Goods and Services: Mad Money >>

• Best Accessories
  Churchill in Crestwood
  If we were the tantrum-throwing type, we most definitely would beat our fists against the floors at Churchill in Crestwood, crying and screaming "I want it all!" because, well, we do. Metallic leather bags, studded belts that somehow manage to be less Hot Topic and more lady-who-lunches, and the... More >>
• Best Supermarket
  Cosentino's Brookside Market
  There was some head-shaking when the Cosentino family -- which has operated local grocery stores for half a century -- took over the old Meiner's Sunfresh store in Brookside. After all, it was less than two blocks away from the family's own successful Price Chopper. But the new store is aimed at... More >>
• Best Chocolate Shop
  AndrŽ's Confiserie Suisse
  Old-world craftsmanship sustains AndrŽ's Confiserie Suisse, the purveyor of chocolate and other delights since 1955. The shop's late founder, AndrŽ Bollier, apprenticed with pastry makers in Switzerland before settling in Kansas City; second and third generations of Bolliers have retraced the... More >>
• Best Music Store
  Midwestern Musical Co.
  On Labor Day of 2004, owner Matt Kessler moved Midwestern Musical Co. from its original Mission location to this space next-door to all-ages rock venue El Torreon (providing quite a boon to out-of-town bands in need of strings and last-minute repairs). In the past year, Midwestern has grown into... More >>
• Best DJ Store
  Deep Fix Records
  Deep Fix Records isn't much to look at from outside its midtown storefront, but in the years since dance music moved from the raves to the clubs, Deep Fix has become an international institution. Wherever bodies are jacking to house music -- Nebraska, Belgium, South Africa, Chicago, Brazil --... More >>
• Best Hip-Hop Fashion Stop
  Bannister Mall
  Bannister Mall may be technically dead, with only a few big chains (such as Foot Locker and Victoria's Secret), but that doesn't mean there aren't any goods or services there. Why, in one stop, you can visit several salons (or a barbershop called Faderz) and find gear from hip-hop labels such as... More >>
• Best Skate Shop
  Escapist Skateboarding
  We like Escapist Skateboarding because it has the essentials: a wall stacked with a hundred or so candy-colored decks; a huge selection of shoes, hats and gear; and the latest issue of Thrasher. Above and beyond that, Escapist has a high-flying team of riders and attracts the biggest names on... More >>
• Best Body Piercing
  Jeremy Upshaw
  Jeremy Upshaw may charge more, but it's obvious that you get what you pay for. He's a guy whose fixation with sterilization borders on freakish; he doesn't consider anyone who has apprenticed less than two years to be remotely qualified to pierce flesh; and his own face, ears and neck are... More >>
• Best Custom Motorcycle Shop
  KC Creations
  Whether you want your motorcycle to look sexy, sleek or creepy, KC Creations can make it happen. In the back, award-winning artists stand ready with paint guns. Some of their recent designs on bike frames include a joker puffing a stogie and a skeleton rolling dice. The rest of their work is on... More >>
• Best Sporting Goods Store
  Dick's
  When Dick's Sporting Goods bought Galyan's at Town Center this year, adding an eighth metro location (others are in Merriam, Olathe, Independence, midtown, Lee's Summit, Zona Rosa and Ward Parkway), it proved it could hawk goods to both indoor and outdoor enthusiasts. The store is the size of a... More >>
• Best Gun Shop
  The Bullet Hole
  At the Bullet Hole's shooting range, off-duty cops and pistol-packing, Harley-riding mommas shoot side by side, filling paper-silhouette men full of holes. The Bullet Hole has been in this low-key location since 1964, making it the oldest gun shop in Johnson County. Memberships are $20 for the... More >>
• Best Adult Video Store
  Valentine Video
  Since 1984, Valentine Video has offered its patrons a veritable paradise of porn rentals. Card-carrying Valentine Video members can be buzzed in behind the, uh, red door that leads into the rooms displaying the vast bounty of breast-, bondage- and bottom-obsessed tapes and discs, a kaleidoscope... More >>
• Best Hotel
  Hotel Phillips
