It sounds like your hairband era was in the mid 90's, is this so?
Being kinda isolated on the southern coast of Alaska as kids (no raido station, no record stores) my brother and I (and friends) lived and died by Circus magazine as we could get it at the pharmacy. Lot's of hairbands for sure. I remember walking home with anew issue in '83, opening it to the center and seeing a full black center spread with a blacker pentagram on it. Turn the page and it say "Shout At The Devil" the new album by Motley Crue.....I turned right around and went to the hardware store and ordered the cassette.
Yup, we got our music from a small two row case in the hardware store. The would put in orders if you asked. I remember buying my first cassette there, Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengeance. My brother was so pissed as my mom would not let him buy it due to the name but she was not around when I plopped my $10 worth of nickles, dimes and quarters on the counter and walked home......
My bro went onto the '87 class of G.I.T. which is where my time in LA in the mid late 80's came from.