I remember being able to get into a bunch of bands VERY cheaply circa... 2005 or so. Now it seems like everything's a bit more expensive.
I think you are right on about this, but it depends on the band/label. Looking at my old Amazon.com orders from 2005/2004, I spent about as much as I would now on many of the Yes albums. In some cases, like with TFTO, the album is cheaper now than it was back in 2005 when I bought it (by about 4 dollars actually). Many of the Rhino Remasters are under $9.00 on Amazon, which is great for anyone's budget - maybe get an album a week or every two weeks, and you'd end up with the whole discography by year's end!
Unfortunately, things like Yessongs and Yesshows, which weren't part of Rhino's remaster campaign back in 2003, are a bit pricier. I think it evens out if you manage to buy all the Rhino Remasters for under $9 a piece - that's 11 studio albums for about $100! Pretty hard to beat that!
EDIT - actually, after surfing Amazon a bit more, I've found many Yes albums are now nearly HALF the price I paid for them over 5 years ago. Tormato is now as cheap NEW as $4.82, but when I bought it back in 2005, it cost me $9.93!!!
When I bought the self-titled debut album back in 2006, it cost me $8.31, but now you can find it for $4.32!
Same with Drama (paid $8.05, now can be bought new at $4.77).
I'll just put it this way - now is the time to buy the Yes Rhino Remasters if you haven't done so already!! Many of them are UNDER $5.00 (before shipping), so it'd be real easy to get them all!
-Marc.