Goods & Services >>

• Best Free Service
  Denver Public Library website
  The Denver Public Library's newly revamped website offers a welcome selection of no-hassle, no-cost online resources for cardholders, from complete car-repair manuals (wiring diagrams included!) to Bradford legal forms and movie, music and book reviews. An astonishing range of periodical... More >>
• Best Free Service for Smokers
  Colorado Quitline/Colorado QuitNet
  Cold sweats, cravings, minor panic attacks. Never mind actually quitting -- these are some sensations experienced by dedicated smokers who simply stop to contemplate a puff-free life. But deep down, even the heaviest huffers know what a wretched, toxic habit smoking is. It's just that giving it... More >>
• Best Free Service for Gardeners
  CSU Master Gardener website
  Aspiring gardeners who don't know the difference between a weed and a seed pod will find plenty to dig into on Colorado State University's Master Gardener website. So will those looking for specific information on delightfully dirty subjects like composting and mealworms. The site is an... More >>
• Best Downtown Service
  Tabor Center parking garage
  Face it: Parking downtown will always be a pain. But the Tabor Center parking garage is an oasis in a desert of parking meters. It costs twelve bucks to park there all day, but the garage is much more than just an auto warehouse. Different services are available on different levels of the... More >>
• Best Way to Reduce Your Parking Fine by 37 Cents
  www.denverpvb.com
  Yeah, parking tickets suck. What makes them even worse is writing a check to cover the cost, tracking down an envelope and a stamp, and remembering to put the hateful package in the mail. While the Denver Parking Violations Bureau's website doesn't entirely take the sting out of the process, it... More >>
• Best Mall to Shop With a Pug
  Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center
  The Germans took things to the extreme for years, allowing their beloved hounds to eat at the table in public restaurants. And while nobody here is advocating that (at least not openly), there are folks who like to take their favorite pup out for a round of relaxing shopping. If they visit Aspen... More >>
• Best Urban Funk in a Mall
  Urban Outfitters
  Cherry Creek got a much-needed boost of flava with Urban Outfitters, a welcome outpost of urbanity in the shopping center's rarefied air. The only store in the mall to display its goods in plywood crates, the chain retailer is both outlandish and practical. A pop-up version of the Kama Sutra... More >>
• Best Shopping Center/Mall
  Far East Center
  The Far East Center is more of a vicarious travel experience than a shopping mall -- an exotic otherworld seated at the corner of Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. The double-decker complex boasts a Vietnamese bakery, a couple of hair and nail salons and two well-stocked Asian grocery stores... More >>
• Best Anti-Mall
  Pod
  Artist Lauri Lynnxe Murphy and collector Barbara Pooler recently changed the location of Pod from a spot within the Andenken Gallery to new digs on Santa Fe Drive, in a space that once housed the ILK Gallery as well as Murphy's own studio. But Pod's purpose remains the same: to support artists... More >>
• Best Store on the 16th Street Mall
  Tattered Cover Book Store
  The Tattered Cover revolves around language. So why is it so hard to find words to adequately praise it? Not content to simply be the region's finest bookstore, the Denver landmark became a symbol of our times in 2000, when owner Joyce Meskis refused to turn over buyer info to police, a move... More >>
• Best Store in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center
  Anthropologie
  Chain-store, shmain-store. Complain all you like, but if you're gonna shop at the mall, you'd better get used to it. Anthropologie -- the frou-frou Parisian-style sister of the trendy, all-American Urban Outfitters across the way -- helps take away the sting of homogeneity. The boutique takes... More >>
• Best Factory Outlet Center
  Colorado Mills
  Opened in October 2001, Colorado Mills has yet to catch the retail fire its developers had hoped for. We don't quite understand why. It's an easy distance outside of town -- the "scenic" route along Colfax provides a bonus driving tour of Lakewood's finest dive bars -- and its ninety shops are a... More >>
• Best Store Anywhere on Colfax Avenue
  Fabric Lab
