Goods & Services >>

• Best Furniture Store
  Design Within Reach
  We thought St. Louis had arrived when Urban Outfitters and H&M came to town, and we thought we were pretty cool when Anthropologie opened. Yep, and we felt extra-special with a Crate & Barrel and a Whole Foods Market, not to mention four Trader Joe's. But now that we have a Design Within Reach,... More >>
• Best Kitchen Store
  Kitchen Conservatory
  Kitchen Conservatory smells like home. Like childhood. No, our formative days didn't carry the aroma of an All-Clad tagine (a gorgeous interpretation of Morocco's key cooking vessel), nor did we gather round the Emile Henry flame-top ceramic Dutch oven. But we did hunker over our... More >>
• Best Knife Sharpener
  Bertarelli Cutlery
  Felice (pronounced fay-lee-chay) Bertarelli started his knife-sharpening business out of his garage on Macklind Avenue back in 1967. He relocated to Carisolo, Italy, five years ago, but his artistry runs in the Bertarelli blood. Today son John and grandson Dan will expertly sharpen any of your... More >>
• Best Electronics for the Audiophile
  Music for Pleasure
  We have many ways of pleasuring ourselves—be it with smoke, drink, gambling, adult toys, whathaveya. To the audiophile, "adult toys" means hi-fi gear. Really, really expensive hi-fi gear. And there's no shortage of local vendors. The Sound Room offers rooms of sound, Best Sound can hook you... More >>
• Best Car Wash
  General Grant Car Wash
  We all know our car seems to run better after it's washed. But after a thorough scrubbing at General Grant Car Wash, our treasured jalopy also seems to have grown a little younger. The minds behind this sparkling palace, dedicated to automotive hygiene, take the fine art of the car wash very... More >>
• Best Florist (3 Comments)
  Pick Flower Gallery
  Mayer the long-haired dachshund wants to know what we've brought into Pick. His buddy, a regal-looking standard poodle named Charlie, seems to have the same question. Clint Lunn, who sees to both the shop and the pups, laughs. "You guys got food in that bag?" Actually, it's wine, purchased from... More >>
• Best Garden Center
  University Gardens
  University Gardens is turning a molehill into a mountain. At the corner of Delmar and Old Bonhomme Road, they've managed to transform a small urban hillside into a pretty city peak. This is just the sort of thing we need for our yards. Yup, we've got molehill lawns with mountain dreams, and... More >>
• Best Bead Store
  B&J Rock Shop
  The new Sundance catalogue arrived and you started thinking: Oooh, pretty, I want to do that! Well, the women at B&J Rock shop think you can. In fact, if you ask em real nice, they may even show you how. There are no classes to sign up for, just friendly one-on-one tutoring straight over the... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Scrapbooking Supplies
  Red Lead
  The beauty of Red Lead becomes apparent on a typical Saturday afternoon: After yet another demo on some intricacy of the scrapbooking arts wraps up, the crowd doesn't leave but instead disperses to browse the wall racks and aisles of paper, the massive stockpile of rubber stamps and ink pads... More >>
• Best Art Supplies
  Dick Blick Art Materials
  Ardent Dick Blick devotees—and there are many—don't care a whit that it's a chain with locations in fifteen states. And why doesn't it offend their creative, innovative, sensitive souls to throw their money around there? Because Dick Blick's products are as top-of-the-line as... More >>
• Best Paper Store
  Stephen Kinsella Inc.
