3888 Best Places to Shop in USA

Gas Lamp Antiques features more than 300 vendor booths that stock furniture, vintage jewelry, and pop culture memorabilia. More items are available at the nearby GasLamp Too ( 128 Powell Pl.).

Two sprawling stories of European groceries greet you as you enter underneath the large cow on Lincoln Avenue, as well as a wide array of smoked sausages, gourmet wines and cheeses, a wide beer selection, and imported specialty products. During summer, hop the elevator to the rooftop where you'll find an outdoor garden hideaway serving sausages and beer. 

You'll find mostly 18th- and 19th-century English antiques here, but keep your eye out for a Charleston Battery bench (seen at White Point Garden), for which the store is famous. Founded in 1922, Birlant's is fourth-generation family-owned and home to the oldest working freight elevator in the country.

Jon Gibson crafts and sells museum-quality pewter mugs, oil lamps, vases, pitchers, and other stunning works in a barn and workshop overlooking one of the state's prettiest Colonial town greens, in the pretty hilltop village of Washington. Try to come on a Saturday morning, when there's a small but fun farmers' market next door.

In a restored 1800s farmhouse in the center of town, this gallery showcases exceptional paintings and sculptures from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The focus is on artists inspired by Maine's beauty, especially those who have painted on Monhegan Island. Among those represented are Rockwell Kent, James Fitzgerald, Andrew Winter, Carroll Thayer Berry, and Charles Woodbury. Contemporary artists include Andrea J. Peters, Kevin Beers, and Henry Isaacs.

This well-stocked home decor shop inside the historic Burlingame Garage, is run by a husband-and-wife duo. Browse unique furniture, kitchenware, jewelry, greeting cards, and the kids' section for the perfect gift.

A colorful junk art gate greets visitors to this 88-acre ranch with olive, apple, and citrus trees. Farm tours and tastings of olive oils milled on-site take place year-round Thursday–Saturday; come apple harvest (mid-August–mid-November), tastings of heirloom varieties also occur. Reservations are required. The farm shop is open on the same days for walk-in purchases of produce, snacks, cookbooks, and other items (and Sunday by appointment). Check the website calendar or social media for special events, including baking demonstrations, live music, and pizza parties.

It's described by its owners as an American mercantile and dry goods store, but when you open the door, you'll feel as if you've been invited into a friend's warm and inviting loft. Displays throughout the store beautifully showcase 19th-century antique furniture. You'll also discover leather goods; vintage mirrors and other decorative home items; men's and women's grooming products and perfumes from around the world; Peruvian alpaca and wool scarves; Swedish clogs; and comfortable dresses, sweaters, and tops from American and international designers.

This is one of the most unforgettable shopping experiences on the Strip. Duck into shops like Field of Dreams, Breathe, or Peter Lik's gallery of fine-art photography. Amble under blue-sky ceilings alongside the Grand Canal. All roads, balustraded bridges, and waterways lead to St. Mark's Square, an enormous open space filled with Italian opera singers and costumed performers. Watch for the living statues, who will intrigue and amuse. If you need to take a load off, hail a gondola. Closer to The Palazzo, find powerhouse names such as Michael Kors and Tory Burch; shoe lovers will swoon over the Jimmy Choo boutique.

Don't miss this charming little store in a old mansard-roofed structure. The upstairs once served as a community dance hall, and the original piano is still on the stage. Kids will delight in the array of "penny candy" as well as fun small toys. There are also kitchen utensils, candles, gifts, pretty cards, and books. At an outdoor window on the side of the building, you can order an ice-cream cone to enjoy on a walk down to the harbor.

This longtime anchor of Starland is a huge part of the area's enticingly artsy, bizarre reputation. Vinyl heads will love digging through the bins of old and new records, some freshly pressed by the Graveface record label. There's also the wicked apparel and delightfully creepy taxidermy exhibits—yes, stuffed animals, and not the cuddly kind—that make this a must for any visit to the neighborhood.