  Tran Wills loves Colfax, and Colfax loves her. After just five months in business, the 22-year-old's subterranean shop, the Fabric Lab, is already busting at the seams with the confections of twenty local designers. The Colfax T-shirts, featuring a très-hip '70s beatbox, are becoming a cultural... More >>
• Best Alternative to Walgreens
  Herbs & Arts
  Herbs & Arts operates on the belief that the power to heal comes from within -- the self and the earth -- not from over-the-counter drugs or expensive prescription meds. Smelling of incense and other aromatics, the funky shop on East Colfax peddles tarot decks, books, crystals and ceremonials... More >>
• Best Store on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall
  e'bella
  The art of Andean weaving so inspired Boulder designer Nicole Linton that she left behind a stack of careers as a Spanish teacher, jewelry designer and decorators' liaison to become a decorator herself. The result was Linton's unique line of woven alpaca pillows and rugs, all distinguished by... More >>
• Best Store at Colorado Mills
  Super Target
  The Colorado Mills Super Target covers more ground than a few small towns in rural Colorado. You could live comfortably inside the uberstore if you really had to -- subsisting on groceries, watching TV, snuggling up with fancy bedding. It wouldn't be such a bad life. True, Target's a huge-ass... More >>
• Best Store at Park Meadows
  Glamour Shots
  Remember those automatic photo booths that used to be fixtures at the mall -- cramped little capsules with thoroughly unflattering light? Sadly, they've vanished from the urban shopscape. But Glamour Shots is still around to fill the shopping-mall-photography void. Park Meadows is home to the... More >>
• Best Store Anywhere on Broadway
  Foreign Accents
  If your living room is crying out for a hand-carved, hand-painted armoire from India, or maybe a tree-trunk table imported from Pakistan, try Foreign Accents. The gallery-style retailer sells furniture and artifacts from all over the world at wholesale prices, which means you can spice up your... More >>
• Best Bargains on Broadway
  Big Lots
  It's hard to make a shopping list when you're heading for Big Lots. The inventory changes every week, which means you're likely to find a garden hose where a bag of kitty litter once sat, a can of sardines in place of boxed tea. But as any dedicated bargain hunter knows, the thrill of the hunt... More >>
• Best Non-Antique Store on Antique Row
  Pink Zebra
  Designer Kelly Cannon only recently moved from a ten-by-ten-foot retail space in Cherry Creek North to a spacious corner shop on Antique Row, but she's already filling it to the rafters. Pink Zebra spills over with her frothy feather-boa pillows, bed linens and throws that pair rich tapestry... More >>
• Best Vintage Toys
  Yankee Trader
  You could spend weeks at Yankee Trader and still not see everything, so you've really got to go there with some idea of what you're going to look at. We chose the Trader's cross-cultural toy gallery. Not only is it impressive from a collector's point of view, but it provides some of the most... More >>
• Best Vintage Handbags
  Babareeba
  The handbag is an objet d'art at Babareeba, a veritable time capsule of all things stylish from the '40s, '50s and '60s. They've got handbags in crocodile, metal and straw; handbags in pink, black and multi-colored tapestry; handbags big and handbags small. To complete the outfit, Babareeba... More >>
• Best Vintage Fridges
  Sweet Potato
  Ancient Frigidaires may look cool, but that doesn't make them practical. They're too small, they need constant defrosting, and they often just don't work at all. Fortunately, it's possible to remain retro without sacrificing modern technology. Sweet Potato is an outlet for Northstar... More >>
• Best Place to Go Really Retro
  She-She
  Everything old is new again at She-She, a great place to get your wardrobe up to date -- or is that back to date? We're not talking bellbottoms and platform shoes here. The store's owner, Crystal Sharp, makes custom Victorian-style dresses and sells vintage handbags, gloves, hats and costume... More >>
• Best Used Roller Skates
  Sports Plus
  Remember roller skates -- four wheels on a boot sole, one in each corner, with a sturdy toe bumper? They're scarcer than typewriters these days, but Sports Plus is stocked to get you rollin'. In addition to used roller skates, the South Gaylord consignment shop boasts some of the best prices in... More >>
• Best Second Life for Stinky Sneakers
  City of Boulder Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials
