Goods & Services >>

• Best Travel Advice for Scary Places
  International Travel Clinic
  There are any number of travel agencies and Web sites out there willing to explain the joys of hacking through some fetid South American rainforest. When you need the real dope, though, head to the Jefferson County Health Department's International Health Clinic. There, Janet Ballantyne, the... More >>
• Best Place to Get Away Without Facing Scary Microbes
  Window to the World Museum
  Tired of viewing old pot shards and ethnic weaving products in tasteful displays behind glass? Time to pay a call on Window to the World Museum, a private museum-in-a-mall that holds a globe-girdling collection of memorabilia and souvenirs from its owner/curator's adventures. Sue Koenig taught... More >>
• Best Place to Find Happy Houseplants
  The Violet Showcase
  Doug and Barbara Crispin managed to grow African violets in the tundra. That should tell you something about the crop at their shop in Englewood, the Violet Showcase, the only store of its kind in the country. The Violet Showcase is packed with new and unusual varieties of the world's most... More >>
• Best Toys
  Timbuk Toys
  Located in the new, improved University Hills complex, Timbuk Toys still manages to exude the feel of a neighborhood store. Featuring an attentive staff that obviously enjoys children, it offers a versatile selection and wide price range for a relatively small space. Mostly, though, it's just... More >>
• Best Reupholstering
  Yesterday's Child
  If it's getting more and more difficult to call great-aunt Edna's Morris chair an "heirloom," perhaps its time for a touchup. Be kind to your mold-crusted chair. Or throw it away and start from scratch. Little more than a hole-in-the-wall with eclectic collectibles on South Pearl Street,... More >>
• Best Place to Find Stocking Stuffers Year-Round
  H. R. Meininger
  Artists must celebrate the coolest Christmases around. If they don't, they're not buying their paint at the right place. Meininger's, long known as one of the city's best-equipped art-supply stores, also carries compelling little items that make opening up old socks a tradition worth keeping.... More >>
• Best Holiday Craft Fair
  Gifts for Yule
  Organized annually by the eclectica palace on South Pearl Street, Manorisms and Blackbird of Evergreen, this craft fair is a rarity of the holiday season. Of a manageable size and offering handmades and gifts -- vintage linens, fragrant pots of paperwhites, one-of-a-kind children's clothing,... More >>
• Best Window Displays (Yule and Otherwise)
  Five Green Boxes
  Since moving down the street from an isolated corner to more compact and socialized digs, this shop has added a singular and eccentric brand of color to South Pearl Street's already charming retail community. Bold hues of green or pink (or whatever color best defines the season at hand) command... More >>
• Best Place to Buy and Then Smoke Exotic Cigarettes
  Paris on the Platte
  Paris on the Platte is Denver's best approximation of a European-style cafe, the kind of place people go to eat baguettes, drink strong coffee, read, write -- and smoke heartily. Like the city it's named after (where travelers are free to light up immediately after stepping off a plane), Paris... More >>
• Best New-CD Store -- Underground-Music Variety
  Wax Trax
  If you're looking for something out of the ordinary or want to pick the brain of someone who eats, drinks and breathes music, Wax Trax is still the bee's knees. The store's stock czars make sure that just about every new, intriguing, indescribable or curious release is on hand, be it imported or... More >>
• Best Used-CD Store
  Wax Trax
  Of course, locals know that Wax Trax isn't a single store, but a several-headed music hydra -- and the branch dedicated to used product shouldn't be overlooked. The space is crammed with oodles of previously owned treasures: CDs and LPs from a wide range of eras, as well as stacks upon stacks of... More >>
• Best New-Vinyl Store
  Twist & Shout Underground
  An annex to the original Twist & Shout (recently named Retailer of the Year by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers), conveniently located on the other side of the street, Underground stocks a potpourri of musical accessories, including new and used stereo equipment, cartridges,... More >>
• Best Place for Used Vinyl and Knowledgeable Grouches
  Jerry's Record Exchange
  Don't ask for the time at Jerry's. There's a big clock on the back wall, buddy, and it ticks for thee. Musical questions, however, are permissible, as long as they don't waste time and aren't stoopid. Otherwise, browse to your heart's content in the tiny catacombs of vinylus obscurus and used... More >>
• Best Place to Find Mexican Pots
  Jackalope
  Remember that Anne Geddes photo of her signature babies planted in acres upon acres of terra-cotta pots? Now imagine the picture without any babies. That's what Jackalope looks like -- a vast expanse of planters and pots in all shapes and sizes, stretching almost as far as the eye can see. The... More >>
• Best Place for Vintage-Vinyl Fiends to Score a Fix
  Don's Discs
  Forget CDs. Don Radke, proprietor of Don's Discs, has more used records than he has time to clean, sort and stock. He stopped keeping count years ago, but Radke figures that more than a million separate slabs of vinyl inhabit his increasingly cluttered space in Thornton. While many a local has... More >>
• Best Record Store for Hip-Hop Hopefuls
  Sunshine Records
  Local rappers and DJs who want to be sure that their recordings are well represented head to Sunshine Records, the revered East Colfax institution that's served and showcased local hip-hop heads for years. Alongside the latest records from E-40 and Jay-Z, releases from area MCs like Don Blas and... More >>
• Best Hip-Hop Store
  Hip Hop One Stop
  In a small but sparely modern shop across the street from East High School sits the aptly named Hip Hop One Stop, where under one roof you can find magazines and CDs that will put you in the hip-hop mood, plus a small but high-quality collection of jeans, jackets, shirts and shoes that'll make... More >>
