Bar, Brokers like the muni side (compared to corporates) because a lot of munis have call features (corporates rarely do), and when they get called you'll have to reinvest the money into something else, which generates another commission.
The best way to get individual bonds from a broker is as a new issue, if the brokerage is one of the underwriters for the offering. Then there's no commission, although the brokerage still profits indirectly.
Buying through a full service broker is the biggest ripoff going, but people still do it. One good thing is you won't be tempted to sell or trade, due to all the commissions. But that can be a disadvantage if a bond runs into real trouble, since you'll tend to hang on too long.
My dad has a Ford bond which has been downgraded (in stages) into the junk range. I thought about selling it last year, but now we're stuck with it. The bond has a 7.45% coupon, which is great, but the price of the bond got whacked big time upon the downgrade. The $20 K bond was worth $24 K last year, but with the downgrade it's value dropped to $15 K. Hopefully Ford won't default in the next 11 years, but these are the problems we face when owning individual bonds.
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