Shops & Wares >>

• Best Sneaker Store
  Project 51 Premium Goods Store
  Courtney Williams is rummaging through a bottom cabinet inside Project 51 in Coconut Grove. He pulls out an alien-looking boot in a moss green, violet purple, and night black color motif. The heavyset sneaker pimp proudly holds up a Nike Convoy Huarache basketball shoe, circa 1993. "I had a pair... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Gifts for Friends You Wish You Had
  Base
  Maybe you make this mistake. Every year during the holiday season, you shop for gifts for your friends and family at the places you like to shop, instead of the places they shop. We do this all the time, and usually we wind up at Base. The place is a one-stop shop for the hip-junkies of any type... More >>
• Best High-End Clothing Boutique
  Adidas Y-3
  Face it. Not everyone is suffering from the effects of the economic downturn. For people looking to still spend cash indiscriminately on high-end clothing without looking like a complete jackass for dressing ostentatiously in these hard times, the Adidas Y-3 store in the Design District might be... More >>
• Best Men's Boutique (1 Comment)
  U.D. Stylelab Miami
  OK, fellas, if you want to get into Louis or Mynt, both on Collins Avenue, pleated khakis and an Oxford are not gonna cut it. We suggest you jettison your faux pas style while cruising Biscayne Boulevard and pull into U.D. Stylelab Miami, the perfect one-stop boutique for banging jeans,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Diamond Ring
  Seybold Building
  So, after years of breaking up and then making up, you've decided she's the girl for you. Now you must find that sparkling diamond engagement ring that is gonna make her say, "Hell, yeah!" We suggest you take a trip to the Seybold Building in downtown Miami, where more than 280 jewelers are... More >>
• Best Jewelry Store
  Jackie Abraham & Co.
  The baubles at Jackie Abraham & Co. are wearable works of art. The diamonds scream for your attention, while the cool platinums dare you not to look. Face it — if you flip off someone while wearing a jewel-encrusted panther upon your middle finger, the recipient of your gesture will... More >>
• Best Boutique Bar
  Shop Bar
  This past March, a few clothing racks popped up in place of the never-popular washing machines at the former Laundry Bar on North Lincoln Lane in South Beach. That's because the venue — which has been revamped and renamed Black Sheep Bar — is now more than just a place to down... More >>
• Best Clothes You Can't Afford
  Marni
  Being broke has an upside: You generally pay less taxes, know about the coolest free stuff in the city, and have an excuse to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon. Then there's the downside. Like, say, when you spot a gorgeous green jacket in the window of Marni, peek at the price, and realize it's worth... More >>
• Best Furniture Store
  Modani
  We thought Jane Jetson's interior design aesthetic was an unattainable vision of what the year 3000 would bring to our homes. The lines were both hard and soft, straight and curved — in other words, oh so unlike the tufted disasters sitting in our own living room. Ultimately, we didn't... More >>
• Best Powerboat Rental
  Club Nautico
  Miami has so many waterways that it would seem appropriate if residents got boats when they reach the legal driving age. But time, money, and an overall dislike of having to anchor your vessel might deter you from actually purchasing one. Luckily, Club Nautico has an entire fleet of powerboats... More >>
• Best Scooter Rental
  Beach Scooters
  Many South Beach scooter rental joints are guilty of shilling the same Japanese-born vessels, which is an absolute shame, because when you're coasting down Ocean Drive with your hair blowing in the wind, you want to be in something exclusive. Beach Scooters gets it and has a fleet of 49cc and... More >>
• Best Dive Shop
  Austin's Diving Center
  The last time Austin's Diving Center made the news was back in 2002, when the FBI issued an alert that terrorists were seeking "an offensive scuba diver capability." The FBI checked out more than 1,300 scuba shops across the nation, including Austin's, and pretty much came up with zilch. They're... More >>
• Best Junk Store (1 Comment)
  Urban Garden/B West Studio
  You know that saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? Well, week-old milk and scratched James Bond DVDs sort of disprove that one. But over at Urban Garden, a charming, slightly kitschy art studio-meets-furniture shop on NE 79th Street, the ponytailed, Coral Gables-born artist in... More >>
• Best Auto Mechanic
  Shorty & Fred's
  In that ironic way that makes perfect sense only to Miamians, one of the county's busiest independent garages is parked in the least car-friendly neighborhood outside of downtown. Shorty & Fred's has serviced the needs of Miami Beach's drivers since 1956, when the city had way fewer cars... More >>
• Best Bike Shop
  Bell's Bicycles
  Cycling enthusiasts come in many varieties. There are those who love the racetrack and those who prefer mountain trails. With so many biking alternatives around, there's bound to be some confusion when getting a new set of wheels. Thankfully, that's not the case at Bell's Bicycles, the place to... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Used Bike
