Chad Bledsoe

Staff Photo by Allison Kwesell Candace M. Esparza looks at Michael Jackson records at Chad's Records on Vine Street. Ms. Esparza came to the record store specifically for Michael Jackson's music because she had heard several other stores were sold out.

When Candace Esparza and her friends heard about Michael Jackson's death, their first thought was to head to the record store.

"We just said that we had to have a CD," Ms. Esparza said. "My friend couldn't find anything in the store, so she sent me to bird-dog for her."

She found a handful of records and CDs at Chad's Records in downtown Chattanooga. She wasn't the only person shopping.

"We've seen steady business since last night, since everyone heard about his death," shop owner Chad Bledsoe said Friday.

Other stores, including big-box retailers such as Best Buy, were cleared out of Michael Jackson merchandise by Friday afternoon.

A manager at Best Buy, when contacted by the Times Free Press, said he was not allowed to discuss Jackson sales out of respect for the Jackson family.

Mr. Bledsoe estimated he would be cleared out of his small Michael Jackson inventory by the end of the weekend.

Ms. Esparza said she wanted a compact disc of Mr. Jackson's music because he was a part of her youth. Now in her mid-40s, she said his music is embedded in hers and many others' lives.

"Everyone knows who he is," Ms. Esparza said. "I called my 83-year-old mother last night and even she knew Michael Jackson and wanted to know all the details."

The same goes for Mr. Bledsoe. He's pretty certain that a record by the Jackson 5 -- the group Michael Jackson and his four older brothers formed in Gary, Ind., in the late '60s -- was the first 45 he ever purchased. He later assembled a nice collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including a signed "Thriller" album, he said.

"I'm sure the value went up significantly overnight, but it's really just for my own collection," Mr. Bledsoe said.

Across the country, sales of Michael Jackson items have been feverish, with major retailers reporting widespread sellouts, according to The Associated Press.

Bill Carr, Amazon.com Inc.'s vice president for music and video, said Friday that within minutes of the world learning that the pop icon had died Thursday, the Web site sold out of all CDs by Michael Jackson and by the Jackson 5.

Mr. Jackson's albums accounted for all 10 of Amazon's "Bestsellers in Music" list Friday, with the 25th anniversary edition of the celebrated "Thriller" -- the world's top-selling album of all time -- taking the top spot.

Barnes and Noble Inc.'s Web site and retail stores also sold out most Jackson CDs, DVDs and books, and its 10 best-selling CDs were Jackson titles as well. Borders Group Inc.'s Web site sold out of almost everything related to the star, and albums also sold out at some of the bookseller's retail locations, including its New York stores.

"We saw something similar when (Luciano) Pavarotti and (Frank) Sinatra passed, but from the initial read on this, it seems to be a faster rush," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said. "People seem to be shocked by the news and want to go out and rediscover his music."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.