The land of CD retailers is becoming increasingly desolate terrain in today’s music industry. iPods are the norm, and CDs are slowly but surely going the way of the 8-Track and Betamax, turning compact discs into very fashionable coasters.

But there is one place that apparently continues to sell CDs in massive quantities that several big artists have decided to take advantage of. It’s also same the place where you can get a package of bologna, cheap DVDS, car tires, a shotgun and other daily necessities.

For selling physical copies of albums, Wal-Mart is the best game in town. The one-stop shop has become the second largest music retailer in the country behind iTunes. While other music retailers are folding, Wal-Mart is staying afloat. That’s partly because, over the years, several major acts have decided to make exclusive deals with Wally World.

The first was country superstar Garth Brooks, who made his albums exclusively available at the retail giant from 2005 through 2007. Recently, ‘70s country rockers The Eagles made their newest release “Long Road Out of Eden” a Wal-Mart-only release. Even though it was their first album of new material in 28 years and only available at Wal-Mart, it managed to not only debut at number 1 on the Billboard charts, but to become one of the biggest-selling releases of 2007. Not to mention it beat out Britney Spears’ comeback album released in the same week. She, needless to say, has gotten a lot more exposure recently than Don Henley.

The one-stop shop is about to get another huge artist added to its roster. Metal icons AC/DC announced that “Black Ice,” the band’s first album in eight years, will be available at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, their respective Web sites and at www.acdc.com on Oct. 20. That’s it. Nowhere else. Not even iTunes will get their hip little fingers on it.

There are many who will think that AC/DC’s partnership with Wal-Mart is probably the most un-rock ‘n’ roll move imaginable. That might be true. But personally, I can’t say I blame them.

In a time where music is illegally downloaded and no one desires the full album experience anymore, having Wal-Mart on your side is just a smart business decision. As a band, if you want to sell records anymore, you’ve got get your music in high-traffic areas. When was the last time you went to Wal-Mart and didn’t have to use some sort of crazy spin-move to get out of the way of shoppers? And those shoppers will likely be inundated with promotional materials for AC/DC’s new album and may be tempted to pick it up since they were already there shopping for a stereo (or socks).

Plus, while Wal-Mart lures a wide variety of shoppers with its low prices (including myself), those low prices attract lower-income families who probably don’t care if they have the latest iPhone and will be happy to blast “Black Ice” from their “old school” CD players.

Eventually, Wal-Mart is going to have to adapt and come up with a new plan to sell albums in the digitally dominated music era. But until then, thanks to AC/DC and other artists cashing in, all parties involved can proclaim “For Those About To Shop, We Salute You.”