Vortex Records

Great source for used DVDs, CDs & vinyl in midtown Toronto for many years. Unfortunately store is closing end of Dec. 2015. Thanks for all your years of service!

Thank you Bert for the years that i been going to your record store. I will miss ya. Thank you again.

Fantastic selection of vinyl if that is your interest. Rarely do I find a vinyl store where prices are fair and you can tell the owner put effort into what he does. I did not see a single vinyl that I would have felt i overpaid for. They also guarantee anything you buy. If it doesn’t play properly you can bring it back. If you are at the Yonge and Eglinton area, stop by and support this local business. I left very impressed and will certainly be back.

One of my favourite record stores. I have been frequenting Vortex for around 13 years. Great prices, good selection, and finally the focus has shifted to vinyl, and I no longer have to break my back to dig. Thanks Bert!

Have been frequenting the many relocations of Vortex since the early 1980’s when it was located on Dundas S E near Mutual… Great selection of CDs and LPs… have sold off the majority of DVDs and BluRays at lower than ½ price, now that everybody and their brother have streaming available… True not all the staff are overly personable but having their knowledge of the inventory certainly makes up for it… Well worth the walk up to the 2^nd floor, especially if you are looking for some very obscure vinyl… Sad to say that the doors closed at end of 2015…

It is a good thing this place is not closer. Otherwise, I’d be much, much poorer!
Quite simply, this is a used CD junkie’s shop. They have the DVDs and LPs too but I have always gone here for CDs and almost find something on my «buy» lists. And more often than not, I come away with genuine treasure.
My best find here might be my best all time find ever. Fletcher Henderson’s «Study in Frustration». Brand new. In the sealed 3CD long box. For just $ 20. This is the kind of thing you can’t even get at HMV and have to resort to buying online. (Even there you might have to search a bit and pay way more than $ 20 for a used copy).
I have also found a few of the Classics series. These are jazz CDs that are highly collectible and available nowhere. In general, Vortex has one of the best selections of used jazz in the city.
I have done well here when looking for rock/​alternative/​new wave/​indie/​etc. too.
Prices are always good. Nothing I have bought here has ever skipped as far as I know. They often let one in your purchase go for free if you buy a certain amount. Sometimes they replace the cases at the cash with something newer.
It is certainly a music lover’s joint – the kind of place you are more likely to see older music geeks with huge collections at home as opposed to hipsters looking for vinyl. It just has that look, feel and smell of a good record store and is just out of the way enough to make it special. Warning: it can get crowded and hard to manœuvre. Please exercise proper digging manners here.
I have no idea what they buy back at.
The staff, especially the owner, all know their stuff and are approachable.
Hot tip: check the «new arrivals» in the corner first. There is always good stuff there.
Most highly recommended!

A Toronto treasure. A treasure that treasures are found at. Nothing is better than dropping in and looking through the bins against the ever evolving list of tunage you need to find. When you find, it you heart skips. Taking it home and letting it spin a — joy of life. Vortex’s mix of new releases curated by Lincoln lead to a lot of discovery, the undercarriage of alphabetized vinyl bins are frequently refreshed and full of good stuff. Great depth of CDs… and a nice spread of blue rays, DVDs, and the likes. They comp well for used things, but are discerning. That means you are not bummed out by something that looks was handled by a man with hooves. This place is a real deal and meant for folks who dig music. No poseurs here. Weird part of town for that.

Vortex has to be my favourite record store. Not only are the prices reasonable, but they often have very hard to find items that are over-​priced at other stores when and if they are available.
Although it is small in size and has a very cramped layout, the size actually helps to create an inclusive atmosphere that is conducive to friendly and open conversation amongst customers and staff.
Concerning the staff: they are very knowledgeable, courteous, and informative to talk to if you want to know more about a particular artist or genre. They are unpretentious and have directed me to new music that I would have otherwise been ignorant of, and for that I thank them.
Finally, the owner is a friendly and well-​meaning curmudgeon with a very biting and sharp sense of humor that might rub some unsuspecting people the wrong way. However, I could listen to him all day. Really, the man could be a character right out of a sitcom — ha!