  Cuba Bike Shop
  Never trust a bike shop owner who's got his Benz parked behind the store. As a matter of fact, steer clear of bike shops with bright fluorescents, shelves stuffed with rich-man's gadgets, and bikes that cost as much as a car. Cuba Bike Shop, ironically named because the owner is Colombian, keeps... More >>
• Best Piercing Shop
  The Industry
  Ancient peoples used piercing as a way to protect themselves from evil spirits, yet today we use it as a way to look more badass. There's something about a bar through the bridge of your nose that makes grandmas clutch their purses and bad-boy-lovin' beauties cream themselves. Since we were born... More >>
• Best Barbershop
  The Chop Shop
  When Amir Youseff and his brother Big Ed decided they were gonna open a barbershop in the 305 two years ago, the New Jersey natives banked on a name that would bring instant brand recognition. So they created the Chop Shop, a men's hair- and beard-trimming spot that incorporates the look and... More >>
• Best Place to Take Tykes for a Haircut
  Kids or Not
  If you've ever had to hold down a squirming, screaming child for a trim, Kids or Not is the place for you. The salon offers a fun environment for kids' haircuts: Children sit in toy racecars while kid-friendly stylists cut and style their hair. It also offers nail painting, hair accessories, and... More >>
• Best Salon for Curly Girls
  GBS Salon
  Once upon a time, there was a little princess born with a wild mess of thick, coily locks. As she grew up, all of the pretty, fair-haired maidens in the kingdom laughed and pointed at her. Some yelled, "Rat's nest!" and threw bottles of straightening gel at her head. Fearing she'd never find a... More >>
• Best Eyebrow Wax (1 Comment)
  Uni.K.Wax Center
  Ever since the ancient Egyptians discovered that a unibrow limited one's dates, both men and women have been torturing themselves to achieve smooth, hairless skin. With multiple locations across town, Uni.K.Wax has been keeping South Floridians baby-ass smooth the past 15 years by using their... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Beach Body
  NOMI Pilates
  A few years ago, Pilates broke into the collective consciousness of fit Americans looking for the latest trend. However, the practice has been in use since World War I, when founder Joseph Pilates developed the techniques to help rehabilitate injured vets. We know, you don't give a damn about... More >>
• Best Spa
  Nouvelle Day Spa
  Sure, there are plenty of fancy-pants spas in town, but with the recession threatening to crater the world as we know it, we've got to keep our splurges within reason. And there's no better place for working girls looking to indulge in an orgy of hedonistic excess than this soothing health... More >>
• Best Laser Eye Center (1 Comment)
  The Laser Center of Coral Gables
  Staffed by doctors Albert Aran and Adam Stelzer, two of Florida's finest eye surgeons, this über-friendly, state-of-the-art practice will tweak your peepers into 20/20 perfection in super-fast time. Thousands of their clients, who have ditched their contacts and eyeglasses to become free of... More >>
• Best Wine Store
  Bin No. 18
  Overzealous lovers of vodkas and gins and cognacs are called alcoholics no matter which way you slice it, but wine lovers' affection for their potion is so severe they have their own cute little moniker: wino. These grape-loving creatures roam the Earth searching for a vine from the right place... More >>
• Best Liquor Delivery
  M & B Liquors
  It's 2 p.m. on a Tuesday and you're craving something stronger than the 2 percent milk in your fridge. You tell yourself a bit of Belvedere would be nice, a shot of Scotch even more proper, and a jigger of Jäger would be right on time. The problem? You're home alone, in a full body cast,... More >>
• Best Liquor Store
  Mr. Liquors
  This friendly Little Havana booze emporium is well stocked and open from 9 a.m. to midnight year-round. Locals often gather at the counter for a complimentary shot of the weekly "specials" and to help Guillermo, the owner, with his crossword and jigsaw puzzles while arguing for hours on end... More >>
• Best Botanica
  Brave Guede Botanica
  Brave Guede has everything from voodoo dolls and the pins to prick them to herbal flu and impotence remedies, but the highlight of this mystical one-stop in the heart of Little Haiti is the vast behind-the-counter collection of oils. Tiny $5 vials of seemingly innocuous liquid are labeled "Quick... More >>
• Best Plant Nursery (1 Comment)
  Log Cabin Nursery
  There's no shortage of plant nurseries in our subtropical clime, but something besides its excellent selection and reasonable prices puts Miami Beach's Log Cabin Nursery at the top of its category. The pleasant one-block complex features an open-air garden ringing the center cabin. It's also a... More >>
• Best Green Store
  Imagine Gifts
