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Now what kind of fun is it to buy your new music from the big box retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, or worse yet, Wal-Mart?  It’s really no secret that most of their CD sales are loss leaders to get you in the door to buy something bigger like a new plasma, laptop, or car stereo. 

Meanwhile, downtown you can grab yourself a latte and slip into a good ole fashioned independent record store to discover the latest and greatest music of today.  My personal favorite here in town is Waiting Room Records, owned and run by Jared Alcorn. 

Here are a few great reasons to stop in to see Jared, or any independent record store for that matter:

1. Try before you buy.  Waiting Room (and plenty of other indie stores) have promo copies of new music that you can often listen to before you drop your hard-earned $14.99 for a new CD.
    
2. Discover new music. These guys listen to music all day long.  They just might have a few ideas for you…   Get to know them, and they’ll get to know what you like and what to recommend for you personally.  Waiting Room even distributes a free music CD sampler with their top picks of new releases each month.  Our song "Looks Are For Free" was on last month’s sampler.
    
3. Overload the senses.  A great record store can be a sensory explosion, with funky vinyl spinning on the turntable, music posters plastered all over the walls, new release displays, and of course bins and bins of old records and new CDs to flip through.  Waiting Room even sells vintage clothing.
    
4. Talk music. Meet the owner, meet some other like-minded music lovers, find out who’s playing where…
    
5. Buy music! Support independent record stores, support independent music, and improve the quality of your life!

And yes, you can of course get Tales Of A Modern Splash at Waiting Room Records, 113 W North Street, uptown Normal, Illinois.  Stop in and give Jared a shout, or visit your own local independent record store.