With the closing of Circuit City Tyler finds itself with only one major retail electronics store. Best Buy in Tyler is located on South Broadway behind Ryan’s Steakhouse. The store is generally neat and clean and has great customer service. If you’re looking for a more expensive product, particularly on the order of a new computer or Television, you should be able to find some fairly good sales. It’s the smaller items on which you’ll find some rather unreasonable mark ups. Any kind of cords, power supplies, or other accessories are far too expensive. I have often found myself turning to other sources like e-bay and have saved hundreds on brand new items.

The movie selection is pretty good. I can usually find what I’m looking for provided it’s not too obscure. Although I must confess, based on my last couple of visits, the movie selection seems to have shrunk some. That could be a reflection of a lack of quality product lately. If what you’re looking for isn’t there, I would suggest a visit to Barnes and Noble instead.

As a generally intelligent adult I find a trip through the music aisle an embarrassing experience. I’m not sure whether I should be ashamed by my own lack of knowledge about the current music trends, or whether the musicians themselves are the ones who should be ashamed, both of their own product as well as the way they appear on the labels. Maybe I’m just getting older, and more like my father, but I suspect it’s the latter. These days I prefer the anonymity of iTunes or Amazon when making my music purchases. Not that my tastes are that bad per say, I just find it awkward to explain my purchases, something I feel the inexplicable desire to do. It’s kind of similar to answering the infamous question, “What’s that book about anyway?”

I do enjoy the gaming section although I no longer have the time I once had to invest in that pursuit. By far the best part of the store for me is the computer section. I find it so satisfying to browse the aisles for things I’d love to have but can’t afford. Ok so that’s a bit cynical. I can actually afford a computer every couple of years or else I wouldn’t be typing this, but I digress.

Bottom line is that Best Buy in Tyler is a pretty good store if you like the retail giants. While I seldom go there just to hang out, I do enjoy browsing a little. Larger items are priced fairly low if you take into account the various rebates available, but when it comes to smaller items you’re probably better off trying a few other sources first. To view their website, go to www.bestbuy.com.