Shopping >>

• BEST FASHIONS TO HELP YOU GAIN SOME WEIGHT
  Shoes for the Stars
  It's been years since Melrose has been packed with L.A. club kids prowling for outrageous outfits. In the last 10 years, the area has grown far more sedate, but the shoe selection is still worthwhile if you're looking for something as whimsical as it is impractical. On the high end, Shoes for... More >>
• BEST THRIFT HUNT (1 Comment)
  Squaresville
  Ever wonder where all those hipsters find their broken-in cowboy boots and embroidered '70s mini dresses? This city is known for its thrift-store abundance, but at so many shops the only really good stuff is on display in the windows and lacking on the racks. It's different at Squaresville,... More >>
• BEST CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM OF HATS
  Kangol Venice
  Most hat stores carry dozens of different styles and brands. Kangol Venice features dozens of different styles and one brand — one dozen dozen styles, in fact, of Kangol in all of its many-splendored variations: berets and Mau caps, trilbys and pull-ons, baseball caps and visors, knit and... More >>
• BEST CHEAP BIRTHDAY-PARTY STORE
  99¢ Only Stores
  I threw my kid a birthday party for 20 bucks. And I got it all at the 99¢ Only Stores. What kid is not going to be thrilled to be given their own can of shaving cream and told to, "Knock yourself out!" And if that mess is not enough, what could be better then exploding sand volcanoes with... More >>
• BEST HOME AWAY FROM DEPOT
  Andy's True-Value Hardware
  The two-tone blue building known for a half century as Andy's True-Value Hardware is immediately noticeable — both because of its distinctive, if fading, paint job, and because it is a stable and dedicated business set in the midst of an almost-exclusively residential area on San Pedro... More >>
• BEST BEATS ON YOUR TEETS
  The Music Tee
  We can't say with certainty who came up with the idea first, but there are at least two L.A. entities that have helped reinvent the classic band T-shirt over the past few months. In terms of chronological release, local indie start-up Friends of Friends Music debuted the technology with its... More >>
• BEST CHIC FOR CHEAP (1 Comment)
  BCBG Max Azria Final Cut Outlet
  With neighbors like Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg and Alexander McQueen, the super chic, you-can't-afford-to-shop-here section of West Melrose is an unlikely place for a designer outlet. But after the BCBG boutique shut its doors late last year, the BCBG Max Azria Final Cut Outlet store... More >>
• BEST BEAUTY SUPPLY FOR BLACK HAIR CARE
  Basket Beauty Supply
  Beauty supply stores provoke our inner Spock. No, not the guy who pronounces everything human to be "illogical," but the one who finds the idiosyncrasies of humans "fascinating." The sheer volume and variety of products marketed and devoted to giving the species a pleasing look and smell would... More >>
• BEST L.A. HISTORY IN A BOX
  Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968
  The best archival reissues serve dual purposes. First, of course, they uncover music that's disappeared into a hidden corner of the collective unconscious. They bring it to the surface and remind us of a continued relevancy (or explains to us why, exactly, we should forget it). The best ones... More >>
• BEST NEW BACK-TO-THE-FUTURE VINYL RECORD STORE (1 Comment)
  Origami
  It kind of boggles (and tickles) the mind that in the tech-infected 21st century there would exist this category. Seems like only yesterday the major record labels conspired to destroy the LP in order to profit off of the more lucrati— er, better sounding, compact disc. So, as vinyl... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO GET YOUR VINYL PRESSED
  Record Technology, Inc.
