In reply to Theman.

Nowadays most artist don't give enough notice to have the albums printed+packaged for retailers (Walmart, Target, Best Buy). It takes time. Since Beyonce's self titled album, a lot of artist don't usually give a release date until its the LP is actually coming soon (in the next 1-2 weeks or so). It's not in stores to avoid leaks and ppl bootlegging (while printing+packaging) before the album is released. Physical sales dont help a lot these days anyway thats why its not priority for labels or artist to release them right away. Most ppl either buy on itunes or stream.