Goods & Services >>

• Best Comic Book Store (1 Comment)
  Star Clipper
  Lately we've enjoyed a comic-book renaissance. Not only has Hollywood figured out that funnybooks are a part of our cultural lexicon, but so have the so-called legitimate publishers, one of which had comic artist Chris Ware draw the new cover for Voltaire's Candide. It's nothing to see a... More >>
• Best Shopping Trend
  Teen Curfews
  We're not old, dammit! The waistline on these pants is just deceptively high. But consarn it, when we need to go to the shopateria to purchase batteries for our hearing aids, the last thing we want is to have to weave our way through knots of droopy-drawered hooligans milling about aimlessly.... More >>
• Best Airline
  USA 3000 Airlines
  It doesn't advertise much, and its gates are generally located out of sight, at the end of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport terminal. The way most travelers find out about USA 3000 Airlines, it seems, is via good old-fashioned word o' mouth. In this case, they're words you wanna hear:... More >>
• Best Wine Store
  Corral Liquors
  It is, perhaps, the most memorable scene in the annals of American cinema: Steve Martin as Navin Johnson in the 1979 classic The Jerk, on a date in a fancy French restaurant, all hopped up on his newfound wealth. "Would monsieur care for another bottle of Château Latour?" the waiter... More >>
• Best Liquor Store (2 Comments)
  Randall's Wine and Spirits
  A great man once said that a great drinking city deserves a great liquor store. By that measure, our boozy little burg has traditionally registered somewhere shy of magnificent. Sure, St. Louis is home to some fine specialty shops and bars, but for years oenophiles and dipsomaniacs alike have... More >>
• Best Homebrew Shop
  St. Louis Wine & Beermaking
  So there's more to drinking than happy hours and hangovers. Liquor, you've learned, is a universe far larger than Jäger — a universe of tannins, acids, fruits and oak. You've realized, over the years, that winemaking is an endlessly fascinating process, crafted with one part art, one... More >>
• Best Frame Shop
  Artmart Frame Center
  Little Johnny has drawn his very first tree, a roiling smudge of green and brown, the watercolor still damp on the page. It is no Monet, but don't tell that to Johnny's mom. Bursting with pride over her budding artist's wondrous creation, she has come to Artmart to preserve forever this humble... More >>
• Best Online Shopping (23 Comments)
  LaurieSolet.com
  Online shopping often leads to a moral quandary: If I order books/DVDs/puppy sweaters online, am I depriving a local business of much-needed dollars? Is the convenience of buying music in my pajamas worth the slow-but-steady deterioration of my civic soul? It's enough to drive a person to drink... More >>
• Best Florist
  Pick Flower Gallery
  Clint Lunn won't do more than one wedding per weekend. "Some florists do three, even four," he says. "I can't do that. The day's too important. If I'm your florist, yours is the only wedding I'm thinking about all weekend." Lunn's philosophy about weddings extends to everything he does at Pick... More >>
• Best Baby Store
  City Sprouts
  Row upon row of Hooter Hiders. Tubes of Boob Tube bust cream and Tummy Toner toning lotion. No, you have not arrived at Hustler Hollywood, Larry Flynt's emporium of all things carnal (see "Best Adult Video Store"). You've landed at City Sprouts, theone-stop shop for our city's fashionable tots... More >>
• Best Toy Store (1 Comment)
  Play and Learn
  Union Station's wealth of Budweiser and Cardinals souvenirs make it a magnet for downtown tourists, but for the rest of us, not so much. Still, one store stands out from the mall schlock. Play and Learn is a toy store whose offerings are so virtuous that you find yourself wondering: Do kids... More >>
• Best CD/Record Store
  Euclid Records
  Where there's a college, there are college kids who need beer money. And where there are thirsty post-adolescents, well, there's usually a better-than-average record store. Like Euclid Records, whose proximity to Webster University ensures that its used bin is always chock-full of new indie-rock... More >>
