Fantastic local store. We came here opening day and there was already a wide selection, it's only…read moregetting bigger and better. Great family owned business who loves and loves music, happy to talk music with any guest. They have an amazing soundproof listening room for testing out albums, and are attached to a great brew pub. Have a drink, shop, talk music!! Couldn't recommend more highly!

Went in to this record store today! Awesome place with awesome people working there. It's…read moredefinitely worth the visit.

Go for the vinyl....stay to pet the cats. I can only go every few weeks now but before COVId, I…read morehit the shop weekely while downtown getting a sandwhich at the CoOp to check the new arrivals even before they get priced and on the shelf. If you dont see what you want or if the item isnt the grade you want...just ask. They'll have it somewhere or know who has it. The grades of records go from playable but rough covers to collector grade, so they hit all price points. When they are well stocked, its not uncommon to find multplie copies of an album with prices from a few bucks to $20...and he's probably got a primo copy somewhere, some ungraded ones waiting to be logged in, and a trashed version for free out in the boxes out front. I even check the free box outside for covers in better condition than one in my collection or for missing liner notes, etc. They guys are a wealth of knowledge. Just ask. They'll straight up tell you if the albumn is a first pressing, a re-issue, a bootleg, etc. They love music....and cats.

I was in the area exploring some of the other nearby shops. I was interested to check out their…read morevinyl selection so I popped in to see what they had. I was hoping to find any reggae or roots artists, but they have a limited selection of these genres. However, they have a wide selection of country, folk, rock, classical, and of the like genres. The staff were friendly and offering to help me search for any genre or artist I was looking for. I quickly thumbed through the Caribbean selection and bought two vinyls. Each was $5, so I thought that was a score. They also have a box of free vinyls outside you can rummage through.

I don't live in the area, so it had been a while since I had set foot in a Silver Platters, and…read moreBellevue was the only location I had previously known of. So, I was thrilled when I found that, not only did the stores still exist, but they had a Lynnwood location when I was in that part of the metro Seattle area. It was fantastic to be able to browse a huge collection of music and movies, and find great titles at wonderful prices. On the music side of things, they had loads of used titles, and I was exstatic to see how many new discs they had in stock. I asked at the counter if they had a section for SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) music, a format that has always been a niche product, and has very few titles being released any more. The person behind the counter not only knew what I was talking about, but he apologized for not having a separate section for these discs, and told me I would find them mixed in with everything else by the same artists. I am very much looking forward to my next visit to the Seattle area, and being able to browse some more.

Probably one of the best selections of records in the area. They excel in that department for sure…read more However, my experience on my last visit was not to be ignored. I returned a record as it was skipping right on the first track. None of my other records that I bought previously not only from here, but from other record stores did not have that issue. I spoke to a man that I think was a manager or something, I was explaining what happened and he immediately judged my record player for being on the cheap end that's why my record was skipping. He asked another question if my speakers were built in, as that can also cause it to skip? I'm not new to this. But to use my record player as an excuse to why the record was skipping was insulting. I told him that none of my other records were doing it, so they need to replace it, in which they did. Guess what? The new copy DID NOT SKIP! So that crosses off my record player as the reason. I did not appreciate that kind of talk. Will I be back? Yes, I think so. But that left a bad taste in my mouth.

What a Fantastic Guitar! Found a Gibson Custom Les Paul…read moreStandard that looked Beautiful.Not to Flamey or Pin Striped,Gorgeous movement in the Maple Top w/ waves in the mineral streaks.Nice Grain Patterns. Just as promised-Brand New with all the case Candy. The colors are Fantastic! Then I plugged it in. OMFG this thing is Bad Ass.Vibrant without amplification & the Custombuckers give it the perfect Vintage Burst Tone. If you need a Guitar from a place that honors their word,Give James a Call.You won't be disappointed.They also have PRS & Fender

The best selection of Gibson guitars anywhere near me. Just can't say enough about the quality and…read morevariety in the store. It looks like a record store so not everyone is aware that they have a great selection and consignment items available.

