Best Local Vinyl Store 2005 | Wax Trax | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Local Vinyl Store

Wax Trax

Now in its mid-twenties, Wax Trax provides the sort of music-shopping experience that's become all too rare in the age of big-box stores and corporate homogenization. Its new CD branch stocks the coolest and latest discs, as well as imports and recordings far too bizarre or obscure to find their way into the Best Buys of the world -- yet the vinyl wing is even more of a find. Within its walls are piles of long players and 45s available at rates that make the prices regularly charged on eBay seem downright astronomical. For anyone with a working turntable and a nose for bargains, it's a little slice of paradise.

Best Copy Shop

Power Imaging, Inc.

Since most print stores aren't run by a legitimate hero, Power Imaging was hot last October after owner Matt Casias was shot while trying to help a purse-snatching victim. But there are other reasons to stop in addition to meeting Casias, a governor's Medal of Valor winner who was recently featured in People magazine: Power Imaging has extremely competitive pricing that's typically lower than what the big chains offer, as well as personalized sales and service with a neighborhood feel. Supporting one of the good guys pays unexpected dividends.

Best Retro Gift Shop

20th Century Emporium
Lakewood Heritage Center

This is a store like no other. Not only is the 20th Century Emporium full-bore retro, it has a scholarly edge that is lacking in most retail shops. That's because the emporium was created in conjunction with the opening of a related permanent exhibit at the Lakewood Heritage Center. Some of the merchandise is hokey -- Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook, for example -- but, thankfully, there isn't a trace of Betty Boop anywhere. What patrons will find is a retro penny-candy collection (fifty kinds), oilcloth linens, Depression-era glass and museum-quality prints of old Denver.

Best Unexpected Gift Shop

Lakewood Cultural Center Artisan Showcase

Who knew that little Lakewood would bloom into such an inspirational hotbed? Thanks to the booming Lakewood Cultural Center and artsy Belmar, the old-time suburb is remaking itself. The Artisan Showcase highlights this renaissance by featuring more than the usual museum-store shlock. Lisa Janisch keeps the shop filled to the rafters with handmade items, from sterling silver jewelry to glass pumpkins. For spring, she is featuring elaborately patterned Pysanky -- Ukranian Easter eggs -- that are so delicate you barely dare to breathe on them.

Best Hole-in-the-Wall Gift Shop

Sunflower Art Studio

Artist Carol Simmons didn't plan to open a business last summer, but her middle daughter, Lisa, surprised her with a newly leased Downing Street duplex and said, "You see that? It's yours." So Simmons commenced to sculpting out a charming studio with yellow walls, a wealth of handmade items, and a smattering of antiques, soaps, candles, cards and the like. This spring, gardeners will find plenty of outdoor decorations at Sunflower, including recycled-metal sculptures, unique reflective garden spheres, stepping stones, hand-painted flowerpots and sweet wooden garden angels. Indoorsy types can choose from striking handmade ceramics in intricate black-and-white patterns, colorful shaman pins, painted gourds and fabric dolls. For artsy folks, Simmons recently opened a new fiber room dedicated expressly to hand-spun, hand-dyed and hand-painted fibers. All in a day's work.

Best Gift Shop for the Money

The Denver Mint

There will be no surreptitious stuffing of the pockets with spare change when you tour the Denver Mint -- security is mighty tight. But you don't have to leave empty-handed, either. In fact, the gift shop at the Mint offers a fabulous selection of souvenirs, everything from the expected first-day-issue and collectors' coins to sweatshirts, hats, tote bags, water bottles and, in honor of the 200th anniversary of their expedition, lots of Lewis and Clark commemoratives. At the Mint, you not only get to watch money appear -- you get to watch it disappear into gift-shop cash registers.

Best Place to Buy Poperphernalia

The Catholic Store

Barring a miracle, the sweet chariot is bound to swing low sooner rather than later for Pope John Paul II. For those who want to get some mementos of the long-reigning prelate, the Catholic Store is the place to make a pilgrimage. T-shirts commemorating the pontiff's 1993 swing through Denver can be had for a prayer, and there are plenty of other items to ensure that the holy man is remembered for a long, long time. Maybe for eternity.

Best Place to Buy Romantic Gifts

Epoch

It's Valentine's Day year-round at Charli Warren's charming Ogden Street boutique, which has the feel of a lady's boudoir -- one that reveals an intimate secret with every step. There's a lacy prom dress, an eclectic mélange of flower brooches, Queen bath products, organza evening bags, beaded votives, sparkly hair clips, lilac incense and chunky pink-pearl chokers. In the back, the glass case is filled with beautiful baubles, from lovely costume-jewelry rings to rhinestone cowboy-boot flasks. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Best Colorado Status Symbols

Ducti wallets

Where's a Humvee-drivin', all-night-partyin', martini-swillin' guy supposed to carry his credit cards? A Ducti wallet, of course. For the past few years, Aurora denizens Dave and Joy Pippenger and buddy Wade Morrison have been making duct tape wallets, watches and handbags that have been turning up on the most stylish arms. But are they tough? You'd better believe it. As millions will attest, there's nothing more indestructible on the planet than duct tape. It's a beautiful thing.

Best Place to Get Well-Heeled

Rhine's Cobbler Shop

Tommy Rhine may grumble when you hand him the little pink sandal with the broken strap. He may even give you a lecture about wearing such silly shoes. But the man can glue a heel back onto a stiletto and make it look like was never broken while you were idiotically trying to run on the four-inch stilt. Rhine's has been around for almost a decade, but it looks like it's been there forever. Old newspapers collage the walls, and men smoke stogies and read Playboy while Rhine shines their shoes. A polish will set you back $5, while the strap comes in at a whopping $6.

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