I read the first edition when I was in high school eleven years ago. Even back then it was considered the standard go-to book for learning the basics of algorithms and data structures. If your bookstores weren't carrying it, they must have not have been well stocked.
My opinion of the book nowadays is actually somewhat low. The content and style is competent but generic and uninspiring. It does a poor job of teaching algorithm design, but admittedly that is a flaw with most of these books. Udi Manber's lesser-known textbook is just a lot better in that regard. It does mean sacrificing some breadth of coverage compared to CLR. For me it's the right trade-off because so much of CLR's coverage comes across as perfunctory, as if they're just checking boxes off an endless curriculum list that's intended to please everyone, much like the big calculus books. The grab bag of advanced chapters in the book's last half are the exception to that rule. They're usually in the authors' own research areas, and it shows.
