Its a demur like for a Barnes & Noble from the outside but don't let that detour you. The simple…read morebrown door opens up to a well designed Barnes & Noble store. Anchored in the middle is the help desk. The help desk is captained by Alexis. She runs this ship with true efficiency and knowledge. I, being like most customers, know the titles but don't always remember the author's first and last names. In true clockwork fashion, she was able to find two of the three books I was on the hunt for. Spoilers darling... Kindred by Octavia E Butler The Five by Hailee Rubenhold The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas My tastes are all over the place but she found them all We chatted about True Crime in regards to The Five, the story of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper She told me she was an environmental studies student and I shared a recommended book by a friend, The Lost City of Z by Daniel Grann Alexis also my cashier and really made this visit exceptional. Before, I close the door on this review, there were a lot of books on discount or sale. Check out the big blue balloons hovering over the book tables for value finds.

I visited the Barnes & Noble in Tukwila and had a great time browsing. Unfortunately this location…read moredoesn't have a café, which was a little disappointing since that's usually part of the Barnes & Noble experience. That said, the store itself is spacious, well organized, and they have an excellent LEGO selection along with lots of toys and gifts. Definitely a fun place to wander if you like books, games, or collectibles. Nice and welcoming employees. If the café were there, it would easily be a 5-star stop!

I was in town for a few days and wanted to do some vinyl hunting. Never been to this area before,…read moreso I decided to take a chance. First impression: store name lives up to expectations!! Great prices, all vinyl I checked were clean and in VG++ to EX condition. Found two great finds for a very great price!! The owner (I assumed at the counter) was very polite and knowledgeable about music. I highly recommend this small store, especially if you are looking for classic rock vinyl.

This place is great, and the guy I talked to behind the counter took a look at my records and gave…read moreme a very fair price with no pushiness or anything. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. My only complaint is they literally never ever answer their phone. I called for three days before finally just driving the hour to the store. I would come again but its really frustrating when i just wanted to ask a question about a particular record player I saw there before and they wont answer the phone which could have saved me hours of driving.​

This is a unique store with something for everyone even if their walk down memory lane may be a…read morequick one! Plenty of gift or just for fun options for people that love nostalgic things but they also have newer trend items. Great owners and they have evening events.

A friendly staff and a large variety of constantly changing wares to check out. Great parking and…read moreeasy to find. I will definitely be back often.

Vintage CD's, DVD's, records, laser discs, and all other types of physical media. This is one of my…read morefavorite record stores, and I can only speak for the records. Seattle record shops are often picked over, so come over here to find treasures and better pricing. They also have the new records here too, and vinyls seem to be priced according to quality as you can find the same vinyls priced differently. Selection is great without being impossible to browse through. The owner is pretty friendly. There's also nice ambient music playing in the background (on a record player, of course). I bought some records where the album cover was very worn, so I wasn't expecting much but miraculously they played without any noise. Amazing!

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.

I liked the selection of books here and the blend of new and used copies that were available. There…read morewas a sign advertising a coupon if you signed up for their mailing list, but it seemed to be broken and none of the employees could figure out how to get it to work so that was disappointing.

While the variety of books available is impressive and well-presented, I won't be returning. I even…read morecut my visit short after experiencing such rudeness from the male employee running the sale counter in the back. This employee was a middle-aged man with dark hair, glasses and adult acne with the inclination to whistle. When I asked him about the bathroom key, he was incredulous, as if all first-time visitors should know where it is kept. All the sign on the restroom door said was that it was available at the counter opposite it. Forgive me for thinking this meant the employee kept it and handed it out at their own discretion. But I suppose that would be too much responsibility for him. He certainly didn't think customer service was one of his job responsibilities. He spoke with undisguised condescension and irritation, and when I didn't move in such a way that pleased him -- thinking to take the key off its placard rather than take the whole thing with me -- he became even more patronizing. As if he were addressing a child, he used a baby voice to tell me anyone could pocket the key if it wasn't attached to something bigger. All this over something so small as a bathroom key. But this interaction kept him from his larger goal, which was joking around with his younger female coworkers. I felt embarrassed for me. I especially felt embarrassed for him. And I now will think of the Half-Price Books in Tukwila not as a calm, welcoming environment, but as an embarrassment with a bathroom. For this employee, I would suggest practice in: 1. "Hello" 2. "How can I help you?" 3. "Here you are" 4. "It's my pleasure" Simple as that.

I went to check out their vinyl to rebuild my collection and I left very happy. Lots of treasures…read moreto be found!

The kind of old-school shop that I used to love. Prices are pretty great. I noticed a few things a…read morelittle higher then average but I would happily spend more to keep a shop like this open. I love that they do games and movies and audio too. I found a couple gems and I will be back for a few more soon.

Bellevue Silver Platter gets 10 stars for having a Metal section. And it's well-stocked. SoDo store…read moredoes not have such a section (which is shameful). Overall this store has a very large inventory of CDs and DVD. I'm not a vinyl user but it seems SoDo location has quite a bit more vinyl than Bellevue. Staff here are knowledgeable and courteous. All Silver Platter locations are great stores.

I was in the Bellevue location yesterday. The guy upfront was helpful but the guy reviewing intake…read moreof a woman's used records was almost berating & shaming her. Later he was whining to one of the employees so much I switched areas in the store. Why does this guy work there?

This store is in the main terminal at SeaTac. So nostalgic for a gen X'er like me. I grew up…read moreskateboarding and listening to punk and grunge. So much memorabilia from the 90 Seattle seen. Albums, shirts, cups and all sorts of great stuff. Hit this one up if you were a sub-pop kid like I was !

Nice clean and cool looking store with lots of interesting inventory…read more Tons of great stuff