Now and then I'll hear the plaintive cry of a classical-music fan asking "Where do I go to buy CDs, now that Tower Records is gone?"

Actually, that was me. My old haunt in Cherry Creek is no more. The classical/jazz room had been a haven, a place where time stood still, where great music still mattered. When Tower closed last year, we lost more than a giant retail outlet. A popular form of recreation also died.

On many a quiet evening I'd join other music buffs at Tower, whiling away the hours, flipping through thousands of discs of works by composers we'd never heard of, played by musicians we'd never heard of, recorded on labels we'd never heard of. As we browsed, Maria Callas or some divine opera star would serenade through the sound system.

Often, I'd visit with Kent, the supremely knowledgeable manager of the room, who seemed to know everything about music.

But Tower is gone, soon to be replaced by a store that will sell high-priced empty boxes. There seemed little reason for hope, as the world embraces iTunes and uTunes and theirTunes. Ah, but there is hope. I know, because I braved the frigid air recently and went out in search of the endangered classical CD store.

Since I receive review copies gratis through the mail (hey, it's my job), I haven't been to a non-Tower record store in years. I'd occasionally visit Twist & Shout, and had even found some gems in the used section. But I was seeking the comfort of the predictable in a record outlet. Plus, the in-store music at T&S drove me nuts.

I learned that Barnes & Noble sold new discs, so I checked out the outlet on the 16th Street Mall. Disappointment: No music section. The only thing this bookstore sold was books.

A salesgirl pointed in the direction of the nearby Virgin Megastore, noting that B&N couldn't compete with them. So, I walked through the Pavilions to see how mega this store was.

Indeed, there were several racks of classical, arranged by composer. It was nowhere near complete, but it was a welcome sight: all those shrink-wrapped plastic boxes displaying the glum visages of Karajan, Solti and Horowitz. I wanted to hug and kiss each one.

Clearly, though, Virgin's classical section paled in comparison with those rows of racks at Tower. As a test, I visited the Massenet section. Yes, they had his opera Werther - they even had two copies of Le Jongleur de Notre Dame, which I had to import when Central City Opera performed it.

But wait - no Manon in stock. C'est impossible!

I did have another option: While at Barnes & Noble, I learned that their other locations did carry recorded music. So, my quest took me to the B&N Glendale outlet on Colorado Boulevard. Strolling past all those books and book-lovers, I entered a separate room in the back, where a choir of angels welcomed me - unseen and unheard to everyone else in the store.

Ok, so it wasn't Tower. But this was a true treasure trove. I had the room to myself as I walked along, allowing my fingers to lovingly glide over the merchandise.

Now this was an impressive collection. Under John Adams, I counted 17 different titles by the contemporary composer. Yes, they had Manon - and in a separate opera section. And there were three complete versions of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. The classicals were arranged by composer, broken down into individual works. I was home.

I felt like Tom Hanks in Cast Away after his return to civilization, when he gazed in wonder at a plateful of crab legs following his welcome-back party.

Admiring the rows of CDs, I then stumbled upon a modern marvel. A pair of headphones sat on a holder, with an invitation to hear a sample of any record in the store. They couldn't be serious, I thought.

But they were. This is the "red dot" system that seemingly everyone I talked to knows about. Simply grab a CD (any CD) and hold its zebra code under the magic scanner, and you can hear the music on that disc. Select any track and listen to a 30-second snippet.

I wondered how the little magic eye could see inside the package and capture the recorded music. I'm thinking Tom Hanks would have wondered the same thing.

A friendly salesman explained that the scanner is linked to "a giant iPod," which holds all of the music in the store. Mind-boggling. I really don't want to know how this works - I just know that it does.

Browsing has been lifted to a new level, and all Tower refugees should know and be thankful.

You're welcome to use all those online services (which, incidentally, I have used now and then). They're nice. But nothing can compare to wandering the aisles of a real store and checking out the merchandise.

Just don't drool on the discs.

Where to browse

• Barnes & Noble: Glendale: 960 S. Colorado Blvd. 303-691-2998; Littleton: 8136 W. Bowles Ave. 303-948-9565; Aurora: 170 S. Abilene St. 303-340-4475.

• Virgin Megastore: Denver Pavilions, 500 16th St. 303-534-1199.

• Twist & Shout: 2508 E. Colfax Ave. 303-534-1199.

Or shop online

• Amazon.com

• berkshirerecordoutlet.com

• arkivmusic.com

• hbdirect.com

• store.operapassion.com (House of Opera)

Marc Shulgold is the music and dance writer. Shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5296

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