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No.

It depends on your definition tho, the recording industry puts a lot of music out that they call Heavy Metal. It is quite easy for the avid Heavy Metal listener to filter out that crud.

In other words, what they call Heavy Metal just ain't Heavy Metal :). Just look at Strapping Young Lad, those ugly old bastards are a PR/records label nightmare!

Then again, I am following the sheep to this summer's Ozzfest. But with a re-united Judas Priest, I couldn't resist. Oh, well, I guess, small steps.

I just haven't heard anything new I'd like to buy... how about you?

If you like old school Black Sabbath sounding heavy metal, you should go buy this album by Fireball Ministry. It's dirty, angry, and mean - just like metal should be. Modern death metal is all good, but Fireball Ministry does an outstanding job of going back to the basics. There are some MP3s on their site, give them a listen.

I'd definitely agree with the independent labels bit. There's basically /no/ music on there I'd want. (I'm into metal).

If someone like Century Media got onboard, I'd be fucking stoked. Of course, the Music Store isn't available outside US, so the whole point is moot.

Check the prices at CD Baby for all genres. Maybe try Century Media if your genre happens to be metal (or a few related genres, but mostly metal).

Of course, if you're looking for something specific, then yeah, what you want might cost more.

Most of my favourite bands are on one or the other, and if it hadn't been for MP3s, I probably wouldn't have found most of the bands (and, hence, given the bands and their label money for CDs).

Most of the stuff on major labels is garbage in the first place, IMO.

Ehh, I'm not the author of the parent message, but if you're into metal, you may like century media. (I'm pretty sure that they're not a part of the RIAA...please correct me if I'm wrong)

CM

Go to the audio section and check out the long list of mp3s you can download. Usually each band has a few listed.

Hope this helps!

Admittedly, these record labels run along the more extreme vein. However, if you are into heavy/angry music, the bands you can find through these labels produce albums FAR better than the dreck you'll find getting shoved at us through the major labels.

As poot_rootbeer said, perhaps you should try some alternate sources of music for better quality artists! :)

Bryan

It seems that all of those indie artists on MP3.com just got sucked in by a big label. This is reminiscent of the ongoing pattern of indie labels being bought out (or fake indies being created by) the big labels.

Of course, you can always cross-check any so-called indie labels against the RIAA Memebership List. In fact, since I don't buy CDs from the RIAA anymore (thank goodness for Century Media!), I make use of that list quite often.

Alex Bischoff

Alex Bischoff
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it's hard to vote with your pocketbook when there's no competition.

There is competition, and it's on two fronts.

First, the consumer can choose not to deal with the retailers. Just as an example, specialized places like Century Media sell for $11 per CD for things on their label, and $12 on other labels. And of course, CDs from mp3.com is even cheaper and carries a much wider variety of genres. These also have a secondary advantage in that they have a lot more selection that Best Buy. I recall browsing through Best Buy several times, and for all the CDs they had, they just didn't .. well .. have anything.

The second front of competition is one that is still just emerging, thanks to technology and The Internet. The creators of music have the option of not dealing with the big media companies. Independent production is possible now without requiring too much capital, and The Internet is capable of competely obliterating the distribution problem. Musicians have a choice of whether to deal through the big labels and retailers, or going indy and selling other ways. Up to now, that choice has been quite lopsided. But that's changing fast, and it may soon be lopsided in the other direction.

I suppose one might argue (as many have) that the MP3 explosion did represent a popular response to the problem. But that too is outside the libertarian system which, if I recall, does respect IP.

Keep in mind that there's two sides to the MP3 explosion. It's not just about disrespecting IP (as mp3.com showed prior to their dumb idea of offering the my.mp3.com service). I don't see any reason why MP3s (or something like them, such as Ogg Vorbis files) cannot be sold, and they've already proven themselves for marketing and promotion outside of the megacorps' channels (MTV, radio, etc).

(BTW, although I consider myself pretty libertarian, I must admit that I'm sometimes stumped as to how the market can fix certain types of problems. I just think that the current music situation isn't one of those cases.)

I listen to the same genres, and have found that there is no best store, but rather, I rotate around among a group of stores, each with it's own strengths. CDNow was one of them, but I must say that they have a problem with things always being backordered.

Anyway, here's some of the other places I use:

• AltaMira: ugly web site and it's awkward to set up an account at first, but he makes up for it in selection and service. He's a specialist; the general selection is limited, but the Powermetal selection is very good, with some progressive stuff too.
• Laser's Edge: Another specialist store like AltaMira, but in progressive rock/metal rather than powermetal.
• CD Quest: although their metal selection isn't as good as the specialists, they're not bad. Kinda like CDNow, I guess. Unlike CDNow, they have been excellent about actually filling orders, instead of letting me wonder if it's ever going to actually ship. Prices are good too. They have nearly completely replaced CDNow's old role for me.
• Amazon: Since I place an order for books from them about every other month anyway, it's no extra trouble to throw a CD or two in. They will occasionally have a low price on something. Often useful for "mainstream" metal.
• Also, some record labels will take direct orders, sometimes even undercutting the "real" stores. I don't know why the stores tolerate this, but I'm not complaining. Particularly note-worthy is CenturyMedia where they'll sell just about anything on their label for $11, and several other labels for $12. Metal of all types.

Hope this helps. :-)