“Chinese Democracy”: So, How’d All That Pent-Up Demand Work Out?

noah | November 23, 2008 7:30 am

I stopped by the Best Buy on Broadway in downtown Manhattan today and was greeted by the sign at left, which led me to believe that Chinese Democracy‘s release would have been a big deal, at least in terms of in-store displays and the like. But as it turned out, “music’s most anticipated album ever” wasn’t worth a display on the store’s first floor, let alone one somewhere adjacent to the Rock Band 2 setup on floor two. Instead, once I got to the store’s music section (which is probably worthy of its own “how low can its floor space go” post at some point), I saw a big display of iPod acessories blocking the poster advertising the album, and scant inventory of the record itself. (I did get to play “Man In The Box” and “Eye Of The Tiger” on Rock Band, which was pretty fun; the store was overall surprisingly empty, and I probably could have squeezed another two songs or so in.) What was the scene like in other parts of the country? Some reports from the front after the jump.

Mike Barthel reports from Syracuse, N.Y.:

Not much to report in Syracuse, though I got there around 3 so maybe everyone who wanted to buy it already had? The rack was looking fairly barren, but I waited around for 20 minutes or so and didn’t see anyone browse it.

And Al Shipley checks in from Laurel, Md., which is outside the Baltimore area:

the GNR display all the way in the back of the CD/DVD section was dwarfed by the nearby Sopranos display. The higher price listed at the top of the display is for the double LP, but I didn’t see any Chinese Democracy vinyl in the store. I was there during the first hour the store was open and the only other person I saw near the GNR racks was a BB employee who was still stocking it with discs, so I didn’t get to interview anyone there, but if you want me to write any kind of spiel about what I saw let me know.

The scene in Astoria, N.Y. was similarly barren. What was your local Best Buy like? Was there any buzz at all? Feel free to share your experiences.

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