• Best CD Store (Used)
  CD Reunion
  Pssssst! Hey, record shopper. Yeah, you over there, wading through the rows and rows of Beatles releases — please help me! I'm the cassette single (a format heretofore referred to as the "cassingle") for Danzig's "Mother," a big hit in 1993. I've been at CD Reunion probably since then, and... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Vinyl
  Record Exchange
  It'd be easy to give this award to Record Exchange based on sheer volume alone. The store holds untold stacks of wax — LPs cram the racks and spill out from every cranny, and it's piled shoulder-high in corners and storerooms. But it's quality as well as quantity that makes a great record... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Classical Music
  Webster Records
  Unlike its younger cousin classic rock, classical music does not generate as much excitement among the general populace as it once did. Oh, the devoted still exult in a beautifully played Peer Gynt or laugh their way through a production of Der Zauberfl�te, but outside the classical world, the... More >>
• Best Musical Instrument Store (1 Comment)
  Drum Headquarters
  St. Louis really hasn't had a standout homegrown full-line music store since McMurray Music sold out to a Dallas-based chain a few years back, so players who want to shop somewhere locally owned must patronize various specialty retailers. Sure, the big chain store has its uses, but for many of... More >>
• Best Electronics for the Audiophile
  Music for Pleasure
  Poor audiophile. We've prepared a little glass room for you, over there next to the dodo. See, the world has decided. Decided that music is delivered through mp3s, through iPods, through earbuds. Decided that music is background noise in videogames, in supermarkets. Decided that music is merely... More >>
• Best Design Shop
  Urban Materials + Accessories
  A few months ago, Mike Finan decided to work on Sundays. He propped open the doors to his 11th Street shop and welcomed in the foot traffic of a revitalized downtown. And fans of high design at reasonable prices rejoiced: Who wouldn't want to spend more time at Urban Materials + Accessories?... More >>
• Best Boutique
  Blush
  Is it just us, or has Kirkwood become... cool? For decades people have built homes and raised families in the quiet, well-appointed suburb. But these days Kirkwood's less of a bedroom community and more of a destination. You can grab coffee and a cr�pe at Kaldi's, stop for a superlative slice at... More >>
• Best Addition to Washington Avenue
  The Time Boutique
  Living memory still recalls Washington Avenue as the old garment district, where competing manufacturers, warehouses and retailers pushed racks of suits into trucks and shops galore. These days the boom and bustle of Wash. Ave. is provided by loft-dwellers, and the repaved lane of bright lights... More >>
• Best DIY Stationery (1 Comment)
  Rock Paper Scissors
  If you think stationery is the purview of society mavens and harried brides, you really should get out more. Specifically, get out to Rock Paper Scissors, where you have the opportunity to acquire a fabulous new skill — and fabulous new stationery — every single week. This superbly... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Rubber Stamps (2 Comments)
  The Inkspot
  You've seen the bumper stickers: "Skinny Girls Can't Stamp." Self-deprecating humor, yes, but a little exclusionary. The idea that you have to be large and shrill in order to take part in the burgeoning stamp-art movement is an outdated concept; there are plenty of svelte young women taking an... More >>
• Best Hardware Store
  Scheidt Hardware
  One cannot walk into Scheidt Hardware and purchase enough tar paper and shingles to cover four standard-size roofs. One cannot rent a deuce-and-a-half truck, buy an install-it-yourself kit for a redwood deck or acquire a battalion of snow-white toilets for the new condo project one is... More >>
• Best Garden Center
  The Alternative Pond and Gardens Mart, Inc.
