There is a fine line between being 'sensible' with money and just being an old miser. I like to think that I have well and truly crossed that line.
When it comes to buying music I reckon there is nowhere cheaper than ebay these days. I always think it is hilarious to see the prices places such as HMV charge for CD's. Last time I was in one of their stores most of the discs were marked at around £15!
I reckon that £5 is the most you should ever have to pay for a CD, and that would be for a CD that you REALLY want, and anything else you should be able to find far, far cheaper, if you are willing to
bide your time, get onto ebay, bid low and bid often! None the various CD's pictured here have broken the £5 rule and (lest there be any confusion, that figure does include postage and packing!). Most of them weighed in at a hefty £3 in total, while the winner was K.D. Lang's "Invincible Summer" which although costing £1.99 in postage, was claimed with a winning bid of exactly £0.01. Now that's the kind of money I am prepared to pay for good music! 1p is almost a comedy offer to make someone for their goods, but if they list their wares as being "incredible bargain - no starting price" and no-one else bids, what can they expect?!
I reckon that buying CDs this way results in better quality than most of the download sites, and better value than even the cheapest of the regular retailers.
The K.D. Lang CD is very good, much better than her forays into Country music, but on this album she is far too happy for my liking - I think she excels at melancholy! The Cat Stevens retrospective is very good too, all his old hits are there and I love his eccentric songwriting and idiosyncratic vocals. The Robert Cray blues album is very good, but I need to listen to it a few more times. John Martyn's "solid air" is a classic, and sounds wonderful - although 'chemically enhanced' to say the least. As for Madeleine Peyroux, I'm still waiting for the postman to deliver her 'careless love' album to the house. I love her voice and have high expectations of the album.
At least I know that if any of these purchases turn out to be complete mince - I haven't paid HMV £15- for the privilege of saying so.
I already have the Madeline Peyroux album (you should have said!) you'll definately enjoy, it's brilliant. Sadly, unlike you, I do not seem to have inherited the 'Tight as a duck bottom' gene and have to admit I parted with around 13 of my hard earned British Pounds for this :o(
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