I have a vivid memory of the day that the New Kids on the Block album Step by Step was released. I happened to be at my Memaw’s house that day, along with my cousin Erin. We were both 9 at the time. When we explained to my Memaw what an EXTREMELY important day it was and how we would need to be taken to Walmart to get it, it made perfect sense to her to offer to buy just one tape for us to share.

TO SHARE, PEOPLE. Which makes absolutely NO sense to star struck 9 year old girls who have been told repeatedly by their Magic 8 balls that they will be marrying Jordan Knight.

And that is when World War III launched between my cousin and I. We spent the entire afternoon locked in separate bedrooms and sliding angry notes under the door to each other making our impassioned cases about why we should be the ones to get to take the tape that would be purchased home. We honestly fought over that tape like it was our one and only chance to own it. And ultimately, our grandmother broke down and bought two, but not without giving us an earful first. I actually still feel guilty about that, because she was living on a fixed income and those tapes were $10 each.

When I heard that Justin Timberlake, one of Darah’s favorite artists on the radio, had a new CD coming out, I wanted to make the experience much more fun for her, and teach her to celebrate great music and make an event out of buying it. This is her first non-children’s music CD, and honestly, it may be one of her last. Purchasing CDs is sort of going the way of the buffalo, isn’t it?

So, in honor of “Suit and Tie,” a song that Darah really enjoys hearing on the way to school, we put on some ties and headed over to Walmart. If you want to see our full shopping experience, check out my Google + album.

Now, I have to tell you, I haven’t purchased a CD from a store since about 2007. So I really didn’t know what the music department of the store was going to look like. Tons of CDs? Very few? Only new stuff? Mostly old stuff? But I thought that I would for sure see a display devoted entirely to The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake. After all, he’s an amazing artist worthy of celebrating! Also, Walmart was running an insane special on the CD at the time (details on that, later) so I thought I’d find lots of signage and lots of CDs available.

Sadly, that is not what I found at all. When I realized there was no display, I asked the associate if The 20/20 Experience was available, and she plucked it off the shelf for me. Darah was not the least bit disappointed with this lack of fanfare in the music section, but I was pretty bummed out. This gem of an album was just thrown into the mix with Pearl Jam and Poison albums from almost 20 years ago. Oh you think I’m kidding? See for yourself!

Even though JT was denied the red carpet treatment at Walmart, we celebrated ourselves. We actually picked up a white dress shirt for Tim so he could sport his “Suit and Tie” this week. And Darah rocked a stylish hat in a nod to Justin’s swagger.

Finally, it was time to pay for the album so we could get in the car and listen to it! And here’s what we saw when it rang up:

That’s right, people! Walmart is selling The 20/20 Experience this week for $7.00. Can I just point out that this price, for a CD, is 30% cheaper than what my dear Memaw paid for a NKOTB tape 23 years ago. That is absolutely insane! If you can’t make it to the store this week, you can also order the album online.

Since I purchased the album, I claimed rights to pick the first song. I was dying to hear “Mirrors” again, as I had only heard it once when Justin performed it on Saturday Night Live. It was even better than I remembered! Here I am totally singing my heart out on the drive home. I thought Darah was rocking out with me at the moment, but the picture shows her true feelings:

She changed her tune, though, when I put Suit and Tie on (and by the way, the radio version of the song is a better choice for young ears…lesson learned).

Over the last 2 days, I have listened to the entire album while driving various places in the car. You guys…IT IS GOOD!!! Like, really REALLY GOOD. It is so worth the $7.00! It is even worth 9 year olds engaging in an all-day standoff over, but at this price, there’s just no need.

I’m really glad that I was able to make purchasing The 20/20 Experience a true experience for my daughter. And for me! I’ll remember this for the rest of my life! And Darah will probably remember how embarrassing her mom is for the rest of her life, too.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and #JT2020  #cbias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are stricly my own.