  Southern California is the record pressing capital of America, which, in these heady days of the so-called vinyl revival (the format still only accounts for less than 1 percent of total music sales), means something. We've got Bill Smith Custom Records in El Segundo, Erika in Downey dishing out... More >>
• BEST CLOSEOUTS (1 Comment)
  California Closeouts
  Yes, it's a liquidator. No, it's not hip, small, precious, organic or exclusive. Liquidators buy up dead stock (unsold, returned, unshipped, canceled orders) from stores, factories and jobbers, and sell it off for 40 percent to 80 percent below original retail at California Closeouts. You never... More >>
• BEST CAMERA SHOP (1 Comment)
  Mel Pierce
  What we like most about this no-frills shop is its professional staff, some of whom look like they were alive when Mel Pierce opened his eponymous shop up in 1951. Although Pierce is long dead and the store has changed hands, the stellar staff of photographers (the repair guy doubles as a... More >>
• BEST WAX MUSEUM
  Candle Delirium
  A strong nose is required to survive the olfactory assault that is West Hollywood's Candle Delirium, where the scent of a thousand perfumed candles commingle. While other stores may carry a closely edited selection of Illume pillars or a safe handful of the most popular Votivos, the everyday... More >>
• BEST BAG LADY
  Clare Vivier
  Clare Vivier is an ex-journalist who spent many days on the road with her laptop. Finding no worthy bag for it, she created her own. She now makes elegantly understated bags that are the antithesis of all things froufrou. While other designers embellish and over-decorate, she keeps her unfussy... More >>
• BEST SEX SHOP WITH A CONSCIENCE/NAUGHTY PAIN (1 Comment)
  Coco de Mer
  If the Marquis de Sade and Queen Elizabeth joined forces to design a sex shop, it would be Coco de Mer. This upscale little jewel box is owned by Sam and Justine Roddick — the daughters of the English woman who created The Body Shop. It's a luxurious place with a naughty Victorian feel:... More >>
• BEST BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BAKELITE
  Collectible Glitz Miss La De Da's
  What's better than a half-price sale at Forever 21? More than 22,000 pieces of reasonably priced vintage and costume jewelry all under one roof. That's what former librarian Eleanor Goodchild thought, too, when she pulled her nose out of the books and opened in 1996 Collectible Glitz Miss La De... More >>
• BEST COMIC/ART BOOK SHOP (4 Comments)
  Stuart Ng Books
  The first thing you notice at Stuart Ng Books is the wall filled with autographs and sketches from L.A.'s top animators. The South Bay rare book shop is immensely popular within the animation and comic book industries for Ng's impeccable selection of imported graphic novels, out-of-print art... More >>
• BEST GIFT SHOP IN THE LAND
  Craft and Folk Art Museum
  Think you can't afford to own art? The gift shop at the tiny Craft and Folk Art Museum has an amazing and affordable selection of pieces from around the world. Everything is handcrafted, one of a kind, and free trade. Colorful, recycled tin animals from Zimbabwe priced at $45 mix with horn and... More >>
• BEST Homonymous Shoes
  Cydwoq
  Rafi Balouzian says he believes that "every shoe has a sole, and that's why I put my soul into each one." It may be hokey, but once you wear his shoes, you'll think it's okay. The designer and owner of Cydwoq (pronounced sidewalk) is the grandson of a shoemaker, and his father manufactured shoe... More >>
• BEST LITTLE PROP SHOP OF HORRORS
  Dapper Cadaver
  Got brains? If you need some — plastic brains, rubber brains, foam brains — Dapper Cadaver horror prop shop in Sun Valley is the place to go. And not just for brains — you can find legs and toes and severed hands, too. Proprietor B.J. Winslow has gory guts and ghoulish gear... More >>
• Best DJ Gear (1 Comment)
  Quality Electronics
  Remember those turn-of-the-millennium days, when wannabe DJs dropped $1,500 for a pair of Technics and a top-end mixer? They're so over. The recession version is buying used decks from craigslist, then taking your gear to Quality Electronics in West Hollywood. They'll clean, oil, tune and... More >>
