Yanks. Always with the hyperbole.

But now that the feasts are winding down, denizens of the U.S. now prepare for their second helping of crass gluttony: discount shopping.

I won’t go into how distasteful I find the whole thing, but suffice to say this year I’m half expecting riots.

Nevertheless, chances are if you’re near a metropolitan area you could brave the evacuation-level traffic to get something like %20 off some already marked-down crap at your local Guitar Center.

Ah Guitar Center. On the off chance you don’t have any first-hand experience with a Guitar Center Superstore, well, picture MusiciansFriend.com and MySpace, but, you know, as a store. Or more specifically, as a supermarket.

Yet, for all it’s petty crimes – bad to laughable advice from staff, devaluing of musical instruments¹, the impact on smaller boutique shops^{see 1} – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think they get a bad rap.
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