The service here is pretty terrible. The people behind the counter are egotistical and will not sell to you if they just suddenly decide that they don't like you. Their bongs are marked up from 1400% to 3000% from the manufacturer, and it's not even good quality. The selection there is also quite poor. Do not go here if you're looking for any type of glass. read more

I found exactly what I wanted, which is saying a lot bc I am a picky and high maintenance customer. The staff was friendly and patient and willing to answer my questions and didn't blink twice when I rejected the first 5 things he showed me; then he seemed to understand my enthusiasm at finally finding just the right item. Aside from my primary purchase, they also had a lot of little items I've been looking for. (I said I'm picky so finding the right papers and the right tips is actually a big deal). Items were priced as expected. My friend and I were given just the right amount of space to look around, combined with the right amount of attention to ask questions when we needed. To the reviewer who complained about not being able to return something: every head shop I have ever been to for the past 30 years has had the exact same "no returns, no exceptions" policy. I also had a problem with the first PAX I bought (different shop), and contacting PAX was easy and they replaced my item quickly. This is standard policy. read more

This is a head shop. Half the 1 stars here are chuckleheads that don't know the difference between a head shop, a vape shop, and a tobacco store. They are not freaking interchangeable. If you walk into a head shop wanting to talk about whatever weird 50W contraption you want to attach to your giant electric sex toy, of course you are going to get blank looks. Here's what I expect from a quality head shop: 1) Selection of head shop products. Glass, papers, trays, cleaners, containers, grinders and dry herb vaporizers. They have all this and the selection is great. I don't know of anywhere else in the area you can buy a volcano off the shelf. 2) Mellow, friendly employees. Who do you think works at head shops? Stoners, that's who. This is an exceptionally chill bunch of people on average. Sometimes they forget what they were talking about. That's fine, they all know the difference between a carb and a slide. They have these here. I suspect that sometimes some of them might be a little high. It's a damn head shop, what do I care? 3) Too much incense. Most of it cheap. Who buys this stuff who isn't trying to cover up herb smell? Once you've smelled good incense, the cheap stuff just smells like burning cardboard. Seriously, do your self a favor and get a little incense from a crystal shop. But, cheap incense is a staple of head shops and you can find lots of it here. 4) Weird crap I don't even know the name for. Yep! What's that glass gizmo with all the knobs and tubes? I have no idea! Who buys this crap? 5) Brightly colored hippie crap you can't imagine anyone ever buying. Are there REALLY that many new Grateful Dead fans being born? That wall hanging has so little cotton you can see through it and it's $30. What? This is a good head shop. It might be pricey but you won't do better if you want to buy something off the shelf. The other half of the bad reviews here are for people who paid $30 for something then found it online for $20. What do you people think locally owned retail is anyway??? Suck it up and support your town or STFU and keep staring at that giant tower of amazon boxes piling up in your closet. read more

This smoke shop was amazing! There was a huge selection and all around good vibes! I bought a few items including a bong, bowl, some super cool clippers, bics, doob tube, smok, and cannabis chapstick! The woman was super helpful and kind, overall a great experience! read more

Northern Lights Smoke Shop - Super cool bong and additionally purchased bowl! Clipper from here as well! (Grinder from yew yew) - Tobacco Shops Near Me - Albany, New York

Good selection of incense, bowls, grinders. Nice environment and the employees are really helpful and sweet!

Me and my friends were able to find the perfect bowls for our pieces. The staff were extremely helpful, even in the face of an extremely rude and irate customer that was in the store while we were. We will all definitely be coming back, you gained 4 customers today. read more

Use to use it all the time for my smoking needs but recently got told incorrect information and everything they sold me was wrong. And all sales are final so even if they feed you wrong info your responsible for eating the cost. read more

Bought something there. Told no one. Didn't have a chance. House broken into within hours. Only the related items disappeared. Coincidence? Expensive, too. read more

Don't confuse this place with the similarly-named venue in Clifton Park. You won't find Ted Nugent or high school screamo bands playing here. You will, however, find a full line of tobacco products and accessories, along with incense, tapestries, and Bob Marley posters. (Full disclosure: I'm a non-smoker, but some of my loved ones are not. Because of this, I can not personally attest to the quality and selection of their products other than from what I have simply observed while there ) This is, apparently, a suburban family-run smoke shop. Weird, right? Everyone is extremely friendly, it's clean and it's bright. Unlike a lot of similar places, it's almost as far from sketchy as you can get. In fact, it's almost alarmingly non-sketchy. read more

Jeez....out of all the smoke-shops I've been to in the area this one rubbed me the wrong way the most. I walk in and there's 3 nice hippy-looking girls standing around doing nothing looking completely unprofessional. I ask them a number of questions about tobacco and personal rolling machines and they give me snide remarks to each question....as if they couldn't care less about my business. They clearly specialize in "high end glass products", as one of the girls snottily informed me, but calling calling themselves a smoke shop is a stretch. To top it all off all of their tobacco products were marked up incredibly compared to local competitors. Last time I go here that's for sure. I'd give the store a 2 or 3 maybe if I was a weed smoker and wanted to buy some crazy $500 bong and couldn't care less customer service. read more

