And concert tickets...jesus, if you even have to ask. I can remember paying $25 for good concert tickets (for mainstream bands) just 20 years ago. Today it's crazy what you pay even for tickets to no-name bands' concerts.
I saw Apocalyptica for just $25 a few weeks ago by buying the ticket at the door. What you're likely encountering is Ticketmaster's runabout scam, which after fees turns that '$25 at the door' into $48 or more. They even intentionally put their site into maintenance mode just as new tickets are released and link to a site that has no mention of Ticketmaster, yet is owned by them, which sells the tickets at up to 10x their box-office price.
The tickets themselves haven't gotten more expensive, really to the contrary, but the fees and greed of the company who monopolizes them has indeed gotten out of hand.
"May your future be limited only by your dreams." -- Christa McAuliffe