At least you guys have a record shop to go to.. :cry:

Alien Records was in buisness here in austin for 12 years and just last year they closed due to the owners personal issues. Buisness wasnt bad, the owner just blew it.

The most depressing part for me is they had asked me to order the techno for them since they never had anything good as far as techno . I got to place about 3 orders and then CLOSED out of nowhere. No more records at cost. But it seems good things dont last long.

As far as thier selection they mainly catered to house but that would have changed if they would not have closed.

So now all I can do is order online. I find more records i want at Juno Tune Inn ect, but i usually end up paying anywhere from 50-70 bucks just for shipping major bummer...

Ive never been to the UK shops in person but it seems the online shops have a pretty good range of styles at least as far as dance music..

There are other record stores here but they are like you are talking of specialty shops. Mainly for Punk Rock..

This prob doesnt quite relate to your frustration. I just miss being able to actually listen to a record on a deck before buying. ;)