Goodbye, Friend

Sadly, Tower Records has now ceased to exist in everywhere but cyberspace. I have many fond memories of the Tower Records location on Clark Street on the north side of Chicago, and even the Wabash Street location. There was always a wonderful selection of classical music and knowledgeable staff. While superstores such as Border's Books and Music and Barnes and Noble keep a decent stock of classical music, their support staff is often unaware of even the more popular classical and operatic recordings. Recordings in these stores are often incorrectly sorted in the wrong bin, jewel cases are often damaged, and special demands are not easy to request. It appears that classical music sales are entirely going the way of the Internet. At the "we sell everything megastore" near my home, the classical music selection consists of two small racks of compact discs. Perhaps the message is that it's time to find a new genre to love, or enjoy my already-purchased recordings and simply swap digital music collections with other classical fans.