1. Simons (977 Ste-Catherine W., (514) 282-1840)
2. H&M (various locations)
3. Urban Outfitters (various locations)
4. Off the Hook (1021a Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 499-1021)
5. Tie American Apparel (various locations)
and Old Gold (256 Mont-Royal E.,
(514) 509-1675)

Simons and H&M battle it out for top place once again, while Off the Hook drops from first to fourth. The real surprise here is American Apparel, with a virtual monopoly on the street, tied for fifth place with independent boutique Old Gold.

1. La Gaillarde (4019 Notre-Dame W.,
(514) 989-5134)
2. Salvation Army (various locations)
3. Eva B (2013 St-Laurent, (514) 849-8246)
4. Local 23 (23 Bernard W., (514) 270-9333)
5. Preloved (4832 St-Laurent, (514) 499-9898)

La Gaillarde comes out of nowhere to claim top prize in this category. Selling both vintage and new pieces made out of used clothes, the store offers the best of both the Villages des Valeurs and Preloved worlds.

Best Hair Salon

1. Funky Toque (3688 St-Laurent, (514) 985-2999)
2. Coupe Bizarre (3770 St-Laurent,
(514) 843-3433)
3. Queen of the World (851 Ontario E.,
(514) 526-7272)
4. Pure (1455 Peel, (514) 871-4004)
5. Révolution Montreal (1757 Amherst,
(514) 313-7521)

BEST HAIR STYLIST #1:
Dave at Funky Toque

1. Dave, Funky Toque (3688 St-Laurent,
(514) 985-2999)
2. David De Vico, Queen of the World
(851 Ontario E., (514) 526-7272)
3. JJ Levine, Révolution Montreal (1757 Amherst,
(514) 313-7521)
4. Miss. Janet (missjanet.ca, (514) 270-0114)
5. Rawa, Coupe Bizarre (3770 St-Laurent,
(514) 843-3433)

Dave and David are once again neck and neck for the place of best stylist in the city, along with perennial fave Rawa, who’s relegated to number five this year thanks to two newcomers. JJ Levine makes it on the list for the first time with her gender-defying styling. Miss. Janet, another first-time winner, makes the grade without the backing of a salon. This lady is doing it for herself.

1. Adrenaline (1541 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 938-8884)
2. Tatouage Artistique (823 Ontario E.,
(514) 529-8288)
3. Imago (158 Prince-Arthur E., (514) 350-0015)
4. Slick Styled Steel (1841-D Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 842-8999)
5. Tattoo Mania (1615 de Maisonneuve E.,
(514) 525-2025)

1. Jeff Weit, Adrenaline (1541 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 938-8884)
2. Safwan, Imago (158 Prince-Arthur E.,
(514) 350-0015)
3. Len, Slick Styled Steel (1841 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 842-8999)
4. Eric, Adrenaline (1541 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 938-8884)
5. Alex, Slick Styled Steel (1841 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 842-8999)

1. Adrenaline (1541 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 938-8884)
2. Slick Styled Steel (1841 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 842-8999)
3. Tattoo Lounge (3672 St-Laurent, (514) 656-1417)
4. Tatouage Artistique (823 Ontario E.,
(514) 529-8288)
5. Ardène (various locations)

1. HMV (various locations)
2. Archambault (various locations)
3. Cheap Thrills (2044 Metcalfe, (514) 844-8988)
4. Inbeat Records (3814 St-Laurent, (514) 499-2063)
5. Atom Heart Records (364 Sherbrooke W., (514) 843-8484)

In this age of downloading, it’s almost heart warming and nostalgic to see someone buy a CD. And though it’s no surprise to see big boys HMV and Archambault grab top rank, Cheap Thrills, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, holds steady in third place and is still king when it comes to used records (see below). Hooray for Cheap Thrills!

1. Cheap Thrills (2044 Metcalfe, (514) 844-8988)
2. L’Échange (various locations)
3. Beatnik (3770 St-Denis, (514) 842-0664)
4. Primitive (3828 St-Denis, (514) 845-6017)
5. Paul’s Boutique (112 Mont-Royal E.,
(514) 284-7773)

1. Moog Audio (3828 St-Laurent, (514) 284-7434)
2. Future Shop (various locations)
3. Best Buy (various locations)
4. Centre Hi-Fi (various locations)
5. Layton Audio (1170 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 866-1578)

Moog tops the list for the second year running, while simultaneously holding onto third place in both Best Electronics Store and Best Musical Instrument Store. For all the dirt, see the story.