  Gone are the days when your finest artworks were created on white kraft paper. You don't hang your work on the fridge anymore, so why shouldn't you up the class of the medium? But finding the perfect paper is difficult—unless you know the professional's secret: Stephen Kinsella Fine Art... More >>
• Best Frame Shop
  Soulard Picture Framing
  Do you know anything about framing? You don't, do you? And yet you blindly, ignorantly continue a ruin-it-yourself philosophy. You enter [insert discount store name], grab a $10 clunker, some masking tape and construction paper, then go home and start hacking away until you've so humiliated the... More >>
• Best Craft Store
  Schaefer's Hobby Shop
  Art-supply stores are all well and good for Robert Rauschenberg wannabes, but what about those of us who just want to knit a chenille throw or mosaic a birdbath? Have no fear, li'l crafter, Schaefer's Hobby Shop is here! Need to bejewel a cell phone? Behold Schaefer's reserve of Swarovski... More >>
• Best CD/Record Store
  Euclid Records
  Back in the day, the quality of a college town's record store determined whether the burg made the grade or failed Hip Amenities 101. But although brick-and-mortar establishments are going the way of the Walkman (and Discman), Euclid Records is a throwback to a simpler time, when knowledgeable... More >>
• Best CD Store (Used)
  Slackers CD's & Games
  It's easy to identify the hallmarks of an excellent used CD store: low prices, quality product and diversity of selection. St. Louis has no shortage of unwanted-disc graveyards, but the various outposts of Slackers CD's & Games hit all three prerequisites, and hard. This small chain's... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Vinyl
  Record Exchange
  If you can't find the LP you're looking for at the Record Exchange, then you're not looking hard enough. The store (which in another lifetime was a public library branch) boasts towering stacks of vinyl in nearly every nook and cranny of its cavernous space. Those LPs, arranged alphabetically... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Metal
  Now Hear This
  Scouring Web sites and figuring out international payment plans just to get your bloody gauntlets on a copy of Deathspell Omega's first album is an awful lot of work, but you're a devoted member of the cult: It's what you do to get what you need. Or you can just drive over to the spruced-up... More >>
• Best Video/DVD Rental
  Hollywood Video
  If you're in search of entire walls filled with crappy new releases—go to Blockbuster. If you want a video store dedicated to genres, go to Hollywood Video, specifically the one at South Grand Boulevard and Hartford Street. You'll find everything from under-the-radar modern classics like... More >>
• Best Liquor Store
  Lukas Liquors Superstore
  We, uh, know someone whose recent grocery list read something like this: produce—peach schnapps, Stoli Blueberi; bakery—Frangelico, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur; dairy—Bailey's; ethnic aisle—sake, Sauza; breakfast aisle—Cristal, bloody mary mix; frozen foods—chilled... More >>
• Best Wine Store
  The Wine & Cheese Place
  It's really not just the Wine & Cheese Place. Properly labeled, this store is the Wine & Cheese & Pasta & Glassware & Crackers & Spreads & Olive Oil & Nuts & Gourmet Goodies & Chocolate & Liquor & Lots of Fancy Beers Place. It's along the lines of what we think of when we think "gift shop for... More >>
• Best Tobacconist
  Jon's Pipe Shop
  Sure, "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards" and all that rot. But as those niggling sparks ascend, so too does the smoke. And it is in the smoking that solace can be found. The drudgery of work, the idiocy of our fellow man, the repetitive lunacy of life—it all fades from mind... More >>
• Best Thrift Store (1 Comment)
  Society of St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store
  All too often, thrift-store bargain hunting is like pearl-diving through tar. But not at the Society of St. Vincent De Paul's second-hand emporia, where the practice more closely resembles a leisurely stroll through the Garden of Great Buys. Best of all is the society's Central West End thrift... More >>
• Best Baby Store (1 Comment)
  The Purple Cow Kids Resale
  It's a dilemma, buying kids' clothes: On the one hand, you don't want to spend the college fund on clothes they'll grow out of in a couple of months. On the other hand, the clothes are so darn cute! Consignment shops provide one solution, but they're often hit-or-miss when it comes to selection... More >>
• Best Toy Store (4 Comments)
  A Pocketful of Toys
  It would be easy to award "Best Toy Store" to a corporate giant. And while we've never been ones to refuse a solid soul-sale, we draw the line when it comes to kids. After all, it has been rumored that the chilluns are our future, and it is society's responsibility to wrestle away those Barbies... More >>
• Best Gift Shop
  Garden Gate Shop
