglory blended into the background and didn't distract from shopping or chatting. Over at Just Play, the music was loud - too loud. I love listening to Blurt loud enough that my head feels like it's caving in, but not when I'm shopping.

Borders is, well, Borders: sterile, stuffy and stale. I never enjoy shopping there. Though it was cute that they had an "Indie" discount rack with the Misfits prominently displayed. Way to go corporate cool guy.

Continued...

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