• Best Courtesy Phones
  Tattered Cover Book Store
  Half the population of Denver seems to know about the courtesy phones installed at the Tattered Cover Book Stores in Cherry Creek and LoDo. Discreet signage informs patrons getting ready to "ride the light" to limit calls to three-minute locals. But a bit of persistent eavesdropping reveals the... More >>
• Best Free Service
  Video/Audio Rentals
  All you really need to get a Denver library card is a pulse. From the day of your birth forward, you are eligible to rent materials, free of charge, as long as you bring them back on time. But while books are the primary draw at the library's Central Branch, smart card carriers know to make an... More >>
• Best Independent Video Store -- First-Run
  Video One
  With big chains getting bigger, it's harder for the little guy to survive. The answer for video rental stores is niche marketing, carrying films that don't make it past the bean-counters at the big box: DVDs, classics, catalogue movies -- anything and everything consumers can't find elsewhere.... More >>
• Best Independent Video Store -- Avant-Garde
  Video Station
  Niche marketing is nothing new in the world of videos; Boulder's Video Station has been doing it for twenty years now. Yes, this is the place to find classics like Debbie Does Dallas, Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, but a huge part of the store's 66,000-title inventory is made up of... More >>
• Best Place to Find Roy Rogers Chenille Bedspreads Online
  Cowboy Classics
  Folks with a hankering for Western kitsch -- authentic cowboy clocks, wagon-wheel couch sets and tepee-shaped cookie jars -- once had to drive to Longmont in order to check out the new arrivals at Cowboy Classics, one of the area's best sources of Western memorabilia. But now the Wild West comes... More >>
• Best Mobile Service
  Sewing Plus Traveling Seamstress
  Have needle, will travel. A certified nursing assistant by training, Millie Ferguson charges $25 an hour to keep you in stitches. She'll bring her rolling sewing machine to your home or office to make alterations, mend, hem or replace buttons. And Ferguson's not reluctant to tackle big jobs,... More >>
• Best Mobile Service -- Professional Division
  Rolling Stone Mobile Knife Sharpening
  Man does not live by bread alone -- he also needs a knife to cut it. That's where Rolling Stone Mobile Knife Sharpening comes in. Your doctor won't make house calls, but Daryl Hoffman will -- if you happen to be a chef at one of Colorado's finer restaurants or country clubs, that is. Hoffman... More >>
• Best Place to Fill Up on Falafel While Filling Up
  Haji Babba
  Fuel and falafel may seem like an odd pairing, but the owners of this gas station/convenience store/Middle Eastern restaurant may be on to something. Although patrons get the usual potato chips with their petroleum, they also have the option of fueling up on a decent meal. The dining side of... More >>
• Best Urban Car Wash
  Sharper Cars
  Magnesium chloride may be great on snowy streets, but it's hell to get off your car; touch-free just doesn't cut it. For an honest-to-God hands-on wash and polish, cruise on over to Sharper Cars, that purple building with the turquoise trim on the edge of downtown. With a complete line of detail... More >>
• Best Amenities at a Car Wash
  Waterworks Car Wash
  As long as you're washing your car, why not clean up some messy spots in your personal life? Waterworks Car Wash stocks the usual deodorizers, tapes, atlases and car accessories -- which do in a pinch as a quick gift for that forgotten birthday or anniversary. More important, Waterworks also... More >>
• Best Do-It-Yourself Car Wash
  Hi-Performance Car Wash
  We know: The most entertaining do-it-yourself car wash, and certainly the cheapest, is in one of Denver's city parks, where you can pull up to the side of the road and pretend to polish the chrome while you're really watching all those hard bodies run by. But if the pressure's on for a fast... More >>
• Best Place to Get a Flat Tire Fixed
  Discount Tire
  A friend in need, as they say. Discount Tire usually fixes flats for free, even if it's somebody else's tire or you picked up your puncture on the other side of town. (Particularly tricky jobs might cost $5.) Of course, you don't want to ride around on a patched tire forever, so when you decide... More >>
• Best Place to Park for Traffic Court
  Denver Police Department/Denver City Jail
  It's bad enough that you have to go to court, but it adds insult to injury when you discover there's no reasonably priced place -- or any place at all -- to park within a mile of the Denver City and County Building. Often overlooked, however, is a small parking lot directly in front of Denver... More >>
• Best Free Service for Casino Workers
  IRS Tax Preparation Workshops
  Here's a tip: Declare those tips! Through the first three months of this year, the IRS has been holding free workshops in Colorado's mountain gaming towns to help casino employees fill out their 1040s, properly accounting for all those fabulous cash gratuities bestowed upon by them by happy... More >>
• Best New Consumer Service
  Colorado Consumer Line
  A joint venture of the Colorado Attorney General's Office and Better Business Bureaus of Colorado, the Colorado Consumer Line is designed to provide a quick response to consumer concerns. Callers have their choice of listening to recorded tips or live employees, who answer questions and take... More >>
• Best Online Watchdog
  Privacy Foundation
  You're surfing the net at 3 a.m. Do you know where your cookies are? Richard Smith does, and he wants everybody to know how to lock their cupboards. As chief technology officer of the Privacy Foundation, it's Smith's job to uncover threats to online privacy and inform citizens of those threats;... More >>
• Best Place When You're Feeling Pink, Career-wise
  Pink Slip Parties
  LH3, Inc.
