I know - they're just getting overly expensive, and I'm sure here they're going up in price again. If you like ultra-obscure stuff, you unfortunately gotta pay more.
If I'm paying for a new release I always go online first and see if there's a special edition with extra songs, a DVD or something to make it worth the extra cost. Then you have the iTunes bonus songs, vinyl-only, DVD only. That irritates me, and so I download B-sides and extra tracks seperately later on.
I rarely buy new releases. I usually wait until it drops down in price. The only exception is if I really like the band and I have faith in the fact that I know that the album will be good and I will listen to the album several times. I also sometimes pay about £5 or £7 for CDs which I know I'm really gonna like. I paid £8 for Blood Sugar Sex Magik over 7 years ago and it is one of my favourite albums of all time. Great purchase that was.
I've been burnt even then buying new releases and thinking what a load of crap that was - Along Came A Spider by Alice Cooper; three good songs. Usually download a few songs first and then if I like those, I get it.
Ours here go for $20 -$22 which is about 9 - 10 pounds. Either that or I have a serious weakness for secondhand and bargain bin music I don't even know. Most times I've been surprised - a fair few are some of my favourite albums of all time.
CDs here are generally more expensive after they first come out. The first week an album is on sale, you can get it for about $10, but then after that the price stays pretty even at around $13. Stays there for years, sometimes, unless you catch it on a random sale.
What happens here for most of the albums is they start at about £9.99 then they might go on sale for a little while at £8 or even £6. After a year, or at Christmas time, they will go down to £5. A shop here called HMV does this offer which is '2 for £10' and most of the CDs just go to that section.
Sun - Sun
Georgia Satellites - Shaken Not Stirred
Silver Ray - This Is Silver Ray
Damien Leith - Remember June
On Your Shore - Charlotte Martin
Pampered Menial - Pavolv's Dog
Loess - 3D concepts
Stop The Future - Epoxies