OTTAWA - When David Nolan's daughter called him from Toronto Thursday evening, he could hear in her voice something was wrong.

"She was in tears," said Nolan. "And she's 28."

Like the rest of the world, Nolan and his daughter learned earlier that day Michael Jackson had died at the age of 50.

His daughter's age is significant because it means she was just about a year old when Michael Jackson's iconic album Thriller was released in 1982.

Nolan said he can remember when he first brought home the vinyl record and how his daughter reacted.

"She was a little frightened at first," said the owner of Legend Records on Wellington St. yesterday. "I guess it was a little scary."

The story behind the title song -- zombies crawl out of shallow graves in the dark of night only to make a zombie out of Jackson himself -- might have been a bit much for a little girl. But over the years, Nolan said, his daughter came to really enjoy Jackson's music and eventually counted many of his songs among her all-time favourites.

Yesterday, Nolan went into work and noticed more people than usual were stopping by to pick up copies of Jackson's albums, Thriller in particular.

"People have been buying that one, on vinyl, because it's a really great thing to have," said Nolan. "Some people are walking out of here with one copy of each of his albums that we have here."

At another record store in another part of town, customers aren't flocking to buy Jackson's albums because that sort of mainstream pop music isn't part of the inventory. But at Birdman Sound on Bank St., staff members can't help but reflect on a man who was not only a talented musician but also a troubled soul.

"He was a tragic figure," said Dave Aardvark, who is also program director for the University of Ottawa's CHUO FM 98.1.

"I can't say I was really all that surprised when I heard he'd died. It was kind of something I think a lot of people thought would happen before much longer."

At HMV stores across the country, including those in Ottawa, sales of Jackson's albums were swift Thursday evening and yesterday. Company officials said they were seeing an increase of 2,500% in sales of his albums and DVDs and as of yesterday afternoon, his records made up the chain's top five sellers and his DVDs sat in the top three spots. Some stores have already begun to run out of their stock of Jackson material.

The No. 1 selling record? Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's greatest hits released in 2003.