The Best Shopping

Best Clothing Store: Avalon

If you attended a costume party in Oakland this past… Best Clothing Store: Avalon

If you attended a costume party in Oakland this past Halloween, chances are, you looked to Avalon to outfit you for the occasion. Every October, the copious clothing racks of Avalon, a consignment shop located conveniently on the corner of Forbes and Atwood, virtually brim over with costume options ranging from vampire capes to sexy nurse uniforms to campy, polyester ’70s shirts.

That said, Avalon provides a high-quality selection of lightly worn clothing to its customers all year long. The pricing is reasonable, and buyers have the option to become traders — simply bring in your unwanted, preferably name-brand clothing, and Avalon will pay in cash or store credit — your choice! — for your trendy apparel.

With a vast assortment of vintage T’s, sweaters, shoes, jeans, jackets and wacky accessories, it’s no wonder why Pitt students have chosen Avalon as Best Clothing Store: It’s fun, fast fashion you can afford.

Runner-up: Rue 21

—Derek Reighard, Assistant A’E Editor

‘

Best Shopping District: South Side Works

It hasn’t been there long, but it doesn’t matter. The South Side Works has risen to the top of the shopping district lists.

American Eagle highlights a list of stores that ranges from Urban Outfitters to Puma, fixating to any student’s taste in clothing. Joseph-Beth Booksellers offers a place to sit and relax while the Goodwill across the street can take care of anyone’s needs.

Tired of shopping? Stop at the Cheesecake Factory and take a date. It could lead to a second date down the road.

Runner-up: Shadyside

— Alan Smodic, Sports Editor

‘

Best Vintage Clothing: Avalon

Sorry, Goodwill, but you just weren’t good enough to nab the title of best vintage clothing store this time around. With a little luck, some patience and an opportunistic truckload of used Diesel and Dior pieces, maybe you’ll trounce Avalon for the honor next year. We’ll be on the lookout.

Until then, Avalon stands as the proud victor of Vintage Land. Walk through its doors without even the slightest idea of what sort of clothing you’re after, and Avalon will wow you with its jaw-droppingly cool vintage selection.

Whether it’s a Lacoste cardigan, scuffed-up leather loafers or an ’80s-print party dress you end up buying, feel proud knowing that you bought it at Avalon. Hey, if our readers love it, it must be top-notch.

Runner up: Goodwill

— Derek Reighard, Assistant A’E Editor

‘

Pharmacy: CVS

CVS: Students walk in and are instantly greeted with the delights of the aisles of bulk candy and the sounds of the cashier asking customers if they have their CVS ExtraCare card. It has everything a college student could need (except 40s, but we’ll ignore that), and if you can’t find something, then you’re just a punk.

There’s no other place where you can refill your prescription for your “back” and write a get-well card for your neighbor’s sick cat while you wait for your beer-pong pictures to develop and buy ibuprofen for your hangover from that beer pong.

No other pharmacy can compete. Despite the hike (about a quarter of a mile, but for us college students it seems like a mile), CVS’ location is ideal. So continue to bribe your doctor for a prescription for your drug of choice and send him a thank-you card while you’re at it — because thanks to caring customers like you, CVS will stay open for future students for many generations to come.

Runner-up: Rite-Aid

— Laurie Zinberg, Staff Writer

‘

Best Piercing Place: Hot Rod Piercing Co.

If you’re going to have that awkward “look-what-I-did-to-myself” conversation with the ‘rents, best make it some high-quality body art. Hot Rod, located on Oakland Avenue between Forbes and Fifth avenues, features friendly, knowledgeable piercing artists in a squeaky-clean setting. The artists will answer any question you have without a hint of condescension, and their open demeanors are crucial for being comfortable during the big moment. Even if you’re not up for adding another hole to your repertoire, Hot Rod sells high-quality jewelry that complements everything from ears to naughty bits.

Runner-up: Lefty’s

— Kristen DiLemmo, A’E Editor

‘

Best Video Rental Place: Blockbuster

Blockbuster recently showed us that there truly was an end to late fees — the Blockbusters in Oakland and Squirrel Hill were both shut down. But despite being locationally challenged, the readers decided that the location on Baum Boulevard was sufficient to meet their rental needs, and they made themselves heard.

So next time you feel like renting a movie such as “The Princess Diaries 3: The Revenge of Saber Jim” or “Dracula 3000,” make sure to visit the store that used to be synonymous with prolific and slowly sidle down the new release aisle until woozy.

Remember, many titles are guaranteed to be there — but their stores are not. Enjoy.

Runner up: Netflix

— Andy Medici, News Editor

‘

Best Hair Salon: Puccini

Conveniently located in the heart of Oakland on Atwood Street, Puccini is a hip little spot that has all of your salon needs.

From tanning to waxing, color to cuts, the dedicated staff at Puccini will take care of everything from botched at-home hair color disasters to a fresh, new look.

So if you’re ready to try out a hot new style and need a team of experts to assist you, Puccini’s is the place to go.

Runner-up: Supercuts

— Annie Tubbs, Managing Editor

‘

Best Grocery Store: Giant Eagle

There’s no grocery store in Oakland, and that sucks.

