Yeah, despite the controversy, CDWOWs prices are pretty nuch back to normal, around €13.95 or even lower. The thing is it will now put even more pressure on record stores. If CDWOW can sell new release CDs at this price even with the european royalty rates AND make a profit (which I assume they are because they would not be in buisness for long otherwise) then it really shows up how the likes of Virgin, HMV, Golden Discs etc. are overcharging.
On the subject of mainstream record stores, is it just me or do large record stores seem to constantly have some kind of sale on all the time in an attempt to pull in punters? It seems like this kind of thing is more common than it used to be. You know, huge displays mainly older or over or overstocked CDs at 3 for 20 euro or similar.
Spleeno, I have to disagree with you about choice on Amazon.co.uk, maybe its just the genres your into, but I find you can get most stuff on Amazon, even rare or import versions of albums. However if you buy something a little unusual on Amazon you will pay a lot for it and delivery will often be slow.
If you really can't find what your looking for, there are specialist mail order companies like Opal music or rough trade, but having never ordered from either, I can't tell you how good they are.
One great site I came across recently was CD baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/ - it only sells CDs that come directly form musicians with no distribution company in the middle, so nothing remotely mainstream unfortunately but its reliable and cheap. It's a good place to start if you are looking for something unusual or just want to discover new music by taking a chance on something. Also, the artists make a lot more on each CD than they would if you buy there CD elswhere. Anyone can sell a CD there, even if you don't have a record deal. You can even sell CD-Rs provided you package it properly. Its a pretty good outlet for small or unsigned bands to get their stuff out there.
One of the cheapest ways to buy CDs that are slightly outside the mainstream is find out the record label and buy it direct form the record label or the artists site. Labels like Ersatz Audio (Adult., N.O.I.A, Solvent etc.) Warp (Aphex twin, Squarepusher, Broadcast etc.), Jeepster (Belle and Sebastian, older Snow Patrol) etc. will all sell direct, however caution is advised if you have never bought from a label before. I have bought a CD by Adult. direct from Ersatz Audio before and can't reccomend them highly enough, the CD arrived quickly even though it had to come from Detroit, it was packaged properly and even including postage it was much cheaper than buying the same CD anywhere else.