There are actually a few local electronics stores here thankfully. I haven't gone yet but I'm set to go this week for some really obscure chip, apparently these places are lined with boxes of old chips and electronics.

I heard Radio Shack used to have MUCH more of a selection. Now you can't get jack shit there for specific applications besides some fuses and a generic LED - the rest is just expensive Walmart-esque material rather than the smaller more specific kind of stuff, you can find AA batteries and an expensive keyboard but not often can you find things you need to solder onto a board. Happy to be able to even find a generic transistor there anymore. I rarely have any need to go there "now", they never have anything I need. I did manage to get fuse holders there recently and some fuses, but that is pretty generic. They've only had two rows of drawers of the circuit stuff for quite some time now.