  Mom, we know you want to toss them in the trash, but just hold your horses (and your nose) and listen up: Old sneakers can be recycled into a resurfacing material used at athletic facilities and playgrounds. It doesn't matter what they smell like; ChaRM will pulverize them and turn them into... More >>
• Best Funky Decor
  Paris Loft
  Loft living is still the rage in Denver, and Paris Loft is keeping all those tony abodes supplied with an abundance of style and romance. When co-owners Kim Burney and Maria Fair opened their brick-walled home store last year, they stocked it with classics both modern and retro, then mashed it... More >>
• Best Grand Decor
  Belcour
  Does size matter? When you're trying to furnish a 5,000-square-foot loft with three-story ceilings and still retain some of its drama, we'd have to say it does. Trouble is, there just aren't that many places where you can just pick up a ten-ton marble fireplace surround or a sculpted stone ram... More >>
• Best Mid-Century Modern Decor (1 Comment)
  Room
  Walk into Room and prepare for a look that's both warm and austere. If mid-century design appeals to you, you'll feel right at home in the corner-bodega-turned-furniture-store, which recently joined other Uptown businesses catering to an influx of new residents. Owner Merlin Parker, who honed... More >>
• Best Homey Decor
  QuiltMarket
  A gift shop tucked away inside the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, QuiltMarket is anything but trendy. But that's part of its charm: You'll find things here -- old-fashioned, grandma-pleasing, Little House on the Prairie things -- that you won't find anyplace else. Run by, catering to and... More >>
• Best Garden Decor
  The French Flat
  Cathy Kimmal created her own little secret garden in the French Flat, a French-country-style salute that sucks you into a different time and place the minute you amble in the door. It could be the way it smells -- like lavender and pear -- or the quaint tromp l'oeil details painted across the... More >>
• Best Homegrown Answer to iTunes
  Beatport
  File sharing? Absolutely not, say the creators of Beatport. But this much they promise: They won't sell your e-mail address, and they have a zero-tolerance policy on spam. Beatport also boasts one of the most impressive collections of drum and bass, breaks, trance and hard house on the web.... More >>
• Best Staff at a Record Store
  Twist & Shout
  Picture the cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band: the Beatles wearing satin uniforms, surrounded by flowers and a bouquet of bright minds, including Aleister Crowley, Marlene Dietrich, Sonny Liston, Lenny Bruce, Carl Jung and Bob Dylan. That's sort of the feel that comes through in... More >>
• Best Vinyl Bargains
  Wax Trax
  Though the 45 isn't the hippest musical format on the market, those seven-inch slabs of plastic are still coveted by collectors across the country. As such, stores catering to this clientele continue to exist in most major cities, with prices for used singles generally starting at several... More >>
• Best DVD Rentals
  Juma's DVD/The Bohemian Bean
  If a craving for a shot of Fellini and a mocha frappé strikes at the same time, head to Juma's DVD, which squats in the back of the Bohemian Bean Internet cafe and coffeehouse. Browsable in person or on the web, Juma's rental catalogue includes a bit of everything, from Luis Buñuel to... More >>
• Best Old Bookstore in a New Location
  Books Unlimited
  In Books Unlimited's old home on University Boulevard and Evans Avenue, the cozy quarters and musty smell of yellowed pages made you want to curl up with one of the store's good books. Unfortunately, there was no space to curl up in. In its new home on Colorado Boulevard, Books Unlimited has... More >>
• Best Anarchist Bookstore
  Breakdown Book Collective and Community Space
  Besides its broad selection of books, pamphlets and periodicals spanning the whole spectrum of radical and progressive issues, Breakdown really focuses on the "community" part of its name. The volunteer-run, non-profit space offers free classes and workshops, a computer lab and even a lending... More >>
• Best Coffee in a Bookstore
  Ichabod's Books
  Bookish bargain hunters come to browse the new and used titles at Ichabod's Books, but they stick around to drink the coffee. The store's modest cafe counter serves straight java, baked goods and espresso drinks, including a vanilla latte that's pure perfection. On weekend afternoons, readers... More >>
• Best Place for Bibliophiles to Score
  Book Buffs Ltd.
