As a former Borders employee, I can definitively state that the people in charge are not directly responsible for the music you were subjected to. They provide a list, true, but it is of several hundred acceptible CDs, with emphasis being given to new CDs or best sellers.

I will never buy Norah Jones or Josh Groban because I listened to them for months.

There is one person in charge of the music selections, and it's all his fault. If you go to the information desk and ask, they might at least turn the music down. If they like you, they might skip to the next CD. (Though we did have one woman come up and state that she would never shop with us again because we had the temerity to play bluegrass— specifically, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. I've never seen someone so offended...)

Noise pollution is my bugaboo, too. As a salesdrone, I'm out and about pretty regularly, and I can tell you, I'm sick to the death of having VERY LOUD MUSIC on no matter where I want to break bread or tip a cider to restore my flagging spirits.