Made me feel completely ridiculous for asking questions. Awful does not even begin to encompass their customer service, more like appalling and offensive. Overpriced. Not worth your time. read more

The girls in this shop were hands down the best in customer service!!! Super friendly, offering suggestions & had great personality!!!! Would shop here any day!!! Had an issue after I left with an item, went back & they replaced it & left me keep the chipped one anyway!!!! Nice!!!! Thanks!!! read more

I am sorry Northern Lights but you cant sell a product and not know anything about it. I am an avid Electronic Cigarette user and their commercial advertised that they sold electronic cigarette products and e-liquids (liquid tobacco). While they kept their promise; they shelved the cheapest brands they could find and obviously did very little training with their staff. They had no idea whether or not they carried standard parts or of they were custom made. They are also charging higher then normal prices. You can go to many different locations, find the same products for at least $5-10 cheaper. When trying to poke around and figure out what they were trying to sell, I got met with frustration, the clerk even told me that Electronic Cigarettes are stupid. I am really offended by this statement. I have used this product for over two years with amazing results. All of this non-sense would be forgivable if someone would just listen, but no one wants to. They want to hang out in their back room, talk on the phone and just sling a cash register. Sorry Northern Lights, I gave you a fair chance and you blew it. read more

I stopped in here when it first opened up and the shelves were pretty bare. Now, however, they've got a nice selection of tobacco accessories running the spectrum from cheap plastic crap to high end glassware, vaporizers, a large selection of papers and cigars and whatnot, and your typical incense/Bob Marley posters. The salesperson was very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. The place wasn't sketchy at all and I didn't feel like a weirdo sneaking into a dingy porn shop. read more

Everyone in the store was kind, efficient, patient and friendly. Everyone was wearing masks. I found exactly what I needed. This is a great store and I will definitely be coming back. read more

Best smoke shop around. Went in last night for a nail and had no idea what it was called. Both guys were really helpful and friendly. 10/10 would go again! read more

They are heavily over priced , I purchased a mod and sub tank recently , unfortunately without checking the online price. They are selling it more than double the price of whatever you have available online plus they have all the material outdated (2014-2015) and they don't have any return policy to make it even worse. I recommend not to buy any electronics over here , as it's unreasonably over priced , it's okay for basic hookah flavors , coal etc. read more

This smoke shop gets props for being refreshingly non-sketchy. It's in a suburban neighborhood, is well lit and borderline cheery inside. There's a huge selection of bongs(errr..I mean water pipes) and bowls in every size and shape imaginable and prices are pretty reasonable. There's a decent hookah/shisha selection(why I come here), but they could do to get some better brands of shisha, the stuff they carry is kind of hit or miss. Sometimes they have in-house shisha blends, though the peach one I tried wasn't very good. They really don't carry anything in terms of "real" cigars, which is disappointing. Lots of papers and cheap fruity convenience store cigars, as well as a few specialty cigarettes. And of course the mandatory array of air fresheners, incense sitcks, and reggae/ classic rock posters. It has everything you'd expect at a smoke shop, just without the sketchy crackhead at the counter or the cramped shop in the porn shop basement. read more

I get most of my glass from here and it's a little over priced but this is one of the only stores that even have the sizes I need, and they have the best selection of things too. Other smoke shops around them don't have as large of a selection to choose from and the pieces aren't half the quality of the things in this store. I'd definitely recommend them! read more

As West Coaster I was disappointed by the lack of smoke shops here, and more so by the fact that the few here were poorly reviewed. I had happened to pass by Northern Lights several times, and on the way back from work I decided to pop in. First, parking is great. Second, a big plus for me is always seeing a solid selection of products that are price-conscious. A well-made $45 water-pipe will hit just as hard and well as its $150+ counterpart. I can't say the same about rigs that are over $300 as I have had not indulged. I ended up buying a $80 dollar rig (plus another $23 later for a bowl piece I really wanted), because it fit my particular needs. I love it so far. Third, it's cater towards more "alternative" smokers. You'll find your wrapping papers here, plus other tobacco products, but don't think you'll find a Habana cigar here. read more

This is a nice place... First time back In three years... Place is the same... Close to home... lots of stuff... Not in the ghetto... Friendly staff... Laid back... read more

They always have what i need and are bery well informed about the quality of what they sell. Customer service is impeccable. I haven't had a bad experience there yet read more

Let me start by saying I was greeted by a lovely knowledgable sales associate who knew her stuff and went out of her way to make sure we selected something that best suited me and my needs. Besides the fantastic customer service it was a very clean store with phenomenal organization. will recommend this experience to all of my friends! read more

I went to get my husband a vape,They had all the newest products and a range of juices to go in them. I had a very slight idea of what I needed. There were suggestions and so helpful It's a married couple who are well versed in any and all questions I had as I don't smoke. The prices were equal to other shops and they're close by where I live. I'm very satisfied. read more

