If you REALLY wanted to screw me up, you should've gotten to me earlier.
-Rob

The reason this film works so well has nothing to do with the music or the record store itself. The characters portrayed are universal. You could replace the record store with a comic book store or a sports bar without changing the characters or much of the story. That's not to say that the music and it's references aren't an enjoyable part of the film, they most certainly are. It's just not what makes the film good.

Most men that have been in more then one relationship, or even been through as little as one break up can identify with Rob Gordon (John Cusack) on a level that some women will never understand. The character of Rob is presented as bigger then life, but also ends up as one of the most honest portrayals of a normal man with relationship troubles then most any comedy I've seen.

The script is great. The dialogue is filled with the insightful bullshit we spout out whenever we either want to make ourselves feel better or further our own self wallowing. The story feels very organic and not like a fill-in-the-blanks formula rom-com. As the audience we're just a long for the ride to see how Rob's love life is going to turn out.