The Biggest Album In America Right Now Isn’t Online — At All
For some, getting the new Garth Brooks album 'Time Traveler' will be a quest. For others, it will be as easy as driving to their favorite store.
The newest album from the bestselling solo artist in America is not something you can stream on Spotify or iTunes. If you’re a hardcore Garth Brooks fan, you already know this. In fact, Brooks hasn’t offered digital streaming versions of his music on either iTunes or Spotify since forever. So, if you search for his new album Time Traveler online, you’ll come up short. And that’s because the newest Brooks album is only available on CD, as part of a boxed set that you can only purchase from Bass Pro Shops, of which there are only 177 nationwide.
You’re reading this right. The guy famous for “Friends in Low Places,” and literally one of the most famous music stars of the ‘90s has a new album out, and it’s making a smash at stores known for fishing and hunting supplies, exclusively. If there’s not a Bass Pro Shop or a Cabela's near you, your chances of getting this new album are close to zero. As detailed in his brilliant essay on Uproxx, critic Steven Hyden snagged this new CD box set with little difficulty. Like in the old days, he simply had to drive to a store to get the CD.
Is it eccentric that Brooks has made this new album only available as a part of a box set? Sure. Is it bananas that he’s not letting anyone else sell it other than Bass Pro Shop? Well, it sort of depends on how you look at it. Although he retired for a while, Brooks has always figured out how to sell a ton of records and didn’t seem to mind that a huge portion of the population uses streaming music. Based on the high-mark-ups on eBay for the Garth Brooks The Limited Series 7-Disc Box Set, it seems like he knows what he’s doing.
If you believe that having physical media — CDS, records, Blu-rays — is still urgently important, then you should probably purchase this new Garth Brooks box set on principle alone. And, if you’re looking for a great gift for someone this holiday season, we can’t think of anything more specific, or legitimately unique.
The Garth Brooks The Limited Series 7-Disc Box Set is only on CD and only available at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s. As of this writing it appears online orders are available.
