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While big music chains like Tower Records are facing bankruptcy, New York's small neighborhood record shops are thriving. They range from a West African music shop in Harlem to a Brighton Beach store that sells Russian rap. Journalist Siddhartha Mitter has combed the stacks of some of these shops and joins us today with a guided tour. Also: Alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett's new album, "Beyond the Wall," is a tribute to Chinese culture inspired by his recent trip to that country. It also builds on the Asian-jazz fusion that artists like John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders pursued for the Impulse label in the '60s. He joins us with a preview. Finally: For the past 10 or so years, artists and record companies have been increasing the overall loudness of pop and rock albums, using ever increasing degrees of compression during mastering. Austin American-Statesman music critic Joe Gross tells us why.