• BEST DJEMBE STORE
  Motherland Music
  If it's Sunday and you're looking for a bongo to bang on at the Venice beach drum circle to feed your fix of primal release and offbeat bashing (disguised as polyrhythm, of course), Motherland Music is not the place. "The beach is a bad place for djembes. The saltwater really dries out the... More >>
• BEST DIGGING FOR FASHION
  FIDM scholarship store
  Major retailers (Bendels), boutiques, manufacturers (Forever 21) and wholesalers donate fashions, fabric and accessories from both last season and this season to the FIDM scholarship store, which sells the merch at 50 to 90 percent off retail prices, supporting the scholarship program... More >>
• BEST FOLKLORIC AND MARIACHI COSTUMES
  Elias Designs
  Countless mariachi costumes and folklorico gowns have begun their lives in a modest shop off Cesar Chavez Avenue, Elias Designs. Owner-designer Elias Roldan works with each customer to make sure that each traje de charro — or mariachi suit — fits the body and soul of the artist. You... More >>
• BEST GAME DUDE
  Game Dude
  On a fairly nondescript corner in the industrial, northiest end of North Hollywood lies Game Dude, a brown concrete slab of a building that's easy to overlook save for the yellow "BUY, SELL, RENT" signage. Inside, however? — a dinged-up, well-trod but endlessly well-stocked slice of gamer... More >>
• BEST SUBSTITUTE FOR DAIGON ALLEY
  Whimsic Alley
  So the New Moon is about to rise. But if you prefer spells to sucking blood, amble into Whimsic Alley, where you'll find Muggles excitedly tricking themselves into Potterland. At the Alley, you'll find the magic supplies you'll need if you decide to board the Hogwarts Express. In here, a cluster... More >>
• BEST ARTISAN DINNERWARE
  Heath Ceramics
  When Sausalito-based Heath Ceramics recently opened an L.A. store, the hearts of midcentury American design-lovers rejoiced, but their pocketbooks groaned. They knew they'd have to make that eternal choice: cheap but disposable, or costly but well-made. Heath is known for its clean-lined, warmly... More >>
• BEST OFF-THE-WALL INTERIOR DESIGNS
  HomeGoods
  Need a Liberace-style wall sconce? HomeGoods probably has it. This chain's stores exude the weird, unexpected randomness of a great thrift shop, but everything inside is new. The deeply discounted (20 to 60 percent off retail) merchandise changes with the tides — one weekend might find you... More >>
• BEST WORLD OF FLOWERS
  L.A. Flower District
  The largest wholesale flower district in the country, the L.A. Flower District downtown is composed of dozens of wholesalers selling imported flowers, as well as California-grown flowers and live plants, and for a $2 admission ($1 on Saturday) the public is welcome. For $10.99, you can get three... More >>
• BEST JAPANESE GROCERY THAT'S ALSO A KOREAN GROCERY
  The Little Tokyo Marketplace
  Despite all the foodie hand-wringing that went on when Korean supermarket giant H Mart took over the Little Tokyo space of Mitsuwa, The Little Tokyo Marketplace (in the Little Tokyo Shopping Center) is a welcome addition to the downtown community. The market carries fresh fish, Korean BBQ... More >>
• BEST CONSCIOUS CONVENIENCE
  Locali
  L.A.'s first conscious convenience store, Locali, quietly opened its doors earlier this year to a resounding "Thank God" from the neighboring Beachwood/Bronson Canyon community. The tiny Franklin storefront is stocked with beverages, organic snacks, prepackaged veg, vegan and raw meals, and a... More >>
• BEST ANTIQUE TOOLS AND GARDEN IRONWORK (1 Comment)
  Log Cabin Mercantile Company
  There's an afternoon drive around long-dry Chatsworth Reservoir that gives you a hint of what L.A. was like when Indian trails were in use, stage coaches ran through and ranchers had not yet carved up the Valley. The route north from the Ventura Freeway along Valley Circle Drive (don't take the... More >>
• BEST VANISHING RECORD STORE
  Music Man Murray
  It's a shame that in a year when three fledgling vinyl shops have opened within three miles of one another — Vacation, Origami and Territory — the granddaddy of all L.A. music vendors is closing operations. The mid-city-based Music Man Murray has serviced the Southland for no less... More >>
