THE SOUNDTRACK OF BLACK FRIDAY

We’re now just four days away from Black Friday—not the ominous, minor-key Steely Dan song or the dreaded pink (slip)-and-black color combination that has been known to bedeck the offices of record companies at this time of year. Nope, this is the Black Friday that comes one day after the turkey—the one retailers hope will be a green Friday, living up to its reputation as the biggest single shopping day of the year.

Because of the level of transactions that will go down, Black Friday will leave an imprint of some size on the Big Four’s 2007 bottom line, as well as the slicing of the marketshare pie. Here’s the product the big brick-and-mortar retailers are featuring in the print advertising and on their end caps, with value-added elements denoted. All of the following are CDs unless otherwise specified.

BEST BUY:
Amy Winehouse $9.99
High School Musical 2 soundtrack $7.99
James Blunt, All the Lost Souls with bonus DVD $9.99
Justin Timberlake, FutureSex live show DVD $16.99
Kenny Chesney $7.99
Kid Rock $7.99
Ne-Yo, Because of You with bonus DVD $9.99
Now 26 $7.99
Rhapsody six-month membership $7.99
Rolling Stones, The Biggest Bang four-DVD set $29.99
Timbaland, Shock Value with bonus DVD $9.99
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Runnin' Down a Dream DVD $29.99
Will.i.am, Songs About Girls with bonus DVD $9.99

CIRCUIT CITY:
Digital Blue High School Musical soundtrack for Disney MP3 players $9.99
Fergie $6.99
High School Musical 2 $6.99
Rihanna $6.99
Assorted CDs $5.99

TARGET:
Assorted CDs (no specific titles listed) $7.50

K-MART:
Carrie Underwood $7.99
Celine Dion $7.99
JayZ $7.99
Keith Urban $7.99
Now 26 $7.99