Compact discs show up in the strangest places these days. Once relegated to the vast Melodiya music store on Novy Arbat, CDs can now be found in metro underpasses, monasteries, art museums, and of course, kiosks.


Here are a few places around town where you can replenish your collection of discs without necessarily spilling out a lot of cash.


? The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Moscow's most prestigious museum is also home to the exclusive December Nights Music Festival, so it should come as no surprise that in the basement, near the cloakroom, there is a table filled with classical music discs. In addition to the requisite Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, there are several digital recordings of Mozart along with some Beethoven symphonies. Discs cost between 15,000 and 20,000 rubles ($7.50 to $10.00). The Pushkin, located at 12 Ulitsa Volkhonka, is open from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. Closed Monday. Tel. 203-9578. Nearest metro: Kropotkinskaya.


? Danilovsky Monastery. If you want to impress friends with the breadth of your musical tastes, stop by this picturesque monastery and flip through its Russian folk and religious music discs. Seventeenth to 19th century choral music and chamber music are strong points, and there are many copies of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy. Here the discs are more expensive, ranging in price from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles. Nearest metro: Tretyakovskaya.


? Mir Muziki. The store, whose name translates as Music World, is no great shakes, but on the street in front there are several tables with countless racks of new and used CDs. Aside from the natural abundance of heavy metal and ABBA, you can find occasional gems, such as early Stevie Wonder and classic jazz. There are even some Country and Western discs to be had. Prices range from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles. Mir Muziki is located at 12/14 Sadovaya Triumfalnaya. Nearest metro: Mayakovskaya.


? The metro. Young entrepreneurs have set up CD stands in many stations, but for an assemblage of every conceivable kind of disc browse the cluster of kiosks at metro Aeroport. At least 10 kiosks there are dedicated entirely to music and have everything from classical to pop to punk to muzak. Prices there are also 20,000 to 30,000 rubles per disc.