Fry's is an interesting chain of stores. There are several Fry's stores within the
Bay Area, but I am only familiar with the one in
Palo Alto.
Fry's stores are a dream to your average electronics or computer geek. They have everything from software to hardware to books to DVD players to complete Computer systems. They have it all.
The downside to Fry's are the employees. Now, I'm not saying that these people are subhuman or worthless, its just that you should never expect any help in the way of choosing a product.
As far as I am concerned, their sole purpose is to show you where a specific item is and help you with the purchase of said item, if needed. If you go to Fry's with the hopes that someone there will help you make a decision as to what sound card to buy, you should just turn around, go home, and pretend that sound is coming out of your computer. Your time will be better spent. If you go to Fry's knowing exactly what you want, chances are you will have a good experience.
One thing that did surprise me about Fry's is the non-computer stuff they carry. I'm standing in line to check out with my new video game that I decided to purchase. The checkout line is something like a cow corral. They herd you into one line and the next available cashier takes the next person in line. This siginificantly speeds up the checkout procedure (prevents people from getting stuck in the "slow line"), but they line the inside of the checkout corral with impulse items. They have things like candy bars, beef jerky, pork rinds, little gizmos, and... and... condoms?!
Do my eyes deceive me? Is this a joke? This really stuck me as odd. Here I am, in an electronics store aimed at geeks, and one of their impulse items is a 6 pack of Trojans? Sometimes its just best to not ponder these cosmic anomolies.
If you really like Fry's and live in or are visiting the Bay Area, I would recommend that you check out WeirdStuff. That place is (Fry's * geek^256).