• BEST CHEAP THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
  Marukai 98 Plus Store
  Impulse buys. They're frequently the bane of our existence and the source of inexplicable shopper's delight all at the same time, whether it's a giant tub of Gummi Bears from beside the checkout at Bed Bath & Beyond to a $5 copy of Uncle Buck at Target. It's a rare form of excitement, then,... More >>
• BEST HOMEMADE REMEDIES
  Herbs of Mexico
  With an ample supply of "Dragon's Blood," "Super Placenta Extract" and "Schizandra Berries," Herbs of Mexico in Boyle Heights provides enough exotic herbs and extracts to make even MacBeth's witches scratch their heads. A 32-ounce bottle of "Tonico Cerebral" promises to "optimize" your entire... More >>
• BEST NEW BULK BIN ON THE BLOCK
  Naturewell
  Conveniently located two doors down from the vegan joint with a rock & roll waitstaff, and a block up from local raw favorite, Cru, Silver Lake's new juice bar, smoothie stop and whole-foods bulk bin, cinches it: Hipsters have gone health-crazy. Naturewell's pristine bulk bin is well-stocked... More >>
• BEST NEWSSTAND THAT WILL BE GONE IN A YEAR
  Centerfold International Newsstand
  Although newsstands have taken a hit during the Internet age, the legendary Centerfold International Newsstand on Fairfax Avenue is a cut above those that have survived, maintaining its high standards, with an extensive selection of fresh, undamaged papers from all over the world every day.... More >>
• BEST BOUTIQUE CHIC WITHOUT ATTITUDE
  Opening Ceremony
  Don't be intimidated by the uber-chicness of avant-garde fashionista favorite Opening Ceremony. The sales associates, while impossibly hip, are friendly and will mostly leave you alone to browse if that's what you desire. The store — actually several stores within a store — is a... More >>
• BEST SECOND-HAND STORE TO GET FREE HIV-TESTING
  Out of the Closet
  The world's most fa-a-a-bulous thrift store, the Out of the Closet chain has 13 Southern California locations, six of which provide free HIV-testing and counseling on a walk-in basis (Hollywood, West Hollywood, Venice, Atwater Village, Echo Park and Long Beach). The stores are owned and operated... More >>
• BEST FLEA MARKET
  Rose Bowl flea market
  There are few Southland pleasures greater than enjoying a sunny, breezy morning strolling the vendor stalls of a well-stocked flea market, in search of artisan finds and scoring excellent bargains. You can walk plenty of popular ones, from the Rose Bowl to Fairfax High, which feature an array of... More >>
• BEST PERSIAN/INTERNATIONAL GROCERY
  Valley Produce
  If you plan to head to Reseda to check out the goods at Valley Produce, know this: There is never a good time to go. It is always crowded, and finding a parking spot is always a slightly maddening experience. But, if you can deal with the mass of people who hit up this marketplace daily, you... More >>
• BEST DOCTOR WITH SOLE
  Racquet Doctor
  Tennis players know that no matter how gigantic the Shoe Barn or Sports Hut is, you'll be lucky to find more than one or two choices when it comes to court shoes, especially women's. You'll feel like a leftie discovering left-handed scissors for the first time when you walk into the Racquet... More >>
• BEST STORE FOR MOM
  Red Zone
  If GG Allin knew his cuddly mug would one day wind up on a bumper sticker, he might've killed himself sooner. Thanks to the Hot Topic–ification of America, every threatening and nonthreatening genre of rock & roll has been turned into pop culture memorabilia, licensed or unlicensed. In... More >>
• BEST EXPLOSIONS OF COLOR ON A NECK
  I. Ronni Kappos
  There's a timelessness to I. Ronni Kappos' jewelry. Its perfect home might be the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where it could fit into almost any collection, from Ancient Egypt and the Bauhaus, to the artists Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky or El Lissitzky, to contemporary design.... More >>
• BEST DISCOUNT DESIGNER DUDS
  Billion Dollar Babes