  Unlike skinny jeans and nerd glasses, going green is a trend everyone can rock. We don't need to mention that each ounce of environmentally friendly living is like giving Mother Earth a great big hug — but we do hear she likes hugs. A store that's participating in some major PDA and... More >>
• Best Pawn Shop
  Cash Inn of 79th Street
  Peddle your late abuela's sterling flatware set or live by candlelight until the end of the month? To us, that decision is an easy one. With South Florida's economy about as vibrant as Kimbo Slice's fighting career, sentimentality has become an unaffordable luxury. Pawn shops are paying less for... More >>
• Best Gun Shop
  Sunshine Air Guns and Collectibles
  T.I. had to learn the hard way, but trust us when we tell you not to purchase your weaponry off the street. Sure, it'd be hard for a multiplatinum artist to fly under the radar when doing some illegal ish, but even Tom, Dick, and Harry can't be promised a smooth getaway. So where do you go to... More >>
• Best Secondhand Store
  Give Good Works
  A brief dissertation on the ethics of consumerism during the current depression: Proposition #1: Reject high-volume manufacturing. An object's quality generally lies in inverse proportion to its availability. While this is not necessarily true of simple items (ketchup, pencils, lubricants), it... More >>
• Best Flea Market
  Opa-locka/Hialeah Flea Market
  This sprawling, 900-vendor emporium, easily spotted from the Gratigny Expressway for its industrial-yellow mosque-like domes, is a place where empires of dust, disarray, and copyright infringement are bought and sold for the price of a few wrinkled bills. Come with $40 and leave with an... More >>
• Best Place for DJs to Buy Vinyl
  Uncle Sam's Music
  The past decade has been nasty to brick-and-mortar record stores. Almost every week, there has been news of yet another great music shop closing up. That's why it's so refreshing to know Miami Beach's Uncle Sam's is still thriving. In business since 1984, the place remains the sweet spot for... More >>
• Best Musical Instrument Store
  Sim Music
  Big-box music stores are all right, but sometimes it pays to venture into the unknown, and for musicians, the right place to set out to is North Miami's Sim Music. This neighborhood institution has three floors of new and used merchandise; from DJ equipment to amps and guitars, this place has... More >>
• Best Bookstore
  Books & Books
  For a town that has produced a substantial stable of top-shelf writers, it's surprising there are so few bookstores in the Magic City to pay them homage. There's a Barnes & Noble here and there, but as far as independent, funky, uniquely Miami booksellers, we have only a handful of options.... More >>
• Best Place to Get Free Wi-Fi
  The Bookstore in the Grove
  The time will come when charging for wi-fi will seem as ridiculous as charging for air, yet there are still many places that will take your Hamilton if you want to check your email or watch the latest YouTube video of a cat balancing a sardine can on its nose in a hot-air balloon. Because you... More >>
• Best Foreign Video Rentals
  Lion Video Foreign Films
  Take one: A teenage boy pursues his masochistic piano teacher (The Piano Teacher). Take two: A dying Spanish fisherman fights to legalize euthanasia (The Sea Inside). Take three: A child sells himself on the streets of Brazil (Pixote). Doesn't sound like the plot of Hollywood's latest... More >>
• Best Bollywood Style
  Bhoom Shanti
  Miami's Indian population has slim pickings when it comes to restaurants and even slimmer pickings when it comes to authentic fashion and home décor. That's why Biscayne Boulevard's Bhoom Shanti is a mini-mecca for expats and India-philes — a riotous explosion of ornate fabrics,... More >>
• Best Asian Market
  Japanese Market Inc.
  There's an old proverb that goes, "First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes the man." Whatever. At Japanese Market — a tiny stop-and-shop with a fresh, by-the-roll sushi counter — sometimes the drink is the whole point. With more than 50 brands of hot and cold sake ranging... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Gourmet Goodies at 4 a.m.
  Compass Market
  Late-night food runs on South Beach usually mean pizza pies or greasy (yet delicious) tacos. Sure, it's fun to stumble out of the club and end up at 7-Eleven, stuffing footlong hot dogs down your gullet, but you could hit Compass Market for gourmet goodies that are worthy of A-list munchies... More >>
• Best Adult Video Stores
  Adult Supermarket and J&R Books & Video
  From the outside, these two establishments look like they'd have to be connected. Come on, who would put two porn shops directly next to each other? But look closer and you'll see there are actually a couple of inches of space where one wall stops and another begins. To your left, a sign heralds... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Sex Toys (1 Comment)
  Playthings
  Unlike the adult outposts of old, Playthings isn't some sleazy shack marked with a big, red triple X. Located across the street from Bird Bowl, this locally owned sex shop blends seamlessly into the family-oriented strip mall. And once inside, you shouldn't be surprised to find yourself browsing... More >>