  If you've just had your third dot-com shot out from under you, there's a place you can go where everyone understands. Really. Everybody at a Pink Slip Party is looking for work, except for the companies and headhunters who are on hand to network with the recently axed of the high-tech world.... More >>
• Best Place to Find a Nerd Career
  JustTechJobs.com
  While you're waiting for the next Pink Slip Party, post your resumé on JustTechJobs.com, a Boulder-based job site that specializes in tech types. The site charges a fee for employers to post jobs, but job-seekers pay nothing. There are usually about 52,000 resumés posted on the... More >>
• Best Eco-Friendly Internet Service
  The EcoISP
  If you're paying for a service, why not use one that supports your views? What Working Assets did for long-distance and progressive causes, The EcoISP does for Internet access and environmental issues. Each month, 50 percent of a subscriber's net revenue is donated to the environmental cause of... More >>
• Best Online Auction Site
  Fatty Tuna
  This Boulder-based reverse-auction Web site lets buyers tell the world what they want, when they want it and how much they are willing to pay for it. When the bidding's done, the buyer receives contact information for the three lowest bids; the vendor with the lowest bid receives the buyer's... More >>
• Best Swap Meet
  Mountain Miser Gear Swap
  You've been to the Mount Everest base camp and survived. But now you find yourself with a yak harness you no longer need, along with some miscellaneous sporting equipment. Or maybe you're planning to summit the world's highest peak and are curious about yak-related paraphernalia. Never fear: ... More >>
• Best Recycling Service
  The Stuff Exchange
  When your stuff is too old to use but too good to trash, call the Stuff Exchange. The volunteers manning the hotline and Web site will see that your gently used items get a good home, either with a school, nonprofit organization or individual in need. If you're with one of those good causes that... More >>
• Best Computer Recycling Service
  Computers for Community
  Do you really think that old 386 in the basement is good for anything other than a boat anchor? Compute again, Intel-head, then contact Computers for Community. This nonprofit collects, refurbishes and distributes used computers to schools and nonprofits in the metro area. And they'll accept any... More >>
• Best Place to Equip Yourself Like Erik Estrada
  Colorado State Patrol Specialty Store
  Admit it: You have a thing for cops. You've memorized every episode of CHiPs and frequently fantasize that you're cruising alongside Erik Estrada on your motorcycle. For real vroom service, accelerate over to an old house at the corner of First and Wadsworth in Lakewood, where the Colorado State... More >>
• Best Construction Recycling Service
  Resource 2000
  All salvage, all the time, donated by builders and contractors who would rather give it away than dump it in a landfill. By reclaiming used building materials and selling them to consumers at bargain prices -- $70 for a picture window, for example -- Resource 2000 aims to reduce the amount of... More >>
• Best Big Thrift Shop
  Goodwill Store
  You pays your money, you takes your choice. And with the size of the newest Goodwill store -- a robust 11,300 square feet -- you have to be alert to the good things Goodwill will sometimes have coming and going. Skis? Sure. Snowboards? Once in a while. The best way to check it out is to check it... More >>
• Best Upscale Thrift Shop
  La Cache
  Since 1982, Lenore Stoddard and her band of loyal volunteers have staffed this fundraising venture for Children's Hospital. And what funds they've raised! La Cache has generated more than $1 million for the hospital to date, even while giving consignors two-thirds of the purchase price.... More >>
• Best Thrift Shop With a Cause
  Treasure Trunk
  Not long ago, there was a mink coat on sale at the Treasure Trunk. Although it was priced to move at $65, some shrewd -- but not necessarily PC -- fashion-hound snapped it up on a half-price day. Clean and well-organized, both the big, new shop on Colfax and the original in Wheat Ridge benefit... More >>
• Best Gift Shop in a Church
  Riverside Baptist Church
  When an organization runs dozens of programs and ministries that do everything from counseling unwed pregnant women to running a crisis shelter, it needs to dig deeper than just the collection plate, even if the 4,000-member flock is generous. That's why Riverside Baptist Church has been blessed... More >>
• Best Children's Shop in a Museum
  Shop Skip and a Jump
  Taking kids to the Shop Skip and a Jump store at the Children's Museum is like taking a group of chocoholics to the Hershey factory. You'll find some of the hippest gear for both learning and playing here: dinos, twirlers, books, games and other gizmos, all at your (sticky) fingertips. Cash... More >>
• Best Western Store in a Restaurant
  Denver Buffalo Company Trading Post
  Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight? There are times when we hunger to dig into a big hunk of beast, be it beef or buffalo, grilled a perfect medium rare. But just as often, we have a hankering to see the critter put to another use -- as a great Western belt, bag or jacket. Preferably one... More >>
• Best Cafe in a Furniture Store
  American Furniture Warehouse Superstore
  You know how cranky you can become after a day of shopping, comparing prices on sofas and testing fabrics on divans. Take a break and get refreshed at Jake Jabs's huge American Furniture Warehouse emporium on the north side of town. A cup of joe, a light snack, and you're back on the showroom... More >>
• Best Designer Furniture at a Discount (1 Comment)
  The Furniture Room
  Real quality furniture at affordable prices -- there's a concept! It's the one Brian Frenkel and Jason Reimer put to work at the Furniture Room, which carries cream-of-the-crop designer lines of retro and contemporary furniture, from chairs and sofas to mattresses and bedframes. How much you... More >>
• Best Stash of Stuff in a Furniture Store
  Brandon
  Although the floor is a little less dusty since this store moved from an ancient LoDo warehouse to a new space on Santa Fe, Brandon's basic business concept remains unchanged: Jam as much stuff as possible into the building and see what goes out the door. On any given day, the jam could include... More >>
• Best Porn Store in a Historic Building
  Diamond Lil's
  The building that started life in 1899 as Kopper's Hotel and Saloon today houses Diamond Lil's, believed to be the only adult bookstore in a nationally recognized historic building (it made the National Register of Historic Places in 1999); perhaps more important, it's also the last porn shop in... More >>
• Best Little Luxuries Beyond a Rubber Duckie
  Details: Embellishments for the Body, Bath and Bungalow
  Anyone whose idea of a fabulous evening involves a hot bath filled with something that smells wonderful while surrounded by glowing candles that smell more wonderful, followed by a lotion that smells even more wonderful, can stock up for a month of luxuriating at this inviting shop. In addition... More >>
• Best Way to Celebrate the New Baby
  Rose Medical Center's gourmet meal
  Few moments in life are as treasured as those following the birth of a child. Mom and Dad stare at their little creation with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. What better way to complement that time than with an undercooked burger, a leftover energy bar or a tiny cup of... More >>
• Best Networking for Overstressed Moms
  Matching Moms
  Experience is what inspired local stay-at-home mom Julia White to start Matching Moms. Faced with a feeling of isolation as a new mother in a neighborhood where she knew no other mothers with children, she realized how important it is to hook up with someone nearby for a combination of adult... More >>
• Best Supply Store for the Disabled
  Pathways HomeCare Center
  Developmental Pathways of Aurora, a nonprofit that provides services to the disabled, has taken its mission of fulfilling special needs to the next level by opening this 12,000-square-foot store. Pathways offers a full line of wheelchairs, walkers and other durable medical goods, and the profits... More >>
• Best Way to Give the Gift of Life
  The Colorado Donor Registry
  You can't use them where you're going, but back here, your organs could save the lives of others. Now is the time to sign up for the Colorado Donor Registry, created by the Colorado Legislature in 2000 and officially up and running as an electronic database on November 19, 2000. Those who marked... More >>
• Best Free Medical Advice
  Community Health Resource Center
  Searching the Web for information about a medical condition is convenient -- if you have a computer hooked up to the Internet. But you have to wonder how accurate some of that information is, and where it's coming from. Enter the Platte Valley Medical Center and the Adams County Library, which... More >>
• Best Custom Wigs
  Hana Designs
  Bad hair is something folks obsess, mess and confess over. But of much more concern is a lack of hair -- particularly when that lack results from a medical condition. Hana Designs helps men, women and children who have lost their locks feel better about themselves by outfitting them with... More >>
• Best Underwear for Newlyweds
  SoL Bride
  What would you want to be caught dead in on your wedding night? Frederick's of Hollywood? Maybe not: It seems the trousseau is making a comeback, starting with the perfect foundation for holding everything in place during the ceremony and ending with...well, ending with whatever your imagination... More >>
• Best Way to Thine Own Scent Be True
  Eleuria
  I stink, therefore I am. You've survived your kid's CSAP and your own Pap smear; you've tested out on thespark.com and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. But can you pass the smell test? Eleuria makes custom scents designed for your unique personality, as ascertained by a questionnaire on the... More >>
• Best Fabric Store
  Denver Fabrics