  Talk about your symbiotic marketing! You've just toured the verdant Missouri Botanical Garden. There's a name for your condition: You're plant-crazy, convinced that you too will soon be a master gardener. On your way out, you decide to stop off at the gift shop—just to browse, of course. By... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Cheap Gifts
  Dollar Tree
  It seems like every time you open the mail, you're invited to some kind of party that requires a present—showers, dinners, birthday parties, and on and on. And when the end of the year rolls around, the Etiquette Police want you to bestow gratitude gifts to a burgeoning variety of... More >>
• Best Antique Store
  R. Ege Antiques
  R. Ege is as much a curio museum as it is an antique store, and its curator is one Rick Ege, whose eye for detail is second to none. Ege's eye for art, artifacts and ephemera—from carnival items to tramp art, from apothecary supplies to vintage sporting equipment to antique robots—is... More >>
• Best Vintage Store
  Retro 101
  At every good vintage store, there's that thing. A hey-wait-how-weird item that everyone comments upon but no one ever buys. At Retro 101, that thing is a Brooke Shields doll, circa The Blue Lagoon. The doe-eyed, Barbie-size Brooke lives out her tiny days in her original packaging, in a small... More >>
• Best Lingerie
  Jule
  You could be bashful and order online from this itty-bitty, three-year-old boutique, but Jule's plucky owner Jenny Hannis so politely proffers her opinions of what looks naughty and nice that it's hard to resist the trip to see her. Hannis keeps the oh-so-cute Cosabella on the racks, along with... More >>
• Best Boutique (1 Comment)
  TheTime
  Hey, conformist! I really love those aviators and that tunic—and did you pick up those Crocs at a mall kiosk? Of course you did, 'cause you're a freakin' slave to the Galleria! What's that? You like my Kara Janx kimono dress? Well, thank you; I try to avoid looking like every third person I... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Used Clothing (2 Comments)
  Women's Closet Exchange
  You know how some people say that if you travel to Rome or Naples and mention the Hill, the indigenous I-ties over there will not only recognize the famed nabe by name, but will also ooh and ahh about it and its storied glory? It's kinda like what happens if you go to certain fashion houses or... More >>
• Best Mall (1 Comment)
  Westfield West County
  Shopping is such a cathartic, empowering experience, it's a wonder there aren't more songs about the joys of going out and spending money. Few sensations compare with the feeling of accomplishment that comes from walking into a store empty-handed and walking out with a bag (or eight). Especially... More >>
• Best Place to Go When You've Got a Screw Loose
  Hanneke Hardware
  The wheel gets all the credit—the magazine covers, the groupies, the endorsement offers—but when it comes to simple machines, the screw's the one that holds the world together. Screws are everywhere and in everything, from the buildings we live and work in to the cars we drive to the... More >>
• Best Hardware Store
  New Market Hardware Company
  If you want to save some time and give money to people rather than corporations, go to New Market Hardware, which has been in business for 93 years on the corner of Laclede and Sarah. Here's a typical interaction: You walk in and a man appears to help you. You tell him you want to store bikes on... More >>
• Best Musical Instrument Store (1 Comment)
  Drum Headquarters
  From kicks, crashes, rides and snares to djembes, congas and dumbeks, Drum Headquarters more than lives up to its name. With an extensive inventory, competitive prices, a knowledgeable and experienced staff, and local ownership—founder Rob Birenbaum sold out to longtime manager Jim Uding... More >>
• Best Musical Electronics Repair
  Winston Electronics
  Synthesizers, digital pianos, effects units, mixing consoles, multitrack recorders and other electronic gadgetry play an indisputably huge role in all sorts of music-making these days. Musicians may love the expanded possibilities afforded by electronics, but when that vital piece of gear... More >>
• Best Computer Repair
  Bytes for a Bit
  When Jeff Phelps started Bytes for a Bit in 1993, he envisioned a career of repairing the Commodore Amiga, which he thought would become the computer of the future. Way wrong was he, but thirteen years later Phelps remains fascinated by computers, and he does a brisk business solving software... More >>
• Best Flea Market (8 Comments)
  Frison Flea Market
  In the market for a church pew? A coupla church pews? Well, what about that pulpit? If you're looking to start your own religion, outfit a rock band or source a whirlpool tub and a set of Denny's carafes, all at one location, then Frison Flea Market is for you. With up to 300 vendors, this... More >>
• Best Pawn Shop (1 Comment)
  AJ & R Pawn Shop
  AJ & R Pawn Shop has been loaning cash on valuables on South Grand since 1974, says manager Ray Weber. He adds that the business has changed as well. "With the electronics, they've cheapened up tremendously. We used to see guys coming back from Vietnam bring in big stereo systems, but now mostly... More >>
• Best Newsstand
  World News Ltd.
