Virgin Megastore to Close Up Shop in 2007

When we were a little Bostonist and would come to the city with our folks, we'd always beg them to let us stop in Tower Records on the corner of Newbury and Mass. Ave. We'd spend our sweet time among the cassettes before selecting something really good (most likely a classic album by the New Kids on the Block). Tower Records stayed strong and remained at that location until we came back from college in 2002 and realized that billionaire Richard Branson bought out the place and inserted a Virgin Megastore instead. Bostonist accepted it since it still sold music and after a trip to London on Virgin Airlines, we were a fan of the brand.

Well, the Globe reported today that the Virgin Megastore will be gone by next June after they decided to not renew the lease. According to Boston Residential Group, an "upscale retailer" will likely take over the property at the Frank Gehry designed building. After all the hubbub about the newly opened Barneys New York, we're sure that the opening of this "upscale retailer" will be an overblown affair, too.

Bostonist understands that these are troubled times for music stores. (We admit to ordering from iTunes and can't remember the last time we stepped foot inside an actual store to purchase a CD.) It does make us a bit nostalgic though and has us ask, do we really need something like a Bergdorf's on Newbury?