I hear you dude. I became a fan of music around '89 when as a kid, I got the soundtrack of Batman! Then the 90's came and I exposed myself to radio (RT was THE station withr egards to new music then, but sadly now they've turn into one of those "corporate radios")
Then occasionally, I would tune into NU where I learned about bands callled GNR, Metallica, Nirvana and yes Extreme (because of THAT worldwide hit single). I have to thank my cousin for getting me into the rock (or hair) bands of the 80's like Skid Row, Savatage, etc. etc. Then I got into Van Halen when they released F.U.C.K. in '92. Then I had MTV and I had money to buy CDs.
This is where my search for music began, searching all the stores (I already had Odyssey and greenhills to thank at that point) for tapes, cds videos of bands which continue to day as I constantly expand my tastes. Thank god at least I got to go to the States and Hong Kong once in a while to get my fave cds.
As far as taste/fave music, mine keeps expanding and gets obscure every year. I envy you for being there when bands like Rush, Asia and Led Zep were still "new" as I have only their albums to discover. Having vinyls and all that stuff are definitely collections, one for the ages. My passion for Progressive music has led me to discover Genesis (I though t they were a pop band since I started w/ them in the 90s), Yes, Rush, and other prog rock music. It has also sparked my interests in virtuoso playing of guitarists/keyboards which gave me Dream Theater, Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen etc.
Over they years, one significant discovery in music I have every year is that I open my mind to a specific genre, whether be it classical, jazz, progressive, country, etc. etc. Although I have only albums of defunct bamds to search, I still love the thrill of discovering something new that continues to branch out as we speak. I could say that buying stuff over the net has become an easier venue rather than what you've done, but I could only envy you in trekking all the stores in the city, just to get the album that you want. I've done that but only limited to Odysseys in Makati back then. But I guess we don't have to thank these stores and websites, but all the artists that create the music that we constantly search for.