  Janis Frame is a pusher. For Denver book collectors, her spacious Book Buffs Ltd. is as addictive as a line of coke. You can almost hear shoppers slapping their veins and muttering, "Just one more, man," as they browse the shelves of fine first editions, limited editions and small-press... More >>
• Best Cheap Travel
  Capitol Hill Books
  Capitol Hill Books has always been a great place to while away an afternoon. And with the 10 percent-off card for frequent buyers, the 3,000-square-foot bookstore is habit-forming. The new travel section is just making matters worse. Because it's stocked with 4,000 travel guides, armchair travel... More >>
• Best Cowboy Safety Gear
  Lancaster's Western Wear
  A throwback to Denver's cowtown past, Lancaster's Western Wear caters to the last of the city's real cowboys and ranchers -- especially those who earn money on the rodeo circuit. Lancaster's "Rock-N-Roll Rodeo Gear" department carries all the protective duds -- from helmets and flak jackets to... More >>
• Best Clothes for Aspiring Vatos (1 Comment)
  Suavecito's
  Craig Peña and Jay Salas have gone platinum with their line of zoot suits, dressing everyone from Snoop Dogg to David Bowie. Now they're inking deals with retailers and high-profile sports-apparel companies to market their Chingaso Gear line of Latin-inspired fight clothes. Hoodies, tees, boxing... More >>
• Best Gifts for Chosen People
  Aharon's Books
  Brighten the bar mitzvah, or the table, with a stop at Aharon's Books, where the massive selection includes everything from Kabbalah texts to a Yiddish version of The Cat in the Hat. A stop for cooks as well as readers, Aharon's carries all the accoutrements of a kosher kitchen, including... More >>
• Best Gifts for Geeks
  Mile High Comics Megastore
  Mile High Comics' flagship store is home to the usual players in the comic-book universe: Marvel, DC, Dark Horse. But there's so much more to Mile High, a twelve-year-old-boy's wet dream of a store. Rows of glass cases in the 11,000-square-foot space hold Aliens, Iron Maiden and Futurama... More >>
• Best Gifts for Girls With Weird Taste
  Miss Talulah's
  Science may never fully explain why certain women go gaga for the simplest things -- a slender notebook from China, say, or a small, distressed-looking birdhouse. A cornucopia of feminine kitsch, Miss Talulah's is such a woman's treasure trove -- a fun, arty adventure of a store in the... More >>
• Best Place to Find a Flirty Frock
  Agogo Star
  We love supporting local designers, but even better is supporting local designers whose wares are cute enough to make the pages of top fashion magazines. Nicole Beckett started the Agogo Threads line out of her parents' house in Golden, and last spring, she opened her first boutique, Agogo Star,... More >>
• Best Place to Get in the Mood
  Sweet Utopia
  Sweet Utopia is an anomaly in the 21st century -- a store dedicated solely to relaxation and romance. Barbara Lynn Trattler's north Denver hole-in-the-wall is a sensual curio, draped and dotted with little luxuries to help heighten the senses. Here you'll find hand-dyed and beaded slip dresses,... More >>
• Best Place to Get Poked
  Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  East meets West at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where students practice the art of sticking it to the public. Every Saturday, the school opens as an acupuncture clinic. Supervised by physicians and others who've completed the school's intensive Chinese-medicine program,... More >>
• Best Place to Get Pregnant
  Comfort & Joy Oriental Medicine
  Okay, so nobody actually gets knocked up at Comfort & Joy, but Joy Hewitt-Kind has made helping women conceive the specialty of her acupuncture practice. She'd been treating basic pains, illnesses and stress until a few years ago, when a client came to her after having repeated miscarriages.... More >>
• Best Clothes for New Moms
  Real Baby
  You don't have to set fashion aside just because you're having a baby. Haven't you heard that pregnancy is the new black? Or was that last year? In any case, "It" moms and moms-to-be Reese, Sarah Jessica and Gwyneth have proven that it's possible to set trends even as the belly balloons. Denver... More >>
• Best Clothes for Cool Babies
  Twist & Shout
  Screw Baby Gap. Real rock-and-roll parents will appreciate the duds coming out of Denver's most venerated house of music. There are no pink bunnies or fluffy booties here; the kid will be clamoring for the skull-emblazoned tanks (size infant and up) and other similarly goth creations. Do it for... More >>
• Best Clothes for Cool Kids
  Studio Bini