  Once you've figured out that Denver Fabrics isn't in Denver, you know where to go to find the largest selection of fabrics in the area. The showroom is mammoth, filled to bursting with a greater variety of fabric colors, styles and textures than most of us can imagine, plus a wide range of... More >>
• Best Lithuanian Sweaters (1 Comment)
  Lele
  For those of us unfortunate enough not to have industrious Lithuanian aunts and grandmothers, there's Lele. Local businesswoman Debra Belk imports sweaters, mittens, scarves and and assorted other items for women and children from Lithuania. The yarns, a blend of cotton and linen, are... More >>
• Best Gift Bags
  MacFrugal's Bargain Close-out
  Maybe you're really bad at wrapping gifts. Maybe you hate to make the effort when most gift wrap goes straight into the trash. Or maybe you're just tired of having your storage closet overrun by rolls of half-used paper and shiny curlicue ribbons that you paid too much for in the first place.... More >>
• Best Australian Hats (1 Comment)
  Wallaroo Hat Company
  When you need an industrial-strength sun hat, go where the UV is the strongest: Australia. The Wallaroo Hat Company did just that, and it now imports fun and fashionable wide-brimmed chapeaux made of sun-resistant materials. In fact, these babies are rated by the Australian Radiation Laboratory... More >>
• Best Dog Buffet
  Bubba & Ebonee's Dog Bakery and Cafe
  Before you go out for Sunday brunch, treat your canine companion to a Saturday buffet. Bubba & Ebonee's serves an all-you-can-snarf buffet for dogs every Saturday for $4.95. The handmade dog biscuits are baked fresh each day, and some dishes are certified organic. Cats can get a doggie bag of... More >>
• Best Mexican Cooking Lessons (1 Comment)
  Charlotte Saenz's Mexican cooking classes
  Once upon a time, if you wanted tortillas, there was only one place to get them: Grandma's kitchen. But now mass-produced tortillas line the grocery-store shelves, and Grandma has hung up her apron. Enter Charlotte Saenz. With a griddle in one hand and arolling pin in the other, she's teaching a... More >>
• Best Self-Service Dog Wash
  Stinky Dog No More
  Does your dog cower and hide when you pull out the old tin washtub? Are you tired of having to hose down the walls after treating Fido to a shampoo in your bathroom? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, hustle your pooch on down to Stinky Dog No More, a self-service, indoor dog... More >>
• Best Place to Learn English
  Emily Griffith Opportunity School
  Since 1916, people wanting to learn English as a second language have flocked to the big brick building at 13th and Welton downtown. Emily Griffith's philosophy of welcoming "all who wish to learn" lives on in more than 350 vocational and technical courses, including a dozen different English... More >>
• Best Online Baby Clothes
  Grow
  The joint venture of a Denver designer and a Chicago marketing strategist, Grow's greatest appeal is its wonderful simplicity -- the colorful, comfortable all-cotton daywear is durable, cute and easy to care for. Though the clothing, gently emblazoned with Verity Freebern's graphics, is... More >>
• Best Kids' Boutique -- Downscale
  Gumballs: A Kids' Outlet
  Don't be frightened: When you first walk into Gumballs after picking your way through a jungle of plastic trikes, wagons and other yard toys parked in front, it's a little bit frightening, like entering the remains of a trailer park ravaged by spring tornadoes. But step lightly over the shoes... More >>
• Best Place to Get a Trophy (or Huge Gavel) for Scoring Well
  Colorado Badge and Trophy
  Happen to be, say, an organizer of a stock show in need of official-looking "Participant" ribbons? Or need to impress a suddenly retiring Supreme Court justice with an engraved gavel bigger than his ego? Try Colorado Badge and Trophy, which since 1906 has been supplying the hardware that makes... More >>
• Best Theater Workshop
  Wilbur James Gould Voice Center
  A division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Voice Center is the only voice research laboratory in the world associated with a major performing arts organization. But the staff works with people throughout the community, not just professional actors. In addition to conducting... More >>
• Best Bookbinder
  Denver Bookbinding Company
  This family-owned company in the Highland neighborhood has brought new life to old books since 1929. Not only will Denver Bookbinding recover old volumes and bind new manuscripts, but it can also create custom-designed journals and blank books. Since 1972, the shop has been run by the daughter,... More >>
• Best Bookstore Wall of Ephemera
  Capitol Hill Books
  When you buy used books, you never know what you're going to find. The staff at Capitol Hill Books has been finding things tucked away in used books for at least two decades, and the store's Ephemera Wall of Fame is an entertaining, sometimes poignant display of long-forgotten news clippings,... More >>
• Best Party Product -- Professional Division
  Party Mitt
