Shopping & Services

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• Shopping & Services
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• 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 the Stars specializes in footwear that offers serious… More >>

• BEST VALUE VETERINARIAN

  Value Vet

  When a puppy dog looks up at you from inside its cage with, well, those puppy dog eyes, it's saying "Take me home with you." What it's not saying, but should be, is "Between my painful and chronic skin allergy, my family history of renal failure, and that infected front paw that will eventually require surgery, owning me will ensure… More >>

• BEST THRIFT HUNT

  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, where the best stuff is inside, although you have to work… 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 straw, sun and rain. All in all, some 150 colorful hats fill… 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 baking… More >>

• BEST MAIN SQUEEZE

  Dave's Accordion School & Caballero Dance

  Need to learn the difference between a Titano and a Weltmeister? Looking for the best place to get your polka on? Dave's Accordion School & Caballero Dance is the unofficial epicenter for all things accordion. Owner Dave Caballero has sold, repaired and taught the instrument since 1971, the same year he met his wife Veronika, a German immigrant. Veronika added… 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 Street. The only other building for blocks that is not a residence is… 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 inaugural project, Friends of Friends Vol. 1, an EP of… More >>

• BEST CHIC FOR CHEAP

  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 (just look for the building painted in black-and-white stripes) popped up in its place… 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 be overwhelming if we didn't find it to be so much fun… 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 also tell a story, capture a moment, stake a claim. Where… More >>

• BEST NEW BACK-TO-THE-FUTURE VINYL RECORD STORE

  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 enthusiasts, it is with great joy (and irony) that we celebrate… More >>

• BEST NEW RECORD LABEL FOR ABSTRACT AND BLUNTED BEATS

  Alpha Pup Records

  The locus of the Low End Theory scene, Alpha Pup Records is the closest Angeleno analogue to the Fabric label that sprang from the north London nightclub of the same name. But unlike their British counterparts, label owners Daddy Kev and his wife, Danyell Jariel, started their increasingly essential imprint in April 2005, a full year-and-a-half before the Low End… 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 wax tracks for Southern Lord and Sublime Frequencies, and there is… More >>

• BEST CLOSEOUTS

  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 know what will be in stock or if it will ever be in stock… More >>

• BEST CAMERA SHOP

  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 landscape photographer, and one salesman is a wedding… 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 Archipelagos, Trapps and Toccas, here, you'll find the rarest of couture candles… More >>

• BEST HAND CAR WASH (UNLESS YOU HAVE AN SUV)

  Soto Car Wash - CLOSED

  Just $8 for a real, hand car wash? Yes, indeed. Okay, an SUV is $15. There's no big, high-tech, water-wasting machine. Just energetic guys at a family-run place. No fancy AC'ed waiting room, no copies of The New York Times, no Muzak. Skip the respadura (perfume spray). It's still a deal, and you can go to La Princessita nearby, get… More >>

• BEST CASSETTE RELEASES

  Not Not Fun

  Eagle Rock's Not Not Fun label has a history of cassette releases whose physical descriptions are enough to rival the DIY-spirited music contained therein. For instance, from an early Wigwam/Tent City split: "Housed in stenciled sandpaper covers with runic colored-sand emblazoned cases, and twine-banded with totem beads and feathers;" or from the 2005 Abe Vigoda–featuring, nautically themed comp, Sea &… More >>

• BEST NEEDLE WIELDERS

  Emperor's College Clinic

  My hour-and-a-half acupuncture session at Emperor's College Clinic, began with an intern who sized me up, and collected data on my aches, pains and gripes. Then, a supervisor checked my pulse and the underside of my tongue and declared that my Qi was off, pulse was thready, and liver was stagnating. I had no idea what any of it really… More >>

• BEST DISCOUNT DODGER TICKETS

  Travelzoo.com

  Thanks to the Internet, journalists and travel agents may soon be joined at the racetrack by ticket scalpers – or at least the kind that'd sell you last-minute tickets to important Dodger games outside the stadium gates. While Major League Baseball has contracted with Stub Hub (a division of eBay) for fans to bid on tickets from third parties, TravelZoo.com… More >>

• BEST SHARK FOR YOUR FIN

  If you've never had the chance to sample the herbal medicine shops along Ko Shing Street in Hong Kong, two stores within a few blocks of one another in Monterey Park can show you what you're missing. Mini-chain PCT Ginseng & Herbs and family-run KCC Chinese Herbs offer traditional medicines with different approaches to customer service. At PCT, walk past… 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 laptop cases, totes, pouches and clutches — in supple nubuck, suede,… More >>

• BEST SEX SHOP WITH A CONSCIENCE/NAUGHTY PAIN

  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: dark-wood shelves, glass étagères, even a… 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 Da's, on Canoga Park's Antique Row. Her little shop is… More >>