  Are there really as many babies out there as there are new shops catering to them? Must be. Such businesses are multiplying like rabbits as baby boomers' kids create a baby boom of their own. And even though one place looks as cute as the next, Studio Bini stands out for a number of reasons,... More >>
• Best Baby Bags
  The Angel's Nest
  European babes have been snoozing in these things for years, but they're a relatively new idea for naptime over here. The Angel's Nest is really just a sleeping bag for tots, but there's some deep-sleep thinking behind the concept. The bags are safer and more reliable than tangly, loose bedding,... More >>
• Best Baby Sneakers
  Monkey-Toes Shoes
  Babies have the sweetest little feet: You could wrap them in a banana peel and they would still look cute. Fortunately, Castle Rock stay-at-home mom and business-minded entrepreneur Jenny Chism devised a more appropriate foot covering for wee ones when she created Monkey-Toes. The tiny sneakers,... More >>
• Best Shoes for Chinese-American Princesses
  Frog Prince Shoes
  Louisville mom Terry Hsu-Gander shipped a little piece of China back home after visiting there and adopting two daughters. While picking up her girls, Hsu-Gander found the stylish children's shoes she now imports and sells under the Frog Prince label. She moves most of the merchandise through... More >>
• Best Clothes for Chinese-American Princesses
  Meili & Me
  Boulderite Leslie Potter was inspired to create a more durable line of girls' clothing by her adopted Chinese daughter, Meili ("beautiful" in Chinese), who, as a crawler on two hands and two knees, wore out her Chinese silks faster than her mom could button them up. Potter's perky... More >>
• Best Parties for Lil' Girls
  Lil' Cuts
  There comes a time in many girls' lives when they move from playing with Barbie dolls to wanting to look like one. Lil' Cuts can help with the transition. The salon is specifically designed with kids in mind and features a carousel-esque setup lined with individual video monitors to keep the... More >>
• Best Parties for Big and Little Girls
  Hot Pots!
  Plenty of adults enjoy arts and crafts every bit as much as the younger set. Recognizing this, Hot Pots!, a paint-your-own-pottery studio, has come up with special packages for birthday parties, bridal showers and plain old bonding. Now kids of all ages can indulge their inner Picassos, using... More >>
• Best Place to Entertain Yourself After Breaking Your Leg
  Swedish Medical Center
  Medical emergencies aren't known for being fun, since they're often accompanied by blood, exposed bones, scrambled viscera, agonizing pain and more blood. So credit Swedish Medical Center with providing patients and their loved ones with a high-tech way to keep their minds off more unpleasant... More >>
• Best Place to Consider Your Karma
  Buddhist/Christian Contemplation Hour
  Are Jesus and Buddha friends? The supporters of St. Paul's Methodist Church's weekly Christian/Buddhist contemplation hour think so. Every Sunday, the Capitol Hill church hosts a low-key, hour-long service that mates Buddhist and Christian philosophy and practice. The interfaith congregants are... More >>
• Best Salvation With Libations
  Church at the Bar, D Note
  The second and fourth Tuesday of each month, Arvada's D Note welcomes Church at the Bar. Run by the local and open-minded Connected Life church group, it's the only service in town during which attendees can celebrate the Holy Spirit with spirits and good craft beer. Bar-hoppers thirsty for a... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Ceremonial Dagger
  SpiritWays
  The next time you're out shopping for incense, a Balinese tapestry or a dagger to use in magical rituals, try SpiritWays. The East Colfax metaphysical shop has a wicked, double-bladed dagger, or athame, for every price range, starting with a small, economical Egyptian model for $30, complete... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Artificial Eyes
  Packrat Antiques
  As much a museum as an antique shop, Packrat Antiques is overflowing with the weird, the odd, the curious and the bizarre. Some of the items for sale, such as vintage Western movie posters, are fairly typical, but they represent only a tiny portion of the store's willfully eccentric collection.... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Sparkly Unicorn Iron-Ons
  Sugar Clothing
  Ever wish you'd kept all those dorky iron-on T-shirts you wore as a kid? If so, get a load of Sugar. Nestled among the vintage shops on Broadway, the year-and-a-half-old boutique has a huge selection of retro-'70s and '80s iron-on transfers -- as well as custom lettering -- that can be applied... More >>
