Yah, that's VERY common. Luckily even out of warranty, you can get new "top cases" (that's the part name) for about $40, and it takes a little less than 20 minutes to do.
Given that CDs were introduced in 1984, I'd say that $15 today is comparable to $7 then...
I'd gladly pay $20 for good quality recordings from good bands. I do, often, in fact