Budget Tapes & Records 32

I also would like to know where these guys moved to. They were the best local place to find used vinyl.

Great place and always support local businesses but these guys just moved… supossably nest the house of Kee across from Dairy Queen further down Meridian but I can’t find them, anyone know the location?

Small, quaint store with a good selection of popular LP’s, CD’s, and DVD’s. Not as big as other record stores but good for being across the street from Best Buy. Nice employees who will always help.

Awesome store, and I like to buy local so its perfect. Great selection, especially for rock/​pop and metal. I didn’t check out the other genres in depth, but there was a rather large hiphop and country section that I passed by. Good record and music DVD collection. They will even get albums from the warehouse for you if they don’t have them. The man who was working was very knowledgeable, and I was surprised that he knew right off the bat who HIM was (since they’re a Finnish band who aren’t super huge here) when I asked about an album of theirs, he even had an out of print CD of theirs there for super cheap. The only thing I would like to see more of is rarer import CDs and electro and dark wave albums like She Wants Revenge or IAMX. Other than that, fantastic!

There are two kinds of hole-​in-​the-​wall record stores: awesome ones and really lame ones. Budget Tapes & Records happens to fall into the latter category.
«Budget Tapes & Records» implies some sense of nostalgia, but you’ll find no nostalgic record shopping experience here. This place should be called «Budget CDs, DVDs, Video Games, and cheesy die-​cut stickers.» Honestly, this store hardly has a better selection of music than the Best Buy right across the street. If you are the casual music fan who picks up a new CD once every few months, you might not mind this store. The used CD section is small but reasonably priced, and their warehouse catalog does have a decent selection of music if you don’t mind waiting around for a few days. But if you’re the type who likes to treat yourself with a visit to a record store, don’t bother. Well actually, do bother, and form your own opinion. I’d rather take a short drive to one of the many fine record stores that line Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue.

I’ve been buying music from this place for over 10 years because it’s the best music store. Their prices tend to be a little higher than Best Buy and some of the other stores, but there is one difference that set those stores apart from Budget… customer service. If they don’t have a CD you’re looking for and there’s a way to get it, they’ll order it and have it usually less than a week later… and they don’t charge extra for ordering it. They also have a great machine for cleaning CD’s, games, etc. They will even buy your CD’s as long as they’re ones they’ll be able to sell. And they offer a reasonable price as well.

Back when I was tied down to CDs (I’ve since moved on to the absolutely wonderful, incredibly cheap
.mp3 store), Budget Tapes & Records (outdated name) was an absolute favorite visit.
This is a smaller store with a fairly decent selection of music and music-​minded DVDs. Thanks to the smokers out front (high school kids in all black), the store can smell pretty dingy. The staff is friendly, though not necessarily helpful.
The one reason I really loved coming to this store though was their fantastic selection of used albums. I filled out a lot of my collection going through their used piles (back in 2005 they were going between $ 5.99 and $ 7.99 a pop) and picking up some real gems. All their used discs are thoroughly cleaned and washed and guaranteed. I’ve never had any problems with the many that I purchased from here. Every once and while you’d find a shrink-​wrapped album in the used pile too, which was fantastic!
Budget Tapes stands out in Puyallup for its character. Less than a block away (just across Meridian) is Best Buy, with the mall only a few blocks to the right. Budget Tapes doesn’t fall into these large traps though, and keeps a clear, music-​minded vision. Were I still buying albums in a hard format, I have no doubt that I’d be wandering the racks here looking for the next good deal.

When I used to live down here, I would go in on a weekly basis and find a gem– whether it be new or used. Only $ 14 for new is a great deal! And the guys who work there are great– they still recognize me when I step foot in there after months on end. Huge CD selection– if you are looking for something in particular, they usually have it. If not, they’ll order it in for you! You can also spot rare collector’s cd’s/records/etc. that make great gifts.

These guys are awesome! The music selection is decent but they always get me new albums a day or two before the release date! The staff is so friendly and extremely knowledgeable and approachable regarding music topics and questions. Don’t let a corporation decide what music is cool, go here and chat with the crew, they’ll tell you what’s up!