It's worth driving the eight-mile loop road through the arts and crafts community, even if you don't plan to stop. But you probably will—these mountain craftspeople do more than carve chainsaw sculptures (although they do that, too). Along the way, you'll find the works of world-class painters like Jim Gray, whose gallery is housed in a century-old former church. Just behind the gallery, Ogle's Broom Shop is home to third-generation broom makers whose functional and decorative brooms and hiking sticks are treasured by craft aficionados. There are also spots to stop for a meal, a cold drink, or ice cream.

A local favorite with a huge used-book department also carries new books in every field. It's known for its history room and rare-books collection, as well as fiction CDs, DVDs, comic books, and graphic novels.

This shop carries a very special selection of fetishes, along with kachina dolls, baskets, and a small grouping of vintage and contemporary Native American jewelry and pottery, for the beginning and seasoned collector. The shop's owner, Yvonne Stokes, is well respected in this field, and presents work from all 19 pueblos as well as Hopi and Navajo pieces. Changing exhibits focus on one tradition—stone carvers, for example—and hone in on the work of one artist and perhaps that of the artist's family as well. Gorgeous hand-carved Ye’i figures by contemporary Navajo artist Sheldon Harvey are here, as are his wonderful abstraction paintings. Enter the Zuni Fetish Museum from within the gallery; an unusually fine range of historic Zuni-crafted fetishes awaits, along with those by other Native artisans. Transitions in style and theme are well-documented here, as are trends in materials and form. Visits to both the store and the museum are by advance appointment only.

A purveyor of new and used music as well as music-geek accessories, Grimey's is a Nashville institution and a must-visit for music fans touring Nashville. Before you visit, check the store's in-store events calendar—there's a good chance you'll catch some great music while browsing the vinyl crates.

Just before its opening in 1929, the Grove Arcade, which covers an entire city block, was trumpeted as "the most elegant building in America" by its builder, W. E. Grove, the man also responsible for the Grove Park Inn. He envisioned a new kind of retail, office, and residential complex. Grove died before completing the project, and a planned 14-story tower was never built. Still, the building is an architectural wonder, with gargoyles galore. Now it's a public market with about 40 locally owned shops and restaurants, along with apartments, office space, and an outdoor market. A self-guided architectural tour (download a map from the website) takes about 45 minutes.

If Gruene Hall is king of the town, the Gruene General Store is its queen. The building dates back to 1878, and the soda fountain is a 1950s throwback serving old-fashioned ice cream floats and homemade fudge. You can find all sorts of unusual Texas gifts here along with candy, pickles, honey butters, and jams. The store is open seven days a week.

Sure, we love our technology, but we still also really love paper products, and that's the majority of what this cool gift store stocks. First, explore the entire section devoted to wares by Rifle Paper Co., and then pick up something for the cherished infant in your life from the edited selection of precious and expensive baby clothing. There are also artful gift items, teas, and more.

One of the city's trendiest boutiques attracts the young and well-heeled, who come here for an edgier, New York–influenced style. Hot designers like Alexandre Birman and Rachel Comey make it a premier destination for the latest in fashion.

Although it specializes in crafts and jewelry, Handmade and More also carries toys, clothing, and a selection of quirky cards.

Gigi Sarsfield makes fibrous papers that include things like tufts of cattail and small bits of lichen that she finds on walks in the woods or along the sea. You can buy individual sheets or blank books. Lampshades made from the paper are also for sale. 

Set in what was once a department store, this gallery sells fine art; contemporary fabric, metal, wood, glass, and ceramic decorative items and housewares; and jewelry and accessories. Everything is handcrafted by a diverse group of established and emerging Maine artists.

Located within the Sea Pines Resort, Harbour Town is a picture-perfect little area with plenty of shops that appeal to visitors young and old. S. M. Bradford Co., Currents, and Fashion Court specialize in upscale clothing, while Knickers and Harbour Town Surf Shop carry outdoor wear. Kids and families will enjoy the Cinnamon Bear Country Store and Hilton Head Toys.

It's worth a slight but pretty detour over the hill from Franconia to visit this rambling old village store and dairy that turns out legendarily rich, sharp aged cheddar, which is also available smoked and in port-and-cognac spreads. The venerable red-clapboard shop carries plenty of other foodie-pleasing products.