  The crowds at Billion Dollar Babes sample sales events have grown to Comic Con–size proportions as bargain-savvy style hounds line up for a chance to sniff out the latest high-end designer fashions (like Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, DVF, Chloe) for less — we're talking up to 80... More >>
• BEST COSTUME JEWELS ON THE CHEAP
  Glitterati
  Glitterati ain't no Tiffany & Co. Some of its bracelets seem like they fell out of a shipping container from China, some of the necklaces, one step above Mardi Gras beads. But Glitterati's a great place to go if you need something shiny, pretty, trendy and cheap for clubbing or to dress up a... More >>
• BEST CITY SHOPPING DISTRICT TO FIND A BARGAIN
  Santee Alley
  The rag trade has always been one of the first employment rungs immigrants step onto to gain a piece of the American dream, and L.A.'s Santee Alley is where you find both the products of their labor and the marketing smarts of other immigrants who have become shopowners and managers. Our local... More >>
• BEST POSEUR-FREE ART-SUPPLY STORE (1 Comment)
  SCI-Arc Supply Store
  Not the biggest but competitively priced and way cool, and located in the warehouse/arts district just west of the Los Angeles River, the SCI-Arc Supply Store offerings reflect the needs of art students at the nearby Southern California Institute of Architecture. The drawing-pen collection is... More >>
• BEST $10 WARDROBE
  Jet Rag
  Nothing gets a bargain shopper's adrenaline going more then the flying elbows and flying fabrics that is the experience of the legendary Jet Rag parking-lot dollar sale. Every Sunday, hung-over hipsters, aging drag queens, and clothing dealers get on their knees among piles of colorful clothing... More >>
• BEST CHOCKFULL-OF-SHOPPING BLOCK (1 Comment)
  West Third Street shopping
  Los Angeles may be the only large city in the world in which a few shops strung together feels like serendipity. And the block on West Third just east of the Beverly Center is serendipitous, at least in terms of eclecticism and possibility. Anchoring the block are two old-timers: Freehand... More >>
• BEST SHOP FOR THOSE WHO STILL SEND HANDWRITTEN NOTES
  Soolip Paperie & Press
  Soolip Paperie & Press is this city's undisputed master of stationery. Other shops are perhaps more intimate and tightly edited (Urbanic, on Abbot Kinney), or offer hipper, more elegant letter pressing (Sugar Paper, in Century City), but Soolip was here first and beats everybody else with... More >>
• BEST UNDER-THE-RADAR MENSWEAR
  South Willard
  South Willard is the clothing-store version of that quiet, unassuming neighborhood restaurant that serves exquisite but unpretentious food to a small but sophisticated clientele. In this case, exquisite but unpretentious menswear from a select group of designers, including Dries Van Noten,... More >>
• BEST WAY TO SPRUCE UP YOUR WARDROBE FOR LESS
  Stella Dottir
  Stella Dottir is an Icelandic eccentric silver-dreadlocked fashion designer who operates her eponymous custom dress shop on Main Street, near Winston, downtown. Back when she opened, the spot was in the heart of Skid Row. Never one to shy away from adversity, she saw the recent economic downturn... More >>
• BEST BUTTON-DOWN OUTPOST
  Steven Alan
  Clean clothes. When you think Steven Alan, that's what you get: clean and casual. Button-down redefined for Saturday afternoons. A latter-day F. Scott Fitzgerald in the backyard, maybe. Zelda, relaxed for once. In ruffled panties. (Okay, maybe not but check them out:... More >>
• BEST ETHNIC DELI COUNTER (1 Comment)
  Super King Market
  To shop is to remember. All of us walk into corner groceries or supermarkets with a child's memory of food. For me it's the wonder of skinned rabbits and eels displayed by vendors under the cast-iron arches of an English marketplace, whose aromas were just as sharp as those of the cheeses and... More >>
• BEST DICEY THRIFT SHOP
  Valley Thrift
  On any day, Valley Thrift offers better-than-bargain-basement shopping. But Saturday is fiesta time, when locals make a day of it. If you're not from the 'hood, you'll be eyed suspiciously, so come early and park in the lot. If you arrive after 10, you'll have to park on side streets and make... More >>
• BEST TEENY-WEENY BIKINI
  Jigsaw