  Still the top fix for St. Louis news junkies, this 39-year-old downtown Clayton institution is a must, whether you're looking for the commonplace or the obscure. And we do mean obscure. Where else in this town can you find the Nikkei Weekly, a leading Japanese business journal, or an erudite... More >>
• Best Book Store (Independent) (1 Comment)
  Left Bank Books
  Community assets come in all shapes, sizes, genres and volumes. Some die as times and tastes and patterns change. Since 1969, against all odds, one asset has endured in spite of the mass-marketed allure of rapacious chains and the anesthetization of the American brain. Left Bank Books, born on... More >>
• Best Book Store (Chain)
  Borders
  The Brentwood Borders has everything you'd expect from a major chain: ambient lighting, unobtrusive music, a coffeeshop, tables of corporate-selected reading lists. But it doesn't stop there. There's a T-Mobile Hot Spot, book signings, musical performances, a Tuesday Book Club and a fancy "Title... More >>
• Best Used Book Store
  The Book House
  The joy of the used book store is in its mystery—you never know what you may find. And there isn't a used book store in town that has more mystery than the Book House. The classic example of "too much, too soon" (but in the best possible way), the Book House threatens to overwhelm... More >>
• Best Comic Book Store
  Star Clipper Comics
  Yes, Star Clipper won this award last year. And it's right next door to the office—does anyone else see an easy out for a desperate writer? Return your conspiracy theories to their upright and locked positions, please. This has nothing to with proximity and everything to do with the... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Zines
  Tension Head
  When you were a teenager mired in suburbia, it was gratifying to hit your local chain book store for a fix of subversive literature (R.I.P. Ben Is Dead). But it somehow felt wrong to buy our grubby newsprint in such a sterile environment. That's why the extensive zine selection at the rawk &... More >>
• Best Bike Shop (9 Comments)
  Big Shark Bicycle Company
  For every mile you ride a bicycle, you keep some amount of money, however tiny, out of the pocket of the petroleum potentates, political toadies and despots of all national stripes whose reigns depend on the depletion of natural resources. With that in mind, we rescued our three-decades-old... More >>
• Best Skate Shop (1 Comment)
  Soka Skate
  Skating trends may come and go, but not only has Soka lasted eleven years in the business, it's even opened a second location in O'Fallon. "Fashion is a big part of skating now," admits Gabe, who holds down the Manchester store. So Soka's got the shirts, pants, belts, shoes and helmets to help... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Darts
  St. Louis Dart Shop
  There's something liberating about being caught in a lie. And make no mistake, we were trapped like a rat. Our preferred set of darts, the 31-gram Sharp Shooters, had gone all popcorn trying to pin a treble three (the darts had stripped each other's flights, so close was the grouping). And in... More >>
• Best Tattoo Parlor
  Evermore Gallery
  Before needle touches skin, the writing is on the wall: "Yes, it hurts." And that's only the first sign of Evermore Gallery's honesty. "Don't trust your body to the first person who walks up to the counter," advises Evermore artist Chris Hinkle. "You have to check out the artist's... More >>
• Best Body Piercing
  All Star Tattoo
  Two-time "Best Tattoo Parlor" champ All Star Tattoo's oft-overlooked piercing practice is so sterile even a dentist would get his nipples pierced there. Yes, the most sanitary of sadists would be content to shirtlessly slide into the chair, his skin flush against the surface of the hygienic... More >>
• Best Adult Video Store (3 Comments)
  Wherehouse Music
  The music store is spotless. There are the traditional aisles of CDs divided by genre. Past the pop/rock, heavy metal, country and easy listening, you'll find the Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy dolls, then the guitars and keyboards against the back wall. Winding around on the other side,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Sex Toys
  TLC Priscilla's
  It seems that, every year, "Best Place to Buy Sex Toys" has the libido of a repressed Southern Baptist schoolgirl. Sure, the winner is always kinky, but it also seems a bit ashamed, cloaking its sexuality in the murky shadows of south city. But this year, our winner is a Catholic college... More >>
• Best Pet Store
  Lola & Penelope's
  When Lola & Penelope's opened in downtown Clayton last fall, offering two floors of gourmet treats, snuggly sweaters and squeaky toys, tails set to waggin'. So we're turning over this item to the experts: our office pug, Myrtle, and our resident tomcat, Franklin.Myrtle: Oh boy oh boy oh boy!... More >>
• Best Dog Trainer
  Absolutely Fabulous City Dogs
  Last we left Duke, unofficial canine mascot of the RFT, he'd cleaned up his act cosmetically—thanks to 2005's "Best Dog Wash," Four Muddy Paws—but was still a mess behaviorally. Group classes at the local PetSmart may have taught Duke what such commands as "sit" and "stay" mean, but... More >>