  Sure, gardens are pretty and all, but they're an awful lot of work: the planting, the pulling, the agony when rabbits help themselves to a meal of hosta con broccoli. Back in 1997 Brigitte and Aaron Burchett tried something different when they began to cultivate a pond — it eventually... More >>
• Best Dollar Store
  Dollar Tree
  The cleaner called Fabulous is pretty much Fantastic, and Pine Glo, after all, is just Pine-Sol. The difference in price between name-brand versions and the stripped-down kind of everything from household cleaners to gift wrap is certainly more than a dollar — but nothing in Dollar Tree is.... More >>
• Best Mall
  St. Louis Mills
  Trey Parker might have been feeling sarcastic when he wrote the lyrics, "Bed, Bath & Beyond, fuck yeah," but those were the exact words that came to mind when we arrived at St. Louis Mills, a mall that induces one heartfelt expletive after the next. The Mills is home to big-box stores such as... More >>
• Best Lingerie
  Beverly's Hill
  It will come as a surprise to a few good Catholics that one of the first clothiers to put down roots on the revitalized Washington Avenue sells unmentionables. But then, no good Catholic gal would take a browse around Beverly's Hill and depart feeling any less, shall we say, intrepid, herself.... More >>
• Best Perfumery
  Cassie's Fragrance Boutique & Scent Bar
  If quality is defined by what one likes, then Cassie's Fragrance Boutique & Scent Bar is easily St. Louis' highest-quality perfumery. Cassie Buell, the store's sunny owner, began her career as a clerk in the '90s and has the chutzpah to fill her store with what she loves. She's also uncannily... More >>
• Best Golf Shop
  Birdie Golf
  Though long dominated by rich WASPs with bad pants, golf continues to explode in popularity — most notably among the young and the female. Birdie Golf caters to both in a tidy shop that could easily be mistaken for an upscale boutique. Gone are the tacky, shapeless outfits; in their place... More >>
• Best Skate Shop (1 Comment)
  S.O.K.A.
  Two types of people frequent S.O.K.A.: The skater who goes to buy a new Toy Machine deck, some grip tape and a pair of Volcom shorts; and the other, who drives five hours from Chicago to find a pair of sneakers. That's because S.O.K.A. is the only place between Kansas City and Chicago that... More >>
• Best Bike Shop
  Big Shark Bicycle Company
  If you stand in Big Shark Bicycle Company for more than fifteen seconds, someone who knows more about bikes than you ever will and who's friendlier than your mother will ask if you need any help. It doesn't matter if you look like you're going to spend five dollars or five thousand, if you're... More >>
• Best Sporting Goods Store (1 Comment)
  Play It Again Sports
  Play It Again Sports on Manchester Road in Glendale is like a jock's closet. Half a wall of baseball gear gives way to racks and racks of hockey stuff. Golf and soccer are in the middle, and there's not much room to maneuver in between. The Minneapolis-based franchise chain specializes in buying... More >>
• Best Pet Store (1 Comment)
  Wolfgang's Pet Stop
  Some days the four-legged customers at Wolfgang's Pet Stop outnumber the two-legged ones. There might be a wriggly cadre of puppies attending an Absolutely Fabulous City Dogs obedience class. There might be a regal Airedale celebrating his "bark-mitzvah" with a group of canine pals, who are all... More >>
• Best Dog Wash
  Aussie Pet Mobile
  Company's coming. The house looks perfect. The tomato-and-Brie crostini are warming in the oven. The stereo is playing Coltrane. The dog is...stinky. Oh no! Stinky dog! You're certainly not going to throw Fido in the tub, not after spending a half-hour scrubbing the porcelain. And going to the... More >>
• Best Car Wash (1 Comment)
  Saint Louis Auto
  The car has just unloaded a bag of dirty laundry, which baked under the hatch for several days. After a short road trip, bug guts are covering its body, and another layer of crumbs and gravel covers the carpet. Something like wet oatmeal coats the bottom of a small console compartment. The odor... More >>
• Best Flea Market
  Gypsy Caravan
  Each Memorial Day since 1973, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Volunteer Association has hosted one of the largest flea markets in the Midwest. This year's Gypsy Caravan brought more than 350 vendors selling sundry bric-a-brac — including T-shirts, antiques, sports memorabilia, quilts and... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Used Clothing
  Back on the Rack
  Back on the Rack packs enough preppy-casual and office-casual clothing that you might never visit the actual Talbots or Ann Taylor stores again. Ignore the display window where one of the two-dimensional mannequins might be wearing an old-ladyish straw hat, and look more closely at the selection... More >>
• Best Antique Store
  South County Antique Mall
