Twist & Shout is planning to relocate from its current home as part of the ambitious Lowenstein Redevelopment Project -- but this news shouldn't concern longtime supporters of the store. Indeed, the expansive new space should help the Twist & Shout team provide even more of what's always made the store an oasis in a retail desert: great selection, the city's largest supply of CDs by local artists, staffers who are wired-in and totally approachable, and an atmosphere that's so comfortable you may want to move in permanently.

With the music industry's transition from platters to downloading proceeding at a frantic pace, shops specializing in used CDs are an endangered species. But SecondSpin.com is still here, and how. The firm's Denver branch is 12,000 square feet and offers a killer selection of more than 70,000 discs and 30,000 used movies. Moreover, the store is outfitted with the listening stations and other accoutrements that are common at places that sell new merchandise, but rare at businesses that peddle previously owned items. For folks who have not joined the MP3 generation and don't want to pay new-disc prices, SecondSpin.com offers a last chance.

Once upon a time, the competition for Denver's best vinyl haven was fierce -- yet Wax Trax usually came out on top. Today, most of the also-rans are history, while Wax Trax's vinyl branch remains. The reasons are simple: Wax Trax Vinyl inspires intense loyalty among knowledgeable collectors of LPs and 45s because of its great prices, cool selection, and staffers who know more about music than just about anyone in these parts. Simply put, it's a Denver treasure.

Let's face it: Denver's still pretty damn white -- a city with umpteen wine bars and rock venues but just a handful of halfway-decent jazz or hip-hop joints. Independent Records and Video -- the store with the big, beautiful display windows filled with big, beautiful photographs of African-American recording artists -- is one sign of urban life in D-town. The store carries an impressive selection of music in every genre -- it's the only place in town where you can satiate a midnight Big Star jones on a Tuesday -- but its primary trade is hip-hop and R&B. True, white kids could be the ones who are buying it all up, but who really cares? As the only storefront on Colfax to proudly represent black culture, Independent gets a big holla.