• BEST COMIC/ART BOOK SHOP

  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 books and independently published artist sketchbooks. Open to the public only on Saturday… More >>

• BEST COMPUTER HELP AGAINST AL ODDS

  Compunet

  You can't just walk into Compunet in South Central, you have to ring the bell. Behind a barred security door typical of the homes and small businesses in the area, and equipped with a warning system that lets employees know if the door's ajar, this Compunet franchise store — a small, helpful, competent sales-and-repair business — is thriving despite such… 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 wood trinket boxes from India for $6.… More >>

• BEST CURLY-HAIR STYLIST

  Jon Buhek at Onyx Salon

  You're not Julia Roberts. Or Farrah Fawcett (may she rest in peace). So if you're still looking like a holdover from Mystic Pizza or an angel sans Charlie, get that mall hair into the hands of Jon Buhek at Onyx Salon. Fie on those $200 jobs at so-called "curly-hair specialty salons," and go with a former Monroe High School student… 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 components. Put those together and you… 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 galore in his newly relocated store. Heads of… More >>

• BEST DJ GEAR RENTAL

  Cosmos

  One of the worst aspects of DJing is gear — buying it, storing it and lugging it. A minimal setup for a backyard party, including two self-powered speakers, turntables and a mixer, will run you more than $2,000 new. And that's not counting a laptop and a pickup to haul the stuff. We discovered Cosmos a few years ago while… More >>

• BEST DJs FOR HIRE

  Copeland Entertainment

  A party boat cruises out of Long Beach Harbor as skinny model types robotically gyrate to a stale beat of Madonna tunes. Their mood is subdued, and some partygoers socialize while others watch the skyscrapers and urban skyline fade in the distance. The crowd turns ecstatic when Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys takes the small stage. Armed with… More >>

• Best DJ Gear

  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 recalibrate each turntable for $29.99, making sure your wax is tracked with precision. While you're… 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 hide," explains shop owner Dan Rite. Located… 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 at FIDM. Many items are damaged but reparable, or are samples, labeled as such. Digging is rewarded, as is an… 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 can get your botonaduras gold-plated, if you like — those jangly… 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 heaven, with new and especially good used bargains in every conceivable gaming platform… 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 of make-believe shops sell different magic wares from robes,… 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 minimalist clay bowls, plates, cups, casseroles and pottery. Yes, $42 for a plate and $27 for a… 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 swimming in Jonathan Adler knockoff bowls and leather desk sets, and the next… More >>

• BEST REAPPROPRIATION OF A FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT

  Kind for Cures

  For some, genius strikes in the form of, say, inventing the telephone. For others, it can come in the ability to play freeform jazz on a saxophone. Then there's the type of person who stares at a long-abandoned Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet that had been slumping sadly in Palms for close to a year, and says, "This shall be a… 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 times the flowers you'd buy at Trader Joe's — which is already… More >>

• BEST LIFE-CHANGING SALON

  Beauty Box

  Sisters Lydia and Vanessa Arce of Beauty Box give their customers gorgeous hair and fresh makeup. But for the gals of Homeboy Industries, a downtown gang intervention program, the Arces makeup and haircutting services are free. Vanessa was a teen mom but managed to graduate from beauty school and start Beauty Box from scratch. On one Tuesday a month, they… 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 cuts, sushi (hand rolls while you wait) and pan-Asian noodles, complete with assorted prepared… 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 better-than-decent selection of natural body-care products, as well as a sampling of natural home remedies, essential oils, holistic… More >>

• BEST LOCAL SURFBOARD MAKER

  Guy Okazaki

  Getting a sleek, high-performance surfboard off the rack from brand-name shapers like Al Merrick and Rusty Preisendorfer can make you look cool on the sand but not necessarily on a wave. Those boards require the light-footed skills found on the pro tour. Guys and girls who don't have yoga bodies and a lifetime on the water shouldn't go near these… More >>

• BEST ANTIQUE TOOLS AND GARDEN IRONWORK

  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 unattractive route south from the 118 freeway) takes you… 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 than 47 years, specializing in the rarest of rare old music: pre–World… More >>

• BEST BUILD-IT-YOURSELF WORKSHOP

  Machine Project

  Echo Park nonprofit Machine Project is a do-it-yourselfer's dream. The humble storefront, on Alvarado just north of Sunset, offers affordable instruction in everything from quilting to computer programming, not to mention plenty of classes for the acoustically inclined. A recent two-parter involved: (a) building an underwater microphone out of cheap hardware store parts, and (b) taking a trip to Echo… More >>

• BEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN BARBER SHOP

  King of Cuts

  A two-block span along Crenshaw Boulevard is almost exclusively home to barbershops, and if you're a young or an old man, or a woman who wears her hair cropped close, there's at least one establishment on Barber's Row that will scrape and/or shape the stuff growing on your cranium. The best and most unique of these is known alternately as… 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, that comes from entire stores crammed… More >>

