Who is Jeff Tarlo? And why should we care?

Tarlo (above, right) is a salesman at J&R Music World on Park Row in New York City.

He's an expert on classical music on whom many customers depend for advice and tips on precisely which recording of a work would be most to their liking.

Alas, he's a dying breed, as Anthony Tommasini noted in a December 28, 2006 New York Times article lamenting the accelerating demise of bricks-and-mortar record stores — and those individuals like Tarlo with a lifetime of hard-won knowledge.

It's not the same, reading endless user reviews on Amazon and its ilk: much is lost when you can't judge for yourself the credibility and information base from which someone speaks.