  It's tough to shmooze and booze with a buffet plate in your hand. The Party Mitt lets you hold drinks and snacks in one hand while grinnin' and grippin' with the other. Made of disposable plastic with a thumb-shaped recess that works for lefties or righties, the Mitt is the answer to a hungry... More >>
• Best Retail Block Revitalization
  West City Perk/Deli/Loganberry's
  Good things come in small packages. For a real taste of Denver's changing scene, visit a tiny enclave just north of St. Joseph's Hospital. Spearheaded by West City Perk, a combination coffee joint and garage-sale-cum-antique-boutique, this row of shops is still home to less trendy businesses... More >>
• Best Store Near Park Meadows
  Bead It
  Want to tie up your kids for a couple of hours? Bead It is a real pearl, an entertaining oasis in the suburban wasteland of expensive, pre-packaged fun. The array of artistic beading possibilities is so intriguing, in fact, that adults are likely to take on their own projects, too. With a... More >>
• Best Store Anywhere on Colfax Avenue
  Eccentricals
  Self-confessed compulsive collector Judy White says she ran out of room for all the objets and jewelry she'd amassed in her own quarters, so she decided to share the wealth: The result is Eccentricals, an antiques emporium flaunting "the best of all decades" and doing so with an unfettered lack... More >>
• Best Store Anywhere on Broadway
  Decade
  This small, stylish retro boutique is a welcome alternative to the pricey stores farther down Broadway on Antique Row. Decade always has a reasonably priced selection of antique armoires, vanities, couches and chairs; you may also find 1950s- and '60s-era dinette sets. And that's just the... More >>
• Best Thing About FlatIron Crossing That Doesn't Involve Shopping
  Waterfall and gardens
  If shopping isn't your thing and you find yourself forced to spend the day here, take solace in FlatIron's lovely waterfall and adjacent garden. Intended to replicate a mountain meadow, this area on the mall's north side is the perfect spot to enjoy a picnic or soak up some sun. The waterfall is... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Gifts Made in Colorado
  Made in Colorado
  When you've run out of gift ideas for out-of-state friends or relatives who wish they could live in the Rockies, too, Made in Colorado is a godsend. The store sells an abundance of homegrown items: gold-plated aspen-leaf jewelry, stained-glass nightlights in the shape of columbines, gold-panning... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Vintage Advertising Posters
  Gallerie Rouge
  A visit to Gallerie Rouge is a little slice of heaven for advertising aficionados. This store stocks original and reproduction American, French and German posters advertising films, skiing, car racing, travel and champagne. Patrons can spend hours researching the mostly 1920s through 1940s... More >>
• Best Spiritual Drugstore and Hex Removal
  Botánica y Yerbería Caridad del Cobre
  Need dried bat wings, voodoo dolls, herbal teas or just to have a simple hex removed? Botánica y Yerbería Caridad del Cobre has thousands of lotions, potions, tonics, candles and talismans that can cure almost whatever ails you. Proprietor Martín Ramirez is a semi-retired... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Confessional
  Architectural Antiques
  We're not making judgments here, but some people -- and you know who you are -- could benefit from a trip to the confessional booth. Architectural Antiques may be the answer to your prayers. This salvage shop specializes in religious articles -- velvet deacon's seats, stained glass, pews,... More >>
• Best Old-Style Tailor
  Duman's Custom Tailor and Uniforms
  For forty years, Maurice Duman and now his son Steve have created custom suits for Denver's snappy dressers. Over the past two decades, the company has also grown to be the city's largest independent uniform distributor, dressing waitstaffs at some of the finest restaurants and caterering... More >>
• Best Place to Launch a Career in Jewelry Design
  Desert Gems
  If you're a pirate at heart, here's the buried treasure. This gem of a store is filled to the brim with beautiful beads and charms made from semi-precious stones and metals: tiny jasper stars, wee garnet spheres, dainty silver tubes. You can browse for hours, filling a plastic tray with... More >>
• Best Local Purse Designer
  Brandi Shigley
  Move over, Monica Lewinsky, there's a new purse designer in the biz. Denver's own Brandi Shigley is selling her "funky fresh handbags" at local stores like Decade and Miss Talulah's, as well as on her very own Web site. The twenty-something Kate Spade wannabe started her career back in the... More >>
• Best Boxers for Rugged Terrain
  Silk Trails
  Renee Zacher Himel took one look at a silk scarf printed with a map of Vail Mountain and got an idea. Wouldn't it look much better draped over some rugged terrain -- say, a man's nether regions? From that modest start emerged Silk Trails, a company that makes silk boxer shorts that also serve as... More >>
• Best Fashion Advice
  "Style Matters"
  Rocky Mountain News
