Goods & Services >>

• Best Free Service
  Silent Unity 24-Hour Prayer Ministry
  Those hard-working Puritans who came up with the adage that there's no such thing as something for nothing never could have imagined a telephone number where people could call, even anonymously, to get free prayers. In fact, when Kansas City-based Unity first initiated a call-a-prayer service in... More >>
• Best Home-Grown Product (1 Comment)
  Wishbone salad dressing
  Wishbone salad dressings have been kitchen staples for a half-century. Not just because the 37 flavors (including the fat-free and low-fat Just 2 Good versions) are pretty tasty on a cold iceberg salad but because many of them can be used as inexpensive meat marinades too. The story of the... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Hip Accessories
  Urban Outfitters
  Many of Urban Outfitters' stores are located in college towns, and with good reason: With its low prices for funky home decor, any student can transform a cinder-block dorm room into a swingin' love pad, a seductive lair worthy of being on The Real World. And Urban Outfitters' hipster clothes,... More >>
• Best Wacky Gift Selection
  EIO
  EIO describes itself as a place for pop culture supplies, and any aficionado of all that is quirky and slightly naughty will find all sorts of treasures here. The selection ranges from Scooby Doo lunchboxes to tall candles and postcards featuring the covers of lurid '40s and '50s pulp fiction... More >>
• Best Tiara, Wig, and Mannequin Selection
  Dottie Mae's
  Everyone has seen the mannequins in front of Dottie Mae's on Wornall. Sometimes dressed in Chiefs or Royals gear but currently clad in oranges and blacks, they are a beacon to the wonderful wackiness that lies within the store. The selection is extensive, ranging from sparsely studded tiaras to... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Cool Candles
  Creative Candles Factory Outlet
  Creative Candles are made by real people. The 40-year-old company's "factory" on Broadway (behind an unobtrusive little sign and up one flight of stairs) contains no whirring machinery -- just artisans quietly dipping large racks of taper candles into vats of hot wax and creating pillar candles... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Shoes
  Nordstrom
  The foot has been fetishized and eroticized throughout the ages, and the best place to indulge this passion is the women's shoe department at Nordstrom. Everything from the sensible to the trendy is represented, from Ferragamo pumps and Kate Spade flats to python-skin boots and platform sandals... More >>
• Best Selection of Bowling Shirts
  Boomerang at the Garage
  Boomerang has such a good selection of bowling shirts that you just might find one monogrammed with your own name on it (especially if you answer to "Bud" or "Frankie"). It has all the different styles, with vertical stripes and breast pockets cut from accenting colors of fabric. But to stop at... More >>
• Best Vintage Clothing Store
  Re-Runs Vintage Warehouse
  Fashion is a fickle beast. Who would have thought that the glam look of the '80s would ever come back? For those who are craving big shoulder pads and parachute pants, check out Re-Runs Vintage Warehouse. It's a fashionista's wet dream: 5,000 square feet of true vintage clothes, from the 1900s... More >>
• Best Furniture Store -- Used
  Retro Inferno
  If style is a currency, then Retro Inferno is a 10,000-square-foot gold mine. The store is packed full of priceless nuggets of classic 20th century design, from high modernism to art deco to campy space-age chic. Among the finds: a late 1940s desk designed by George Nelson for Herman Miller... More >>
• Best Furniture Store -- New (2 Comments)
  Blue Heron Home Furnishings
  No day trip to Lawrence would be complete without spending a few minutes browsing the ultracool furniture selection at Blue Heron Home Furnishings. The store carries products from more than 750 different companies. Among the better known names are Carter, Urbana, Rowe, Club 8, and a full line... More >>
• Best Pet-Sitting Service
  Citydog Dog Walking and Pet Sitting
  The life of a city dog can be rough -- no yard, no access to squirrels, a daylong wait to go for a walk. But Sandy Brown's clients are always wagging their tails. Brown is owner and founder of Citydog Dog Walking and Pet Sitting. Known as "the lady who is friend to many dogs," Brown saves dogs... More >>
• Best Place to Spoil Your Pooch
  Pete & Mac's
  Forget tracking down a good dog groomer, a pet store, a kennel, and a place to leave your dog during the day -- it's all at Pete & Mac's, a resort/spa/playground for dogs. If the guilt over leaving the dog alone all day (or replacement costs for gnawed furniture) have you wondering what to do,... More >>
• Best Place to Find Irish Stuff
  Browne's Deli
  "The number-one hottest trend in retailing is Celtic goods," says John McClain, co-owner of Browne's Deli, quoting the Wall Street Journal. McClain, along with his business partner, Kerry Browne, keep up on such things -- not that it would make much difference if Celtic retailing weren't hot... More >>
• Best Architectural Salvage
  Warehouse One
  Not too many people might think to look for architectural salvage in the Blue Valley industrial district just off Truman Road. But hidden inside Warehouse One, which is best known for buying and reselling business equipment, is a trove of architectural items gleaned from strange and unusual... More >>
• Best Used Book Store
  Bloomsday Books
  Why let all those books you read 10 years ago collect dust on your shelf? Turn them in at Bloomsday Books for credit and walk out with a stack of books that will keep you busy for at least a few weeks. This store seems to be a favorite of people who buy hardback editions of new novels and then... More >>
• Best Drug Testing Center
  PDC-Person Diagnostic Center
  If it's gotta be done, well, it has to be done. The PDC offers those anonymous individual cups or big corporate cups so that everyone can go at once and save time and money. The PDC is the only clinic where you can walk in without a note from the doctor for 2000 different tests, ranging from... More >>
• Best Used CD Store
  CD Warehouse
  For records, try midtown fixtures Recycled Sounds and The Music Exchange -- CD Warehouse doesn't stock vinyl. Nor is its selection of new CDs comparable to larger stores (although CD Warehouse staffers can easily order any title and you'll receive it within a week). But when it comes to used... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Music-Related Posters
  Recycled Sounds
  Not content to merely stock glossy posters of the hot acts of the moment, Recycled Sounds offers an excellent archive of tour posters (a Public Enemy/Anthrax concert ranks high among the finds), promotional materials, and subway-size wall-coverings depicting rock and roll heroes past and... More >>
• Best Store for Maximizing Your Fashion Potential
  Imagery
  Funky and functional, Imagery is an image-conscious clothing store that knows exactly what men as well as women need to set off a wardrobe. Watches with faces that fly open at the touch of a button. Shirts that scintillate. Jewelry that defies logic. Everything seems to work like a conversation... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Body Products
  Perfect Scents
  Looking for a perfume called Dirt, Sushi, Tomato, or Leather? The search is over -- it was right there all along at Perfect Scents. Wacky names and smells aside, Perfect Scents is the perfect place to find all sorts of delicious body products, from Indigo Wild soaps in ginger, lemongrass, and... More >>
• Best Cosmetics Selection
  Nordstrom
  The cosmetics department at Nordstrom is to grownups what Children's Palace was to kids. Occupying a large portion of the first floor, the cosmetics department is an oasis of experimental fun, with hundreds of eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes, and more laid out for all to enjoy. The urge to try... More >>