I walked over to Vortex from Marymoor Park today. I'm playing with my band tonight and I like to…read morecrate dig at record stores because I Dj 45's at different cities and it's fun to scoop up records while on tour. A very unpleasant experience this was. I walked 6 miles to have a great time and find some records and the owner of the store was possibly the grumpiest record store owner I have come across in years. I don't know what I did to this man to cause him to be so rude to me, but I left. Highly recommend passing this store up. He was blasting late career Billy Joel the entire time , so this was probably a red flag from the beginning. What an awful experience....

Came here killing some time between shifts in the area and what a cool little shop that takes you…read moreback to the mid 2000's and prior. There is wall to wall media of music both CD's/cassettes, DVD's movies- including box sets of shows. Some of which are new or are in great condition. It's a relatively small shop but it's packed with so much media, you could spend a bit of time here if you're looking for something specific or even if you're browsing. It's just on the other side of 405 but still considered part of Totem Lake. What's nice is Vortex would be considered a small business, I mean what other major retailer these days buys and sells physical media like this presently? furthermore, I'm all for the preservation of physical media with so much of everything going digital now. If I'm looking for something in particular and need it for my DVD or CD player, I'll probably try here and perhaps you should too.

A nice little store in the same block of Burien that used to host Budget Tapes and Records. Small…read moreselection of vinyl records, but it's good stuff fairly priced, along with a handful of CD's and cassette tapes. The owner, Brandon, is a nice guy, easy to chat with. It's nice that Burien has a couple of record stores again.

The owner, Brandon, is quite friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The storefront is clean and…read moreorganized. There is a lot better selection of new/reissue vinyl and the prices are comparable to online and larger record stores. Good place to turn to if you are looking to support a friendly, small business instead of a larger store.

Wow! What a great store! The selection of books seems carefully curated and thoughtfully…read moreorganized. For instance, there's a shelf labeled "philosophy" and another for "new-agish thinking" labeled "mumbo jumbo." The owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. I found a couple of books that I was looking for in just a few minutes, and the prices were extremely reasonable. Will be back...

I absolutely love browsing in a great bookstore. It is wonderful to be able to look at books I am…read morenot familiar with. The atmosphere was amazing! So friendly, calming and welcoming. I felt as if I was walking into an old friend's house. The books and records are arranged thoughtfully and the prices were reasonable. Definitely worth spending sometime browsing and purchasing.

I only checked out the records part of the store, but they also sell and buy Legos. They also have…read morea minor section with CD's and clothes (band T's), but the focus is on records. Vinyl selection is organized, and most of them are graded and priced accordingly. Just a note that I only picked up NM (Near Mint) records for older records, but grading seems a little too generous here as one of the records had many visible scratches when you hold it under the light and you can hear them when playing (for comparison, I don't see NM grading as common in other record shops). I picked up a handful of records here. The staff is knowledgable and friendly, and atmosphere is nice with light pop songs playing in the background. It seems they also have vinyl listening sessions too. Check out the staff picks and local sections as well as the bargain bin for some interesting selections.

I can only speak about the lego part of the store…read more The hours are limited, so do check the schedule before you go. This place is great. They purchase and sell lego sets, including older sets that are very hard to source. The oldest I've seen was from 1980, to give you an idea. Most are contemporary or from the 2010s, of course. The prices are very fair. An out of print set might go for a few bucks more than its original retail price if it isn't super rare. The owner isn't trying to gouge you and she's very open about her pricing policy. The owner is a font of knowledge about all things lego. She's extremely dedicated: she verifies every used set for integrity (and replaces missing bricks), she guarantees completeness for any set you buy, she'll source lego sets for you, she'll hold sets for you at the cash, and answer every which question you have. She's also very personable. The store attracts teens, families and adult collectors.