  You're not going to wear that, are you? What would Judie Schwartz and Evelinda Urman say? Plenty, probably: The two have been shopping buddies for years, and it shows in their sassy "Style Matters," a point-counterpoint column in the Mile HighStyle section of the Rocky Mountain News. No... More >>
• Best Deal on Roses
  House of Rose
  If there's ever a Denver war of the roses, Buddy Rose will win, thorns down. At his House of Rose, you can pick up a bunch of 25 roses for just $12 -- a bloomin' miracle. These flowers were grown in Colorado, so they're not perfect, Buddy cautions, and they're hybridized, so you might not catch... More >>
• Best Yarn Store (1 Comment)
  Showers of Flowers Yarn Shop
  Sheep, take heart. Sure, you've had a bit of a nasty run lately with all this hoof-and-mouth hubbub. But you've been giving us the wool off your backs at such a rate that you've stocked the 11,000-square-foot Showers of Flowers, the largest yarn store in Colorado. Yarns from all over the world... More >>
• Best Inexpensive Dry Cleaners
  Continental Cleaners
  Think all cleaners are the same? You might think again if you manage to maneuver your car through the Leetsdale traffic and onto the tiny wedge of parking in front of Continental Cleaners. At Continental, you'll be rewarded with quality service and a quick turnaround on even the largest... More >>
• Best Asian Chatchkes
  Truong An
  A wild and untamed space overrun with stuff everywhere, Truong An supports a healthy video trade for its Asian-language constituency. But you don't have to speak Vietnamese to appreciate the place, where you can browse racks filled with satiny silk or rayon Chinese pajamas, poofy chiffon party... More >>
• Best Politically Correct Gift Wrap
  The Artisan Center
  Looking for a gift for that friend of yours who celebrates a mishmash of Kwanzaa, Ramadan and winter solstice? You're sure to stumble upon the perfect present, whether it's a papier-mâché fairy or a pyramid-shaped candle, by combing through the potpourri of handmade treasures at the... More >>
• Best Pie Plates
  Mudworks Pottery
  Here's a gift for bakers that takes all the guesswork out of making a pie: Littleton-based Mudworks makes colorful, hand-painted, dishwasher- and oven-safe earthenware pie dishes with recipes indelibly glazed into the edges. A wide range of available recipes includes a 1998 best-of-show-winning... More >>
• Best Free Pet Service
  Behavior Help Line
  One of the leading reasons cats and dogs become guests of animal shelters is "bad behavior," or at least behavior their companion people can't deal with. To help owners solve pet problems before they require the final solution, the Dumb Friends League, with funding from several national... More >>
• Best Hardware Store for the Handyman-Impaired
  Ace Hardware Neighborhood Solutions
  This is not your father's hardware store. One of only two such stores in the country, the new Ace Hardware in Highlands Ranch is targeted squarely at women and young adults. The emphasis here is on hands-on, in-store instruction on home repair and improvement and the little, everyday things you... More >>
• Best Place to Get a Muttsterpiece
  Jack Atkinson
  Now your mutt can look as classy as any of those kennel-club types. All it takes is the talented brushwork of Jack Atkinson, pet portrait artist extraordinare. From your photos, Jack can create a masterpiece in color ($125) or a black-and-white drawing ($75) that captures the special spirit of... More >>
• Best Kids' Outerwear
  Little Mountain Outdoor Gear for Kids
  Born in Boulder in 1995, the family-owned Little Mountain is what's known in the retail world as a super-specialty store, in this case specializing in miniature camping, outdoor and sports gear, from child carriers and joggers to hiking boots and skiwear. And without even thinking about it, you... More >>
• Best Kids' Boutique -- Upscale
  Hollyhocks
  It's no secret: This is where the rich kids -- or at least their discriminating parents -- shop, from the day the kids are born and ready to be swaddled in heirloom-quality crocheted blankets, linen and lace. And as they grow older, they can continue to wrap themselves in luxury courtesy of... More >>
• Best Theater Bookstore
  Scene to Screen
  Scene to Screen is the only bookstore in Denver that specializes in theater and film and caters to students and performers alike. The shop carries more than 5,000 scripts, but if you still can't find what you're looking for, owners Jacque and Joe Riala are more than happy to order it for you.... More >>
• Best Place to Discover Musical Gifts
  The Music Stand
  The Music Stand is enough to make any music lover burst into song. Although the store's tucked away in Longmont, it also has a catalogue. In person or online, you're bound to find the perfect music-related gift item, from miniature instrument keepsakes to keyboard-embroidered socks, a... More >>
• Best Bookstore Wall of Fame
  Tattered Cover Book Store
  Author! Author! Every time a writer comes to read at the Tattered Cover, Denver photographer Gary Isaacs snaps a portrait -- and his collected works create an impressive wall of fame at the original store. More >>
• Best Party Tricks
  Reinke Brothers, Inc.
