The thing I miss most about record stores-- indeed the thing that's crucial about record stores-- is the random, limited selection. This, in my mind, is how a strong, interesting record collection gets built, especially with regard to used records, which is 90% of what I buy for cost reasons. Having not stepped foot in a record store for 3 1/2 years has had a distinct effect on the building of my collection. Shopping online, it's very hard to know where to begin when faced with essentially every record that ever existed, and factoring in shipping makes a huge dent cashwise, in particular with vinyl which I consequently buy very little of anymore. In Iowa City I browsed the two record stores (one jazz-oriented ... o the pain and anguish!) several times a week. It was fun and therapeutic. I miss it very much.