BUYERS BEWARE - My son purchased a Pax vaporizer at Northern Lights, Fuller Rd., Albany, NY for over $300 - less than a week ago today (04/27/16) and it is defective. They refused to take it back. The store manager "Brittany" said he would have to contact the manufactuer etc. We asked for a refund and were refused. I am aware of NYS law regarding defective items, despite their sign in the store that says no refunds. Brittany claimed that she telephoned the store owner "JOY" who said no refunds under any circumstances. I am contacting the NYS Attorney General's office tomorrow (it's too late for today), to register a complaint against this business and ask that their business practices be investigated. I am also complaining to the Better Business Bureau. BUYERS BEWARE of purchasing anything from this store, because if it doesn't work, they don't stand behind their products. read more

New customer, been in twice in the last few weeks and had really great service both times. They had a nice selection for me to choose from and wide price ranges. I'll definitely be back for some holiday gifts. read more

This place is awesome. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. They have some incredible glass pieces and a monthly raffle where they always give away something nice. And there is an awesome little dog at the shop too. read more

Great customer service, wide selection of glassware, and great hookah tobacco brands. I was impressed with what I saw. There is definitely a lot of high end glass if that's what you're into. Great vape selection. read more

Hey , ive been here a few times and every time i get good friendly service and can always find what im looking for. the prices are good, unlike other similar places.i,m a smoker and i can tell yo that this Northern Lights is a great place to get all your smoking needs read more

I have been coming here for concert tickets for a while and yea I dont smoke but still the service is friendly and the atmosphere is welcoming which is a huge factor. Definitely recommend this place. read more

This place is huge but an extremely uncomfortable environment to browse and just poke around to see all of the different products they have. It is silent, no music or any type of discussion happening. You can just feel them watching you walk around.... and I felt kind of pressured to buy something. a completely different experience than I expected... to top it off, definitely overpriced. I will not be going back. read more

Shoppers Beware: Store has no cash Refund, I didn't see the sign with this Message (I don't know were its located). I wanted to Return a item I didn't open. I was told Trade or Exchange Only. Otherwise, the store and workers are nice! read more

Worst decision I have ever made. I went there at 5 pm. and purchased a stem and slide combo for $30 as a gift for someone. I was never given a receipt. I got it home, peeled the price tags off, went to install it on the water pipe and it was the wrong size. I put it back in the bubble wrap, drove up to the shop, and when I got there the same guy was still there, only the girl that cashed me out was not. The guy would not exchange my items for a different size. Instead he gave me the crappiest glass side and stem they had, and was rude on top of it. No respect for their customers and really rude. I was disappointed with this place, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. read more

I was really impressed with their selection and prices. Best in the area, from what I've seen.

An absolute rip off. Sold me an adaptor for $50 and I found the same exact piece at two stores nearby afterwards for $20-25. I asked for a refund and all sales are final which was not told to me or posted anywhere in the store. Staff was absolutely rude to me as well, I had about 4 employees in my face telling me countless excuses and reasons why I can't return it. Even though I was returning it less than an hour after purchase. I will not be bringing my business back. Please search elsewhere, you will find better. read more

I will never go here again. They took apart the piece to bubble wrap and didn't put in all the pieces!! Called them as soon as I got back and told them I would be back in couple days because I had to leave town for work. Anyways I went back and they said I was there because I broke it and am now mad. Then they called me a scumbag.Oh and should I have mentioned my car pulled in the parking spot with my purple heart plates looking like a resposible adult unlike the kid in the shop calling me a scumbag. read more

If you are a "tobacco" smoker, this would be 4 - 5 stars, since they cater to those kinds of smokers very well. This isn't the best place for regular tobacco smokers though, so you may not get much from coming here if you are. I really like Northern lights personally. While many of their things are expensive, they do have some good pieces that are 30 dollars or less, for those on a budget. The pieces are all very neat, and I always found one I really liked when I took my business there. They have a selection ranging from artistic and creative to very upscale, with diffusers and all the bells and whistles. It's not your typical sketchy head shop either. It's in a suburban area and the interior is very clean and has a hippie vibe to it. The staff are really laid back so they may not appear professional, which isn't a problem with me considering the atmosphere of the store. However they were always willing to help me if I wanted to see something or if I had questions. They are knowledgeable and know what they are talking about. They're also the only place in the area that sells real Illadelph water pipes too. read more

They had some reasonable prices on glass and a pretty wide selection... My main issue with them stems from the fact they advertise all their TI nails as "highly educated" which is a well respected maker. They sell these nails for 90$.. If you look closely you'll see most of the nails ARE NOT HE !!! They lack the HE stamp and if a shop is misrepresenting their wares and charging a premium for an accessory who is to say their brand name ROOR or Illadelph "water pipes" are what they are labeled? Glass is glass and you can smoke your "tobacco" out of it either way but if your handing over 200- 500$ for a piece you should be certain that your buying a LEGIT piece not some knock off that came wrapped in Chinese news paper. A suspect business model to say the least. read more

Hands down best smoke shop in the capital region. They have everything from tapestries to hookahs to high end glass. Very welcoming atmosphere and educated staff. Very helpful employees- just a over all welcoming and wonderful experience!!! read more

friendly staff, good prices. super helpful with answering questions whenever im there.