  It's not as showy or grand as the Fairmont on the Plaza, it doesn't have a swimming pool, and the ballrooms are too tiny for most social events, but what the 77-year-old Hotel Phillips has in abundance is the flavor of Kansas City in its heyday. Long before downtown Kansas City began its... More >>
• Best Wine Store
  Gomer's
  Gomer's on Broadway is not a wine store for the snooty. A handwritten sign on the door reminds customers that they must wear shirts and shoes, and a shaggy dog often lounges behind the counter. But it's the store's thin veneer of grime that adds to its charm as a place to shop for wine. Friendly... More >>
• Best Place to Shop on the Plaza
  Anthropologie
  Regardless of how sweetly we ask, Anthropologie's salespeople stay religiously mum about why their store smells so damned good. The delicate scent swirls around shoppers immediately after they pass through the heavy wooden doors, and it wafts out of the tissue-paper wrapping of each purchase.... More >>
• Best Tanning Salon
  Tan World
  We know what you're thinking: Tanning salons are not cool. Many believe that they help cause cancer. Well, screw you -- we look way better with a little color. And for that, we recommend Tan World, where, as the slogan goes, "tan lines are optional." The staff is genuinely nice, and the beds are... More >>
• Best Florist
  Craig Sole Designs
  Craig Sole didn't know what he wanted to do for a career after getting an English degree at Rockhurst University, but he had always made money with flowers. "I won all the ribbons at the Johnson County Fair when I was 15, beating out the old ladies and retired lawyers," he says. "And I made... More >>
• Best Home Furnishings Store
  High Cotton
  Too often, the Midwestern shopper complains, "But I can't find that here!" And although online shopping sates our needs for not-so-local clothes or shoes, furniture's a different beast. Who wants to buy a sofa over the phone or by clicking a mouse, only to find, when it arrives on the doorstep,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Handbags
  1154 Lill Studio
  It could be that this category is a misnomer. Because at 1154 Lill Studio, we can not only find great handbags but also design them. We can choose the style (Maggie), the exterior (sprout twill) and the lining (yellow buds and blossoms), along with trims and straps. And because the bags are... More >>
• Best Vintage Clothing
  Uptown Monkey Bottoms
  The broke fashionista realized long ago that the best designers rarely come up with anything new. Instead, they simply steal (read: rip off other eras). So it makes sense that a slew of recent trends -- are lurking in a strip mall in Mission. Uptown Monkey Bottoms has the elements to put... More >>
• Best Knitting Store
  The Studio
  As not-so-confident knitters, we want to be in the club, but we don't know if we belong. Some knitting stores leave us feeling that we most definitely do not -- like after another 45 years of intricate cabling on fisherman-style sweaters, then maybe we'll be ready. But when we step into the... More >>
• Best Art Supplies
  Utrecht
  Painter and Utrecht store clerk Megan Bicker got a job at the store to work with other artists and get discounts on top-quality supplies. That's pretty much the same reason its loyal customers shop there. She's the friendly face most often seen behind the counter, always available to unlock the... More >>
• Best Toy Store
  Brookside Toy and Science
  We love Brookside Toy and Science, which hasn't changed ownership since 1964. There are no video games on the premises. Instead, you'll find toys, delightfully archaic items that you pick up with your hands, put together and take apart again. Bouncy balls fill bins near the front door. Board... More >>
• Best Store to Buy CDs in Secret
  Borders
  We know it's hugely unadventurous to buy CDs in a giant chain store, but we don't think that applies to Borders. The outpost at 91st Street and Metcalf has a solid collection of indie-label choices that we have a hard time finding in stock at Streetside. We know the guys in High Fidelity, and... More >>
• Best T-Shirt Shop
  So Young's boutique
  After anchoring retail in the City Market for the past decade, So Young's expanded into a larger storefront this year, establishing itself as a mecca for products central to our quest for metropolitan identity: cool, KC-branded souvenirs. Digital graphic artist Tony Choi has created a line of... More >>