• Best Custom Piñatas
  Dulcería El Pachangón
  In the mood to beat something with a stick? Dulcería El Pachangón has just the thing. The tiny boutique carries a colorful inventory of ready-made piñatas, from Sesame Street and Simpsons characters to star shapes and animals. If you'd prefer something a tad more personal, bring in... More >>
• Best Paper Paradise
  Composition
  We use paper all the time -- to write boring memos and long grocery lists, to cover things, even to blow our noses. Composition takes paper to another level. We don't mean flimsy sheets jammed into the copy machine, but thick, grainy stationery that's perfect for writing eloquent love letters.... More >>
• Best Place to Put It on Paper
  Lighthouse Writers Workshop
  Aspiring bards, novelists, journalists, essayists, students and screenwriters come to the Lighthouse Writers Workshop for help getting words on paper -- and maybe even into print. Taught by local pros of the pen, the classes are small, intensive and inexpensive, which means that even those on a... More >>
• Best Polar Bear Art
  The Polar Bear Gallery
  Barbara Stone's polar bears inhabit that peculiar juncture where wildlife art meets whimsy, just sidestepping kitsch. Her watercolors have surfaced in children's books, on kimonos and calendars, at the Smithsonian, and in a TV special dealing with the artist's pilgrimages to the Arctic to... More >>
• Best Hope for Your Canine's Canines
  Suzie's Tartar Liquid, Suzie's Pet Supplies
  Suzie's Tartar Liquid is a painless solution to that rich, ripe dog breath emanating from your pup. A tablespoon of Suzie's odorless, tasteless formula in your pet's drinking water leads to cleaner teeth (and fresher breath) within a matter of weeks. Instead of swearing at their foul-panting... More >>
• Best Place to Lose Your Doghood
  Maxfund Wellness Clinic
  The Maxfund Animal Center has long been known for finding abandoned critters good homes. Now it's opened a low-cost spay and neuter clinic to help control the number of animals coming through the shelter's door. Unlike other facilities, Maxfund will do the surgeries -- ranging from $30 to $40 --... More >>
• Best Way to Get Around the Staff at the Pound
  www.dogtown.tv
  Lost Fluffy or Fifi? Don't expect the staff at the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter to help. Unlike the rest of the local shelters, DMAS takes no lost reports and makes no calls if a cat matching your description comes in. With limited resources, the best staffers can do is suggest you come check... More >>
• Best Hospital for Really Sick Critters
  Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado
  A sick pet can't tell you where it hurts; sometimes it's hard to know whether kitty is entering her ninth life or just suffering from hairballs. The doctors at Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado use pure science to clear up such mysteries of the animal world. At the massive Englewood... More >>
• Best Critter Removal
  Lil Rascals Wildlife Control Inc.
  Folks may not worry much about bats in the belfry. Heck, they probably stopped making belfries decades ago. But squirrels in the attic? There's an unwelcome bit of wildlife. Since last June, when Jim Clouse started his Lil Rascals service, fewer of our furry friends have been squatters (or... More >>
• Best Place to Get Pooped On
  African Grey
  African Grey is similar to the Denver Zoo's Bird World -- only you can take the store's feathered friends home with you. In addition to its namesake parrot, the shop also sells cockatoos, cockatiels, parakeets and finches. Though it's hard not to go a little bird-brained from all the squawking... More >>
• Best Showers -- Near
  20th Street Recreation Center
  So your house is under construction, your slumlord won't fix the bathroom leak -- whatever. You just need a hot shower, but at a certain point, you have to stop bumming showers off your friends. For a mere five bucks a day, the 20th Street Recreation Center -- or any of the other 28 Denver Parks... More >>
• Best Showers -- Far
  Flying J Truck Stop
  For a slightly more luxurious showering experience, splurge on the Flying J. It can be a little intimidating walking through the truckers -- who are laid over in front of the big-screen TV, IM-ing and eBay-ing on the WiFi stations, or simply chain-smoking in the common areas -- but the... More >>
• Best Place to Get Steamy (1 Comment)
  Lake Steam Baths
