hear hear, or else we won't...

[acroyear]

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Going off the record:

I can't help feeling that an important educational window is closing with the demise of record stores. Yes, it will be easier and cheaper to get the piece you already know you want online. But what about the piece or the genre you didn't know about until you started browsing through the records in places like Tower? How are you going to learn about Hindemith or Art Tatum if you don't know about them already? Online music destroys many barriers while erecting others. The liberation of discovery won't be impossible in the new world, but I fear it might be a bit harder.