  Don't plan your next bash without talking to the "Entertainment & Promotion Specialists." If you've got a theme, Reinke Brothers can make it happen, down to the last little detail -- costumes, sets, props, decorations, noisemakers and all the trimmings. From this fabulously stocked,... More >>
• Best Make-It-Yourself Game
  "The (Your Surname) Family Tree Trivia Game"
  You know you've always wanted to be the answer to a trivia question. Now you can be, in "The (Your Surname) Family Tree Trivia Game," available for $39.95 from Heart's Corner of Golden. As you play the game with your nearest and dearest, you create permanent trivia cards about yourself based on... More >>
• Best Funny Signs of the Times
  Road-Rage Comedy Road Signs
  Proudly display your true feelings to other drivers by placing a road-rage sign in your car window -- and then keeping your hands on the wheel. Your choice of various degrees of viciousness include: "Hang Up the Damn Phone and Just Drive, OK?"; "Caution: Horn Broken, Watch for Finger Signal";... More >>
• Best Store at Park Meadows
  Papyrus
  Papyrus has the write stuff: everything you need to send out the classiest, most creative correspondence this side of County Line Road. So what if they don't actually stock papyrus? There are plenty of 100 percent cotton and wood-pulp goodies here. And if you want something that says Colorado,... More >>
• Best Downtown Store
  Terminal Annex Post Office
  What price progress? After slavish service to tardy Denverites for decades, the Terminal Annex Post Office is going the way of the dinosaur. The problem isn't a lack of customers: Although the U.S. Postal Service opened a fancy new downtown branch on 20th Street years ago, the Terminal Annex... More >>
• Best Store at Cherry Creek Shopping Center
  Metropolitan Museum of Art Gift Shop
  The beauty, and the bane, of shopping malls is that they're pretty much full of the same stores. (Exception: No Nordstrom at Cherry Creek. Sigh.) This fact of life means that while you know what to expect, you'll rarely encounter anything unexpected. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gift Shop is... More >>
• Best Store at FlatIron Crossing
  Coldwater Creek
  For years we'd scrutinized the Coldwater Creek catalogue, checking out the colorful apparel and intriguing jewelry while trying desperately to avoid the treacly copy that described each item. And then Coldwater Creek opened its first Colorado store in FlatIron Crossing, doing Denver shoppers a... More >>
• Best Mountain-Town Antique Store
  Ralston Bros. Antiques
  Mountain towns have some of the nicest antique stores, with Victorian furniture you can imagine once gracing the homes of mining operators and oil barons. The problem is getting that lovely velvet 1800s settee back to Denver. But Ralston Bros. Antiques in Lyons is close enough to Longmont,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Pieces of Denver History
  Architectural Salvage, Inc.
  The first stop before restoring an old Denver home -- or adding vintage touches to a new house -- should be Architectural Salvage. The smallest but often hardest-to-find details for a home renovation project are stocked here: skeleton locks and keys, antique glass doorknobs and bronze door... More >>
• Best New-Style Drugstore
  Clearspring Pharmacy
  Long before drugs became, well, a topic for roundtable discussions, cultures were busy nibbling on bark, boiling leaves and trying to figure out why the human ape did what it did. Although some primitives may have bitten off more than they wanted, they also assembled a healthy dose of remedies.... More >>
• Best Place to Find Replacements for Old Light Fixtures
  Specialty Architectural Products
  For people who hate anachronisms, Specialty Architectural Products is the place for historical accuracy. If you have an old light fixture that's missing a globe or a switch, don't fret. You don't have to substitute it with an old-looking new part -- or worse, a new-looking new part. Take it to... More >>
• Best Quirky New Boutique
  Miss Talulah's
  Miss Talulah's, a new LoDo boutique, caters to eclectic tastes that can't get no satisfaction in the chain stores choking the city. The shop is a little nook of delightful finds, from beaded lampshades and velvet baby booties to Eiffel Tower jewelry and chinoiserie. Not only does the store... More >>
• Best Local Carpetbaggers
  Borsellino Bags
  Denver-based Borsellino Bags supplies tapestry bags to the stars (actress Juliana Margulies is reported to be a customer), but they'll also gladly supply them for you. And considering that tapestry bags are all the rage, these are particularly nice, coming in swingy, easy styles with rich... More >>