  It takes guts to enter the Lake Steam Baths. The 77-year-old Denver institution seems a little, uh, sketchy, squatting on a corner of West Colfax. But the experience is well worth the leap of faith. Ladies come Mondays and Thursdays to steam -- both in a dry hot-rock and eucalyptus sauna -- and... More >>
• Best Cut-Rate Plumbing Supplies
  Do-It-Ur-Self Plumbing and Heating Supply
  When it comes to plumbing mishaps, don't bust a pipe: Fix it yourself and save a bundle. Whether you're redoing the loo or merely replacing a rusted shower head, the stuff you need is sure to be cheaper at Do-It-Ur-Self, which offers used and surplus plumbing and heating supplies at ridiculously... More >>
• Best Multimedia Hair Salon (2 Comments)
  Hairspray
  Not too many clip joints have their own art gallery, but Cue Perez's Hairspray is outfitted with large-scale work by local artists in various media, including photography, prints, oil and acrylic. The exhibits change every couple of months and complement the hip, industrial feel of the salon. A... More >>
• Best Thrift Store
  Mile High Thrift
  Clean, well-organized and spacious, Mile High is a bargain hunter's dream. How about a cashmere turtleneck for $1.99? Or maybe that immaculate leather jacket for six bucks? If you're feeling flush, splurge on a Dooney & Bourke handbag for $14.95. There's even a decent selection of books and... More >>
• Best Thrift Store for the Really, Really Thrifty
  Goodwill Industries
  The conversion of Goodwill Industries' north Denver store to a 99-cent emporium has been a hit with cash-strapped families, seniors and anyone else trying to stretch a buck. Clothes and housewares that may have been passed over at other stores get renewed attention here. With every item... More >>
• Best Consignment Store
  Twice as Haute
  The deals are hot at Twice as Haute, where ladies can pick up stylin' black Banana Republic leather pants for $60, a red DKNY cocktail dress for $68 and a full-length white mink coat for $998 -- plus the Kenneth Cole heels, Gucci purse, velvet fedora and gemstone jewelry to go with them. Located... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Armani on the Cheap
  Buffalo Exchange
  It's a misnomer to call the Buffalo Exchange a vintage-clothing or thrift store. Nearly a fourth of its eclectic inventory is brand-new, cherry-picked from debut lines of contemporary streetwear that escape the notice of larger, more corporate, mall-based fashion chains (Denver's Capitol Hill... More >>
• Best Vintage Fabrics
  Boss Unlimited
  Tucked in the back corner of Boss Unlimited, a Kennedy-era vintage store, is an innocuous box stuffed with bolts of fabric. And what a fun box it is -- full of mid-century mod fabrics that look oh-so-fresh in the current season of Jackie O-inspired fashion. The stock is small, but it changes... More >>
• Best Hangout for Knitters
  La Ti Da
  We don't know when, or why, it happened, but knitting is suddenly hot, with knitting groups popping up like crop circles. La Ti Da, at home in a converted Old South Pearl Street cottage, came along at just the right moment. Knitting mavens Kim Allegretti and Rita Marshall knew exactly what they... More >>
• Best Charitable Ladies' Cause
  Knit for the Homeless, Shivering Sheep/Coppélia's Needlepoint
  Here's a good yarn: Shellie Lubowitz of the Shivering Sheep and Coppélia's Needlepoint in Cherry Creek North so wanted to help the homeless that she organized an ongoing Sunday-afternoon knitting circle for that purpose. Participants get to knit, purl and gab while creating warm items --... More >>
• Best One-Stop Shopping for Homeless Kids
  Threads clothing program, Denver Public Schools
  It's every teenager's birthright to endure the humiliating rite of passage known as the high school prom. Though formal events are a low priority for school-age youths and families living in shelters, that doesn't mean homeless teens don't want to put on a puffy dress or boutonniere and dance... More >>
• Best Place to Dress for Success
  Men at Work Suits Closet
  If clothes make the man, Suits Closet can make an employed man. To help male job-seekers obtain interview-appropriate duds, the non-profit job-placement agency DenverWorks recently reopened its clothing bank to underprivileged guys seeking work. Offered by referral to clients in need of the... More >>
• Best Place to Find a Miracle
  Manos Folk Art
  Turning water to wine is a tough, though handy, trick; it's pretty advanced stuff, as far as miracles go. Manos Folk Art can help you enact something slightly less flashy. The colorful import shop specializes in goods from Mexico and Latin America, where the faithful make personal appeals to... More >>
• Best Folk Art for a Cause
  Indigena