But anyone who’s ever been to the recently renovated Giant Eagle on Centre Avenue in Shadyside knows that what it lacks in location it makes up for in quality.

Their produce section is so big it might border on ridiculous. It has a prepared-foods section, aisles and aisles of specialty foods and a special section in the back of the produce area just for cheese, including a walk-in cheese-cooler-room-thing.

Giant Eagle also has locations in spattered throughout the area, including one on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill and one at the Waterfront.

Runner up: Whole Foods

— Annie Tubbs, Managing Editor

‘

Film Development: CVS

The reason why CVS won best film development came down to the quality and how fast the drugstore processes students’ scandalous spring break pictures. CVS even offers cheap digital photo CDs for an efficient way to get those body-shot and hook-up pictures on Facebook as soon as possible, so the blackmailing can begin.

Don’t have a panic attack while waiting to see if you really did hook up with that guy or girl — you can keep yourself busy with the many amenities of CVS. Indulge yourself in a crossword puzzle magazine and you’re so set for one-hour photo that you may not even realize what time it is until the manager comes over and kicks you out.

CVS gets the most photo bang for your buck. It’s clear that CVS is doing something right, if it is able to get sedentary college students to go the extra two blocks on Forbes Avenue, when the runner-up Rite-Aid, also with one-hour photo, is closer to the center of campus.

Runner-up: Rite-Aid

— Laurie Zinberg, Staff Writer

‘

Best Florist: Gidas Flowers

Located conveniently on Forbes Avenue, Gidas Flowers has all of your floral needs covered.

Surely, at some point, you’re going to need to buy flowers.

You stumbled home drunk for the umpteenth time this month, and your girlfriend is pissed.

You didn’t rinse the dishes and your girlfriend had a brain aneurysm when she was trying to scrub the burnt tomato-parmesan pasta out of the bottom of the saucepan.

Your girlfriend picked up your drunk ass three times this weekend and drove you home.

Maybe those examples are a little too specific. Anyway, eventually, you’re going to screw up and you’re going to have to buy your girlfriend flowers. You can do so in person or at www.gidasflowers.com from the comfort of your home computer.

Runner up: Alex’s Flowers

— Annie Tubbs, Managing Editor

‘

Best place to buy textbooks: Got Used

You stand in line for what seems like hours, arms aching under the weight of the mountains of textbooks required for this semester’s classes. “Why didn’t I go to the book store last week and avoid this madness?” you ask yourself. At last it’s your turn to give your credit card whiplash at the register. As the cashier rings up your stash of gently used books you watch with anticipation. Will I have enough money? Why does that Spanish book cost so much?

What’s this? You gaze at your receipt and realize that your books were $50 less than the amount budgeted to you by mom and pop. As you leave the store, looking back at the line of students, you smile a knowing smile because you can afford that burrito after all.

With their sexy yellow plastic bags and their hip advertising campaigns, Got Used is the “it” place to buy your books in Oakland. They specialize in “carrying the most used textbooks at the cheapest price.” That’s a motto that every cash-conscious college student can appreciate. Gracias, Got Used.

Runner-up: The Book Center

— Sarah Bingler, Opinions Editor

‘

Best Cell Phone Vendor: PAC Comm

Mobile phones, cell phones — Whatever you call ’em, there’s only one place to get ’em. The PAC Comm store at 3710 Fifth Ave. is your authorized dealer for all of the hi-tech high quality gadgets that make you drool.

Whether it be your day-to-day phone or the countless accessories that will make your life easier, walk — don’t run — to the place where you can get them.

Runner-up: RadioShack

— Andy Medici, News Editor

‘

Best Place to Buy CDs: CD Warehouse

It’s kind of weird how you don’t really need to go CD stores anymore. You can just get songs or buy albums online and never have to deal with the actual physical reality of walking into the dingy store, wonder if you have to check your bag, get ignored by the unavoidably annoyed and bored clerks, and then not be able to find whatever CD you were looking to buy in the first place.

But that’s kind of the charm of going CD shopping, isn’t it? Especially at a place like CD Warehouse. They have a ton of random used CDs, most of them for pretty cheap prices and then they have the thrilling “discount” section where individual CDs are a dollar and even cheaper in bulk. It doesn’t matter that the discount CDs aren’t good, that’s not the point. The point is you can buy something absurd and terrible for really cheap. That counts, you know. Cheap matters.

The thrill of CD buying in used stores, though, lies in the beauty of finding an album that someone foolishly sold that you’ve been hunting down for years and then find and buy for $4.99. There is no greater feeling than that brief, glorious moment of listlessly flipping through the random “L” section and then seeing one bargain price, missing its case, slightly scratched copy of The La’s so you can buy it, run home and blare “There She Goes Again,” all the while remembering the first time you heard that song and all the things that happened as that song played, back when you were 14 and you thought that it was the only album for you. Then you sold it, like a fool, at some big used CD place and bought some crap album instead and you never even would have remembered that song if you hadn’t gone shopping and looked through the stacks, angling for serendipity and killing time, all under the baleful gaze of the clerks and the customers and waiting to find the CD you’ve always been looking for, you just didn’t know it until you saw it.

Runner-up: Best Buy

— Kevin Sharp, Columnist