WAL-MART TO SELL DOWNLOADS? WHEEEE-DOGGIES!

The Wall Street Journal reports that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to sell music downloads online. You’ll find them right between the shotgun shells and the tube socks.

Yep, according to WSJ.com, the Arkanasas-based chain-store behemoth’s California-based website—in tandem with Anderson affiliate and Liquid Audio purchaser Geneva Media—plans to sell some 200,000 tracks online for less than the 99-cent price point followed by market leaders like Apple’s iTunes and Napster.

Unsurprisingly, it’s believed the Wal-Mart Web store would emphasize a different batch of tunes from its competitors. Can you say “exclusive Toby Keith liberal-bashing acoustic session”? We thought you could.

While the retail giant is coy about its plans to vend downloads, Walmart.com’s Cynthia Lin told the story’s authors, “There’s no question digital music delivery is an exciting and growing area.”

Wal-Mart’s “terrestrial” stores, as they say in the online biz, account for 20% of domestic music sales.

Said one Wal-Mart customer, “That danged ol’ Intra-net is a tool uh Satan. Kin you tell me where to find sumpin’ ta fix mah still? This hyar corn likker still tastes like possum.”

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart stock dipped early today (11/13) despite a Q3 earnings spike and a $7 billion-plus increase in revenue over last year. Y'see, even with these strong numbers, Wal-Mart "narrowly missed Wall Street expectations," according to an AP report.

But what do them smarty-pants East Coast finance fellers know, anyhow?