wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Soundcheck asked music writer Amanda Petrusich (of Pitchfork and the New York Times) and Blender editor in chief Joe Levy. [Listen to the show.] $ 50 or less Amanda: 'People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938' box set ($47) $30 or less Joe: Buy in bulk, box-sets. 'Love Train, The Sound of Philadelphia' ($29.99) and Nina Simone, 'To Be Free' box set (3 CDs and a DVD) ($30) $20 or less Amanda: 'The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend CD' ($18.50) Joe: Book: 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die by Tom Moon. ($20) $18 or less Amanda: Sufjan Stevens Presents Songs for Christmas (4 CDs, around $17) $15 or less Amanda: The Art of Field Recording Sampler CD (sampler of highlights of Dust to Digital's Art of Field Recording box set –instead of $60, spend $15.) $10 or less Joe: Download Shopper website. Use Hot Deals button to find digital albums for as little as $5. Lists 25 free downloads too. $1 or less Amanda: a nice stack of thrift-store vinyl Joe: Make a mix-tape CD, or, even cheaper, skip the CD and make an imeem playlist. If you can splurge... Amanda: A suitcase record player ($100-$150) Joe: eMusic subscription (one year for $96 gives 30 songs per month)