  A Melrose Avenue mainstay for more than a decade, Jigsaw is a trendy fashion boutique catering to gals size 0 to 6. Socialites, nymphs and young, skinny-but-beautiful 'rexy actresses flock here to check out its bountiful selection of maxi dresses (long, flowy numbers), Frankie B jeans, tight... More >>
• BEST SALVATION ARMY STORE
  Salvation Army family store
  A Salvation Army family store isn't such a novelty, but one in a depressed area filled to the gills during a recession seems remarkable. In recent weeks, it's been overflowing with so many racks of clothes that it's difficult for customers to squeeze past all the offerings just to navigate the... More >>
• BEST DURABLE HOUSEHOLD GOODS
  Tortoise General Store
  The Tortoise General Store philosophy: slow and steady wins the race. As applied to the household goods sold by the Japanese-owned shop, this means thoughtful, durable items that are as beautiful as they are functional: Sori Yanagi teakettles, bent-wood cedar bowls, vases made out of river... More >>
• BEST UNKNOWN BOOKSTORE
  Read
  It's an Eagle Rock gem. All alphabetical orderliness and proper genre filing makes Read an easy place to find what you're looking for. But aside from its insanely organized shelves, it also offers a smalltown coziness that larger, independent stores lack. The storefront is modest, housed next to... More >>
• BEST STAR DUDS AT PAUPER PRICES (1 Comment)
  It's a Wrap
  We're slobs in this town, and we're sinking the country's fashion into the deep end, left coast first. We know times are hard, but excuses are few, especially when the folks with the most means are leading the way toward sartorial sin. Let's dress up L.A. Here's one way: It's a Wrap has amazing... More >>
• BEST USED-VINYL STORE
  PCC Flea Market
  Unlikely though it may seem, the third floor of Pasadena City College's Bonnie Street parking structure may very well be the best source for used records in all of Southern California. Every first Sunday of the month at 8 a.m., upwards of 70 music vendors schlep their wares to the temporarily... More >>
• BEST VINTAGE MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT STORE
  Future Music
  Consider it part of the paradox of post-modernism that Future Music, a store specializing in vintage instruments, could serve as the locus for some of L.A.'s most forward-thinking musicians. Indeed, everyone from Stones Throw stalwarts Dam Funk and Peanut Butter Wolf to avant-garde soulsters... More >>
• BEST VINYL RELEASES
  Hydra Head Records
  A little-known fact about metalheads: Hidden under all that drab black and played-out sloganeering for all things unholy is a genuine penchant for flair and, often, an appreciation for life's nicer things. L.A.'s doom-and-distortion community in particular has an insatiable appetite for vinyl,... More >>
• BEST BARGAIN WINE STORE
  K&L Wine Merchants
  Finding inexpensive wine is easy. The trick is scoring those bargain sips that you want to buy again — and serve to your dinner guests. K&L Wine Merchants is the kind of place you can walk into with $100 in your pocket and leave with 10, maybe even 12 interesting bottles. They do it by... More >>
• BEST TEQUILA SELECTION
  Wine Expo
  A worm-filled bottle is hardly what you would expect to find in an Italian wine shop, but Wine Expo staffer Erik Moreno has a soft spot for tequila. His mother is from Jalisco, the Mexican state where the spirit is produced. Nine years ago, Moreno began systematically cleansing the Santa Monica... More >>
• BEST ONE-STOP SORCERER’S SHOP (2 Comments)
  Objets d'Art & Spirit
  Conveniently located in the rock & roll heart of Hollywood, Objets d'Art & Spirit is an affordable way to get your inner witch on. They've got bath salts and candles infused with all the magick you need to manifest millions, or Mr. Right, plus shelves overflowing with talismans and books... More >>
• BEST $20 CLOTHING RACK
  Native
  The cozy Native boutique is in Franklin Village right next to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and Birds, and directly across from the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center. You'll like this funky store if you shop the fashions at Melrose Avenue's Jigsaw or Planet Funk. For shoppers on a... More >>