229 Best Places to Shop in USA

This independent bookstore will have just the beach read for you to while away the hours in the sand or on the porch. It's crammed full and can get very busy, but the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. If you're into vinyl, Central Square Records is upstairs.

Philippe Starck designed the TASCHEN space to evoke a cool 1920s Parisian salon—a perfect showcase for the publisher's design-forward coffee-table books about architecture, travel, culture, and photography. A suspended glass cube gallery in back hosts art exhibits and features limited-edition books.

Set back off the street at the end of a wooden walkway, this fantastic little slice of literary heaven is packed with volumes upon volumes—rooms of used-but-in-good-shape books, including some rare and out-of-print texts. It's a great place to lose track of time year-round.

At 25,000 square feet, Title Wave Books is easily the largest independent bookstore in Alaska. The shelves are filled with nearly half a million used books, CDs, and vinyl records across more than 1,600 categories, including several aisles of Alaska-focused books. The staff is very knowledgeable, and the store hosts game nights, author talks, and children's story times. Anyone can bring in used books and trade them for store credit.

Here, you'll find a huge array of guides and books about travel along with maps. You'll also find all sorts of gadgets for hikers and backpackers. There's also a cozy coffeehouse (excellent java) with Wi-Fi. On many Saturday evenings the shop hosts presentations on world travel experiences.

Channel your inner explorer here while browsing an eclectic collection of new and used books that focus on art, adventure, spirituality, poetry, culture, and literature. At the attached café, you can read while you sip tea in the back garden decorated with street art. Your barista is most likely an owner, too.

It's hard to miss this excellent used-book store: simply look for the six-foot neon Cheshire cat waving his tail. Inside, you'll find lots more kitties winding their way through the maze of stacks. The specialties here are rare books and out-of-print treasures, but they've got a smattering of everything.

UW's bookstore sells the requisite textbooks in the basement, but that's just part of it's identity. Upstairs, the well-stocked general book department (run by Barnes & Noble) is the site of author events throughout the year, and there's every imaginable type of Huskies memorabilia, from sweatshirts to mouse pads to shot glasses.

Valley Bookstore has been a Jackson mainstay since 1949. It ranks among the top bookstores in the region, with a big selection of local history, guidebooks on flora and fauna, and fiction by Wyoming authors, some of whom are local to Jackson. Knowledgeable staff can answer almost any question about the area.

The Bryce Canyon Natural History Association runs a bookstore inside the park visitor center where you can find maps, books, videos, stuffed animals, clothing, and postcards.

Southern California's oldest and largest independent bookseller is justly famous for its great service. A newsstand, café, literary-themed wine bar, and stationery store add to the appeal, and it's a favorite with locals for its on-trend, eclectic gift selection. A regular rotation of events including trivia night, kids' story time, and author meet and greets gets the community involved.

This family-owned-and-operated bookstore has been a La Jolla fixture since 1939, and often hosts big-name author signings. They also carry stationery, calendars, and other gifts.

Wonderfully crammed to the rafters, this store offers both new and used books, including a rare book collection. Squeeze in among the stacks of art books and fiction titles, or pop outside for the $1 bargains. A short walk away, at  233 West 72nd Street, the sister record shop has an equally impressive collection of vinyl and CDs.

The “Locals Picks” shelf of this sliver of a store selling current-release fiction and nonfiction will clue you in to what its literate regulars find compelling.

Used and out-of-print books covering all fields—with an emphasis on nautical, regional history, and art titles—are arrayed from floor to ceiling in this jam-packed indie bookstore that also carries first editions and other rare finds.

Architect William Stout began selling books out of his apartment, then opened a Jackson Square store in the mid-1980s, where it remains the definitive source for professionals looking for tomes on architecture, urban planning, and design.

The only retail establishment on park grounds, this bookstore sells trail maps, guides to the Black Hills, and books on the geology and history of Wind Cave and neighboring Jewel Cave.

Alaska authors line the shelves at this cozy literary café, a neighborhood gathering place that's both a bookstore and coffee shop. The online events calendar showcases local artists of all stripes, including spoken word performances, art openings, and book launches.

An extensive selection of maps and books is available at this store in the Valley Visitor Center.