  Highland resident Sandra Renteria is so concerned about Haiti, the tiny, war-torn Caribbean nation, that she's become a cheerleader for the place. Dedicated to doing something for the Haitian people, she and her husband formed the Art Creation Foundation for Children, which is based in Jacmel,... More >>
• Best Edible Community Service
  Marczyk's First Friday cookouts
  Marczyk Fine Foods already corners the market on gourmet goods, so we won't even start with the rundown of what they've got inside. But last year they went a step further and made the place just plain homey. "Come on over," they invited. "Sit a while. We'll cook you up a burger." And so the... More >>
• Best New Outdoor Market
  Viaduct Market
  It's as close as we'll get to walking under the boardwalk in Denver. But, hey, strolling under the viaduct ain't bad -- especially when you're shopping in blazing mid-July heat. Weatherproofing is just one of the strategies behind the Viaduct Market, a cousin to the successful Ballpark Market... More >>
• Best Uncrowded Farmers' Market
  Colorado Fresh Market, East High School
  Smaller and less crowded than the market that takes over the Cherry Creek Bed, Bath & Beyond parking lot on Saturdays, the Colorado Fresh Market is held on Sundays from June through October. It's the same zany mix of Colorado honey, Western Slope apples, goat cheese and cinnamon rolls, but at a... More >>
• Best Cultural Market
  Osage Mercado
  After years of deferred dreams and delayed plans, the Osage Mercado debuted last summer as a kind of test, sponsored by the Baker, La Alma/Lincoln Park and Sun Valley neighborhood groups. Apparently, it passed, because the Mercado is here to stay -- at least for one long season. Beginning on... More >>
• Best Adventures in Grocery Shopping (1 Comment)
  Sunflower Market
  First there were health-food stores and co-ops -- little eclectic-eccentric, tie-dyed, bring-your-own-bag places where hippies shopped for goat yogurt, yams and fresh tofu. But somewhere along the line, the stores got bigger. They supplied bags (even plastic ones), widened the aisles and... More >>
• Best Exotic Herbs and Produce
  Asian Supermarket
  Don't know a pho bo from a tom ka? Don't fret. Even though Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese and Thai are now in full fashion, the ingredients lists for many dishes still scare off even the most globally minded gourmet. Fortunately, Asian Supermarket demystifies the herbs, spices and vegetables... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Curry Fixin's
  Indus Imports
  The scent is the first thing to hit when you walk into Indus Imports, a nondescript market just off the multicultural South Federal strip. The odors of pungent masalas bouncing off a frenzy of saffron, fenugreek, cayenne, mustard, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, turmeric, amchoor powder... More >>
• Best Grocery Bargains
  Sav-A-Lot Foods
  Sticker shock is common at Sav-A-Lot Foods, a minimalist supermarket where generic and name-brand goods go for pennies. The chain store isn't fancy: There are no free samples, seasonal displays or credit cards accepted. But it's always well stocked with staples, and usually with fine, fresh... More >>
• Best-Looking Wine Store
  Divino Wine and Spirits
  Nearly a year ago, wine retailer Dave Moore opened his South Broadway house of spirits along a rapidly changing Antique Row. Like the other stores on the stretch, the place is a real browser's paradise: Dog-friendly and neat as a pin, Divino features tall, stacked shelves of great little wines,... More >>
• Best Beer Bargain, If You Can Find It
  Western Beverage
  One of northeast Denver's most closely guarded secrets, Western Beverage is home to truckloads of beers, malted beverages and wine coolers handled by the Miller Brewing Company, including imports, microbrews and premium domestics. Every Saturday, the surplus is offered to the public at... More >>
• Best Liquor in a Superstore
  Super Target
  Jubilation and joy spread through Glendale last fall when a Super Target finally opened on Colorado Boulevard and Alameda Avenue, at a site that had formerly held a plain old Target. But this wasn't just any superstore. In addition to the usual Super Target merch, like appliances (love that... More >>
• Best Example of Moving the Cheese
  The Cheese Company
  Who moved the cheese? Blame Rich Priest, who a few months ago took over the Cheese Company, a little neighborhood cheese shop, and decided it could be moving a lot more. Not just more cheese -- the store stocks about seventy kinds -- but also gourmet to-go items, including prepared entrees,... More >>