Vortex is a small place that sells used DVDs, CDs and vinyl for low prices. They buy and sell here. The place is tiny and it can get a little crowded in there. Expect to slide across people’s backs and stand shoulder to shoulder with a stranger.
Vortex has a lot of jazz, folk and country music; they also have a good amount of pop/​rock variety organized from A-​Z. They have rows of DVDs that are stalked against the walls. A lot of the DVDs are mainstream and they do have a nice variety of Blu-​ray. They also have a great selection of vinyl which seems to be the hype here.
The staff is friendly but don’t expect too much help while you’re browsing the store. The only staff there are those behind the cash helping people with their purchases, that’s it.
Vortex is a great place to get your hands on some cool DVDs, inexpensive vinyl, and those hard to find CDs.

The best record store in Toronto! They understand that nowadays it’s mainly regular customers that are keeping the used record store industry alive and they treat their regular customers with respect by pointing out new arrivals and giving good trade in value for stuff you bring in. They don’t rip you off like Sonic Boom which offers you $ 0.25 for a used item and then resells it at $ 10. Sticker prices are very good, especially for their used LPs.

Vortex is an excellent place to shop for vinyl because interesting stuff always seems to find its way into their bins and the price tag is often quite fair for rare items.
It also has a pretty diverse selection of cd’s and dvd’s and the location has got some character in itself as it sits atop a restaurant and is accessed through a door you could easily pass by a thousand times and not notice.
In light of the good pulls I have had over the years at Vortex, I gotta show it some love, but in all honesty the selection is usually quite limited beyond one or two choice picks and the lack of a listening station leave much to be desired in terms of customer service.
The current employee’s seem to be of a higher elk than they previously were as I can recall many times throughout the years where one of the sardonically bitter employees working there have actually been rude to me because I wanted to listen to a record before buying it; something which should be very standard for a business that sells vinyl.
These characters give record nerds like myself a bad name and perpetuate the stereotype that record store workers are a bunch of washed up DJ’s who hide behind a pompous veil of exclusivity and sarcasm to mask their unfulfilled dreams…
Oh wait, maybe that’s not a common stereotype and I just made that up now, ah well.
Overall, Vortex is a cool place and a good way to kill some time if you are stuck in the woefully boring and uninspired area that is Younge and Eglington.
The old timer who owns the place is actually quite a character and should entertain (or possibly antagonize) you depending on your personality. I actually think he’s quite funny, but his attempts at witty and satirical anecdotes may be unappreciated by the average person because even with a grain of salt, he is, without a doubt, the most sarcastic man in Toronto.

Why 5-​stars? I can’t find anything wrong with Vortex. I agree with everything Kat F. said, but offer one correction. They may have been in this location for over 20 years, but they’ve been in business for 30 or more. I can remember going to their downtown location (Dundas and Church?) in maybe 1982, and I think they had a different location even before that. Same owner too — Burt. THAT’S gotta be worth 5 stars!

At first you might think Vortex is too far out of the way judging by its address alone, but once you make the trek to Eglinton station you’ll see there’s so much more at that corner than you had previously thought. I usually do a Triple Threat Shopping Expedition: Delineation for all my high end/​hard-​to-​find hair products, Solutions for drawer dividers, storage containers and other gadgets, and Vortex for used CDs and DVDs. Perhaps a quick jaunt to the Yonge/​Eg BMV location if I’m feeling leisurely.
Vortex is easily missable — it’s on the east side of Yonge Street just north of Eglinton and is only marked by a door and a stairwell to the upstairs store. I’ve accidentally walked past it many times and had to turn back.
These guys have been in business for over 20 years and the owners know their stuff. The store has everything — well-​organized used CDs and DVDs that span the perimeter of the store, and a killer rotation in the New Arrivals area, which is the hottest spot in the store. Usually you have to fight to sneak your way in so if no one is standing in front of it when I arrive, I head straight for it.
If you’re looking to sell your old CDs and DVDs, Vortex is the best place to get top dollar for your wares. I find I can get much more money here than at Sonic Boom or any of the other used shops in the city. Also, the staff have discerning taste and they know when you’re selling something that’s worth their dollars and won’t rip you off.
You can get more money if you buy in store credit or pick something up on your way out (which is usually what happens — I mean, how can you possibly NOT find something in here?!). Everything is reasonably priced and because it’s a bit out of the way and not near other record stores, it’s usually not picked over, either.