  Some of the treasures in the South County Antique Mall stretch the meaning of the word "antique" completely out of shape — but where else can you find a trivet embossed with the psychedelic Laugh-In catchphrase "Here Comes the Judge" next to an authentically Edwardian walking dress with... More >>
• Best Junk Store (1 Comment)
  Rubenstein's Dirty Junk Shop
  Gordon M. Rubenstein is Supreme Junkmaster of the Ancient Order of the Rusted Stovebolt. Well, he would be if such an organization existed. His Dirty Junk Shop on the Alton riverfront is a riveting place to spend time before you satisfy your monthly Big Elwood on a Stick craving at Fast Eddie's... More >>
• Best Thrift Store
  Salvation Army Family Store
  All the Salvation Army Thrift Stores in metro St. Louis offer great bargains in used merchandise, but the Salvation Army Family Store in Florissant is family-size! Here you can find everything from 1950s blond bedroom suites to Moolah Shriner mugs, and the acreage of secondhand clothing is... More >>
• Best Pawnshop
  Sam Light Loan Company
  Pawnshop: To some, the mere mention of the word calls forth a powerful sense-memory: images of outdated stereo components, smells of musty lawn mowers, the inescapable feel of ancient dust and grime. Not so at Sam Light Loan Company, located at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Olive... More >>
• Best Gun Shop
  Cabela's
  What makes the gun shop at Cabela's so fantastic? Three words: The Gun Library. Lined with wood-sided glass cases, Cabela's gun library houses long guns and revolvers so beautiful they could cause a Quaker to lose faith. Here you'll find double-barrel shotguns with gorgeously engraved wildlife... More >>
• Best Tobacconist
  HSB Tobacconist
  Fancy a cigar? Perhaps you'd like a Kentucky Cheroot instead. If you're not feeling quite so bucolic, you could pick up a pack of Dunhills. You know, something ritzy? Or just a box of Marlboro Reds — you're an American, dammit, you're of legal age and you want to smoke something right now!... More >>
• Best Newsstand
  World News Ltd.
  Now in its fortieth year of operation, and facing an almost-certain relocation (the building has been sold, but there's no timetable for the move), World News Ltd. in Clayton remains the go-to spot for print-media fiends. The nondescript storefront at the corner of Forsyth Boulevard and South... More >>
• Best Book Store (Independent)
  Subterranean Books
  We could bend your ears for hours about supporting local businesses. But how about local businesses that support you? Subterranean Books supports your book-buying habit. The shelves hold the best new titles culled from the reams of publishing dreck, the older titles you must read before you die,... More >>
• Best Book Store (Chain)
  Barnes & Noble Booksellers
  Of the big dogs, Barnes & Noble is the book-lover's bookstore. Sure, this bibliophilic hot spot — the Ladue Crossing B&N is our local fave — offers all manner of gifty items, games and reader accoutrements, but it really works the book thing. For starters, it's often quiet like a... More >>
• Best Used Book Store (1 Comment)
  Dunaway Books
  To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, Dunaway Books is a clean, well-lighted place. One that invites a Saturday afternoon's worth of perusal and page flipping. It's important to have the right kind of approach upon entering a used book store — Dunaway may not have the exact book that you're... More >>
• Best Body Piercing
  Cheap TRX
  When it comes to putting holes in yourself, we're all about Rule Number One. That would be: Do Not Try This at Home. If you don't take the proper precautions, the consequences could be dire. Swelling, infection, gangrene, rot, death, Restless Leg Syndrome.... OK, maybe not RLS. But still. The... More >>
• Best Tattoo Parlor
  Evermore Gallery
  They say the clothes make the man. If that adage holds true, then the tattoo artists make the, er, tattoo parlor. That's what makes Evermore Gallery in Edwardsville worth the trek east. Carrie Davini's work is sharp, full of eye-popping colors that look straight out of a vibrant comic book,... More >>
• Best Adult Video Store (4 Comments)
  Hustler Hollywood
  Larry Flynt has long advocated that pornographers such as he need not operate under a cloak of darkness and anonymity. The man tools around in a gold-plated wheelchair, for chrissake! Flynt likes his porn big, ostentatious and right in your face, and that's just what you get at his new Hustler... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Sex Toys (2 Comments)
  TLC Priscilla's
  Help! I�ve been married for five years, and the spark is completely gone from our marriage. My husband will barely look at me, no matter what I�m wearing (or even not wearing). We haven�t had sex in months; I�m beginning to think that he�ll never find me attractive again. What can I... More >>