The musical tastes of students at the University seem to be as diverse as the ice cream at a Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors. From traditional jazz and blues to the emergence of peevish female musicians, the music market in a collegiate city such as Ann Arbor must accommodate a wide spectrum of musical preferences.
One such store is Discount Records, located at the corner of State and East Liberty Streets. Owned by the Sam Goody and Musicland corporation, it offers a large selection of mainstream music and a limited section of used CDs, while priding itself on friendly customer service. The store's location makes it a magnet for numerous concert postings in both Ann Arbor and Detroit.
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| BRYAN MCLELLAN/Daily University alumnus Morgan Anderson 3rd examines records at The Grooveyard. |
But LSA first-year student Kristin Batmanghelichi pointed out that friendly service has its cost. "Discount Records is not really discounted. I choose not to go there because of price," Batmanghelichi said.
Further down Liberty, the Schoolkids' Records store provides a large assortment of used CDs (on the side referred to as the Annex) and, on the other side of the store, a large variety of new CDs and cassettes. With a diverse assortment of imports, jazz, blues, international, R&B and pop music selections, Schoolkids' provides a rare melange of music. It also sells tickets for many Ann Arbor music events.
LSA first-year student Eric Komuniecki said he likes Schoolkids' "because it has more indie music ... the store is cool and constantly plays unique music."
Batmanghelichi agreed, saying, "I really like Schoolkids' because they carry a wider selection of imports for music I like, and that I can't find anywhere else."
Other students like Engineering first-year student Susan Cho were not so impressed with Schoolkids' intimate atmosphere. "My first impression of the Annex was stinky because it's seedy, dark and has weird music I've never heard of," Cho said.
Across the street looms the overwhelming shadow of one of Ann Arbor's most commercial music stores - Borders Books and Music. Borders offers an overwhelming selection of jazz, blues, international, gospel, pop and country.
Borders does, however, have a smaller variety of reggae music and a very limited collection of rap and R&B music. The store tends to concentrate mainly on mainstream artists.
The adjoining bookstore and cafe are convenient to many students. Cho said these make her appreciate Borders' music section. "Borders doesn't have a lot of imports, which is a little disappointing. The main things I like about it are the cheap prices, comfortable atmosphere, the cultured selection and the adjacent cafe," Cho said.
But Batmanghelichi didn't find the selection at Borders as distinctive. "Borders doesn't carry a large selection of the music I like - Depeche Mode, Velour 100, Morrissey - because it is mostly geared towards Top 40."
Tower Records, a popular national chain, located on South University, has a similar musical collection to that of Borders, and it also offers a wide array of videos and music literature.
Cho was impressed with the wide variety of music and literature of all sorts of music; however, she complained of the bad customer service. "I was in the store for a good 30 minutes and not one sales person confronted me."
But, Cho added, "I don't let the bad service deter me from checking out their large selection of all the music I like."
One downside to Tower Records, though, is that Tower's prices exceeded those at other area stores. Most CDs cost more than $16, except newly released CDs, many of which were on sale for $13.
Tower also lacked the local bands, "indie" music and generally obscure music that stores such as Schoolkids' had in abundance.
Like many other students, LSA sophomore Juhee Kim has yet to find a music store worthy of her time in Ann Arbor. "I prefer not to shop at any music stores around here because they're a rip-off. I bought a Simple Minds CD here last year and paid $16 for it and then when I went back home I saw it at Best Buy for significantly less," Kim said.
But those without access to chain mega-stores will most likely find a store to their taste among Ann Arbor's varied selection of music sellers.
10-16-97
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