• BEST MAGIC FINGERS

  Massage Therapy Center

  With the proliferation of massage parlors and day spas in this city, it's easy to overlook the unassuming Massage Therapy Center on the upper floor of a Sawtelle Boulevard mini mart. That would be a mistake. If your concern is quality massages over fancy environs, you've come home. The highly respected staff masseuse therapists are known for meticulous technique; they… More >>

• BEST MECHANIC FOR A CHANGE

  Norm's 76

  When you are a gal in your late 40s, you'll do anything to keep your car air-conditioning up and running. You'd be just as happy driving a beat-up Yugo with bicycle tires as long as the interior windows showed a hint of frost. "Freezing" to most people means "barely comfortable" to you. We like our AC set somewhere between "Popsicle"… More >>

• BEST MERCEDES REPAIRS DRY OF TEARS

  Mr. MB Motors

  A used Mercedes can negotiate a pothole like a tank takes a molehill. That's why you'll see Benzes serving as taxis on the toughest streets of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Maybe that explains their popularity here. The last-generation Es go for a little more than $20,000. This is for a top-line luxury car with relatively low mileage and a… 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 nervous system. An 8-ounce bag of Lavender ($2.60) is promoted as a remedy for cancer. A… More >>

• BEST PRIMARY-CARE MECHANIC

  Far East Auto

  If you haven't recently had the pleasant experience of having a mechanic talk you out of spending more money on car repairs, you are advised to head to Donny Vuong of Far East Auto. A longtime fixture near Dodger Stadium, Donny and his small, bare-bones shop are an antidote to spiraling auto health-care costs in an age when cars have… More >>

• BEST MOBILE DJ

  DJ THC Electra

  In our quest to find a mobile DJ who could go above and beyond the standard wedding-reception tunes, we found DJ THC Electra. The local party starter, who you can catch spinning most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at downtown restaurant Wurstküche, comes equipped with Serato Scratch Live 3.0 and 420 Gb of music in addition to the usual tools of… More >>

• BEST BULLDOG BEAUTY

  Muttropolitan

  Muttropolitan is an owner-operated pet groomer, and while not the fanciest place around, its prices for the complete makeover really can't be beat: pad- and ear-trimming, wash, clipping, blow dry, basically the works, at the following rates: small dogs $45 and up; medium dogs $50; large dogs $55 and up; cats $70 (naturally). There's also a 25 percent discount for a multiple-wash card,… 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 with whole grains, dried fruits, granola, nuts and seeds, and offers a rockin'… 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. You'll even find International Herald Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and scores of out-of-state and international… 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 surprisingly inviting place, sprawling but not scarily minimalist, with unusual jewelry in tiny glass vitrines… 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 by the AIDS Research Foundation, and profits fund the foundation's medical and advocacy work.… 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 nifty goods — and an admission fare. It's getting harder to… 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 won't be disappointed.… More >>

• BEST WAY TO BURY FIDO WITH DIGNITY

  L.A. Pet Memorial Park

  Depending on where you reside, burying your capuchin monkey in your backyard may get you a pricey citation; calling Animal Control to cart Spot away costs $60 to $250, depending on his size. Instead, put your money to better use by honoring your furry friend at the L.A. Pet Memorial Park, where the gravity of your loss will be respected… 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 Doctor. A store just for you — with… More >>

• BEST PURVEYOR OF PSYCHEDELIC FREAKINESS

  Manimal Vinyl

  This has been a banner year for trippy beat-laden psychedelic folk breakdowns in L.A., and you can thank Manimal Vinyl for a lot of it. There are a dozen odd labels that could arguably lay claim to being this city's best imprint, including In the Red, Nacional, PPM, Stones Throw, Dangerbird, IAMSOUND, Alpha Pup and Gnomonsong, to say nothing of… More >>

• BEST RECORDING STUDIO IN A HOTEL

  Studio at the Sunset Marquis Hotel & Villas

  At the Studio at the Sunset Marquis Hotel & Villas, in West Hollywood, catering to an artist's needs is easy: You just order room service. The recording studio, run by Jed Lieber, is housed in an isolated corner of the lavish hotel's parking garage. With a smoking lounge–meets-bordello interior, the fully-equipped, intimate space offers an alternative to traditional recording studios.… 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 Red Zone, however, punk, metal and all their sub-families — from the… 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. And, of course, it belongs in the museum shop — any museum shop.… 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 percent less. What started out, in 2001 in Hollywood, as a massive, multidesigner… More >>

• BEST DECADE’S WORTH OF THERAPY IN ONE EXCRUCIATING (THOUGH EFFECTIVE) STINT

  Russell Feingold

  You can't throw an I Ching these days without bouncing a coin off the back of a coach of some kind — life coach, business coach, wellness coach. Enter Russell Feingold: transformational coach extraordinaire. What separates Feingold from other therapists, counselors and coaches is his delicately balanced combination of heart-centered energy and shamanic insight. He sees your blind spots, your… 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 bland outfit: ankle chains, hair clips,… More >>

• BEST MECHANIC WHO APPRECIATES THE BEAUTY OF A SIMPLE DIY FIX

  Walter Wong at Right Solution Inc.

