Hmv Brighton

As I mentioned in my review of the smaller branch of HMV, I usually prefer shopping at independent record and film stores compared to the chains. What I like about this branch of HMV however, is its open later than most other shops - so if I get an impulse to hear or watch something new, I can dash out and buy it.

The CDs in this shop are a bit dissapointing - they only stock the latest Gossip album not all four, the XX album is £2 more than in other record stores and their country and Americana section is dire. There's only two Emmylou Harris albums, one Shelby Lynne and last time I visited, no Lucinda Williams!! The film and TV drama section however, is excellent. They have lots of box sets and individual series for great shows like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The L Word. They also have lots of world cinema, crime, horror, westerns, cult movies and indie flicks.

I would have given it 3 stars but the fact they were playing V. V. Brown when I went in this afternoon swayed me! In fact, I still cant get 'Quick Fix' out of my head.

"Hey sweetie sweetie / Do you love me? / Do you want me? / You'd better get down on your knees and tell me that you want me."

This store has evolved a lot, from offering just CD/DVDs to iPods and a section where you can access the internet for free! the store is massive and offers a wide range of collections, which are all organised nicely to allow easy locating of items. the front entrance is also impressive as there are LCD screens that turn on from time to time (this is the only shop in Churchill square which has this feature).

I came here the other day just to have a quick look round with a friend, and I noticed there's a pretty great world cinema section, so if you are interested in such cultural visual stimulation, I'd recommend you check it out.

This is a large HMV- probably the largest music and film store in Brighton now that several of the competitors have shut down. Considering it's size it still seems hard to find things here- I guess the emphasis is on the newest releases and not- as I am often looking for- the slightly older and/or more obscure alternative music and films. The loud sweet pop music playing reminds you what HMV is good at: the top twenty bestselling dvds, the top twenty chart cds. The reason I do turn in through their doors occasionally is that they undeniably have the best offers on box sets of tv series and the best sales for dvds. During one of their promotions you can pick up the complete West Wing for half the price, or any number of decent dvds for £5. The film section is actually must better stocked than the cd section it seems- there is usually only ever one album per artist, whereas the film section has a large tv section ,comedy section, film section and surprisingly good foreign film section. I try not to shop in chains but I have to admit that I find it hard to resist their sales.