  A call to superstar mechanic Walter Wong (of Right Solution Inc.) often ends, not with you driving over to his shop but with a variation of the prognosis “Go to Pep Boys…” or “Go to the hardware store…” or maybe “Go into your kitchen…” Advice like administering low doses of Pepto-pink power-steering fluid, as directed, bought me a whole… 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 garment district is also a place to score… More >>

• BEST POSEUR-FREE ART-SUPPLY STORE

  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 definitive; and the model-making materials include bass wood and hardwoods; as well as plastic, metal… 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 to fight over polyester disco dresses and vintage bowling shirts. Some of my finds… More >>

• BEST CHOCKFULL-OF-SHOPPING BLOCK

  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 Gallery and New Stone Age. Freehand stocks a ton of… 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 its variety. The hand-bound Italian leather journals look as if they fell out of… 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, Stephen Schneider and Band of Outsiders. Located on an anonymous stretch of 3rd near Crescent Heights, behind an off-green… 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 as an opportunity. Dottir, known for her velvet and lace gothic Victorian… 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: stevenalan.com/journal/?p=282.) "It's East Coast prep with an iconic twist," says Scott Sanford, SA's regional manager. "No logos, worn-in,… More >>

• BEST ETHNIC DELI COUNTER

  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 ground coffee that filled Long Island A&Ps… 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 your way past scores of independent vendors hawking… More >>

• BEST CAB DRIVER

  Lonnie "Wisefool the Cab Driver" McCreery

  Perhaps it's late afternoon and you're stuck in traffic on the 110 North after arriving at LAX, or perhaps it's 2 a.m. and you and some friends have wadded together enough beer-soaked bills to get a safe ride home from the bar. Whichever the case, you're stuck in a taxi with a driver that has seen and heard it all… 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 T-shirts, sweat suits, denim hot shorts (otherwise known as Daisy Dukes) and microminis.… More >>

• BEST THAI MASSAGE

  Thai Herb and Spa

  It's probably no exaggeration to say that there are hundreds of Thai massage parlors in L.A., and it's tough to know which are legitimate and which are, well, hand-job specialists. The storefront entry that leads into Thai Herb and Spa, which is located in a Hollywood mini-mall, looks like a Bangkok pharmacy transported to California, replete with unpronounceable secret lotions,… More >>

• BEST DEAL FOR AN HOURLONG RUBDOWN

  Serene Thai

  Standard price for inexpensive Thai and Korean massages around town is $40. That gets you full-body muscle work, generally from the surprisingly strong hands of very small women. But one of the better-kept secrets is that some parlors also offer an hourlong foot massage for just $20 — and no — they don't just rub your feet for an hour.… More >>

• BEST BUS YOU'LL NEVER USE

  DASH

  The MTA sure has gone a long way in the past couple of years toward promoting its transit system as an effective cost-cutting measure against soaring gas prices and traffic-choked commutes. The marketing scheme has been effective, yet not foolproof in the face of costs. They did, eventually, have to bump that day pass up to five dollars from three.… 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 place. Observers note that in the past those of… 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 rocks, iron incense burners and such. Yes, some of the merchandise falls into the… 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 an ever-rotating selection of boutiques and dress shops. Prices range from the… More >>

• BEST STAR DUDS AT PAUPER PRICES

  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 prices on truly prime pieces, some… 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 repurposed garage — home to the free monthly PCC… 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 Sa-Ra, Smell staple Nite Jewel, and indie-rockers Random Patterns and Division Day regularly frequent the Highland… 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, and the Los Feliz–based Hydra Head Records (whose owners also run the Vacation Vinyl shop) has the… 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 cutting out the middleman and… 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 store's shelves of Cuervo and Patrón and replacing them… More >>

• BEST ONE-STOP SORCERER’S SHOP

  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 and crystals and jewelry. Still, as awesome as all the… 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 tight budget, though, there are some great finds on its outdoor… More >>

• BEST FOREIGN TONGUE-TWISTING

  Beverly Hills Lingual Institute

  On a typical weekday evening, students of all ages stream into the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute, pick up some cookies or pretzels and a cup of tea or coffee, and head off to one of several classrooms to learn one of the 27 languages offered, from Arabic to Vietnamese. Classes are small, teachers are native speakers, and the feeling is… More >>