1. Steve’s (51 St-Antoine W., (514) 878-2261)
2. Italmelodie (274 Jean Talon E., (514) 273-3224)
3. Moog Audio (3828 St-Laurent, (514) 284-7434)
4. Archambault (various locations)
5. Jimi’s Music Store (5776 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 488-4207)

1. Future Shop (various locations)
2. Apple Store (3035 Le Carrefour, Laval,
(450) 902-4400)
3. Microbytes (various locations)
4. Best Buy (various locations)
5. I-technique (3697 St-Laurent, (514) 843-9560)

1. Videotron (videotron.ca)
2. Bell (bell.ca)
3. None
4. Rogers (rogers.com)
5. VIF (vif.com)

While Videotron and Bell take the top places, “none” is close behind in third. And it presents an interesting question: does “none” refer to the poor service provided by the providers, or is this a simple reference to spending all your Internet time at a café where you can use their wi-fi for the price of a cup of coffee? Or is everyone leeching?

1. Future Shop (various locations)
2. Best Buy (various locations)
3. Moog Audio (3828 St-Laurent, (514) 284-7434)
4. Dumoulin (various locations)
5. Addison Electronics (8018 20 Ave., E.,
(514) 376-1740)

1. AMC (2313 Ste-Catherine W., (514) 904-1250)
2. Cinéma Banque Scotia Montréal (977
Ste-Catherine W., (514) 866-0111)
3. Cinémas Guzzo (various locations)
4. Cinéma du Parc (3575 Parc, (514) 281-1900)
5. Ex-Centris (3536 St-Laurent, (514) 847-2206)

1. Cinéma du Parc (3575 Parc, (514) 281-1900)
2. Ex-Centris (3536 St-Laurent, (514) 847-2206)
3. Dollar Cinema (6900 Decarie, (514) 739-0536)
4. AMC (2313 Ste-Catherine W., (514) 904-1250)
5. Cinéma Beaubien (2396 Beaubien E.,
(514) 721-6060)

1. Boîte Noire (various locations)
2. Blockbuster (various locations)
3. Movieland (various locations)
4. Superclub Vidéotron (various locations)
5. Metro Video (various locations)

Best Bookstore (New)

1. Chapters (various locations)
2. Paragraphe (2220 McGill
College, (514) 845-5811)

3. Renaud-Bray (various locations)
4. Concordia Community
Solidarity Co-op Bookstore
(2150 Bishop, (514) 848-2046)
5. Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore
(211 Bernard W., (514) 279-2224)

The big guns may have taken top ranks but the independents are closing in, with smaller stores like the Concordia Co-op Bookstore and Drawn & Quarterly (yes, they sell more than just comics and graphic novels) rounding out the list.

Best Bookstore (Used)

1. The Word (469 Milton,
(514) 845-5640)
2. S.W. Welch (225 St-Viateur W.,
(514) 848-9358)
3. Cheap Thrills (2044 Metcalfe, (514) 844-8988)
4. L’Échange (various locations)
5. Encore (5670 Sherbrooke W., (514) 482-5100)

Best Magazine Store

1. Multimags (various locations)
2. Maison de la Presse Internationale
(various locations)
3. Chapters (various locations)
4. Point Vert (4040 St-Laurent,
(514) 982-9195)
5. Mediaphile (1901 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 939-3676)

Best Comics Store

1. Capitaine Québec (1837 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 939-9970)
2. Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard W.,
(514) 279-2224)
3. Librairie Millenium (451 Marie-Anne E.,
(514) 284-0358)
4. 1,000,000 Comix (various locations)
5. Astro Books (1844 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 932-1139)

Best Bicycle Store

1. ABC Cycles (5584 Parc, (514) 276-1305)
2. Révolution Montreal (1757 Amherst
(514) 313-7521)
3. V-Low (RIP)
4. La Bicycletterie JR (151 Rachel E.,
(514) 843-6989)
5. Velo Makak (215 Murray, (514) 831-4560)

Révolution Montreal (where you can get your hair cut while your bike is fixed) and Velo Makak are new to the list this year, giving bike riders more options for quick fixes or solutions to a stolen ride. V-Low’s store on Rachel may have closed down, but you can still order custom-made lowrider’s from them online: v-low.com.

Best Fitness Club/Gym

BEST SKATE/SNOWBOARD SHOP
#1: Empire

1. Empire (365 St-Antoine E.,
(514) 390-1212)
2. Underworld (various locations)
3. Obsession (various locations)
4. Surf 66 (1000 St-Jean, #40, Pointe-Claire,(514) 697-0366)
5. Temple Skate Supply Co. (1201 St-Dominique,(514) 875-8838)

1. Sports Experts (various locations)
2. Sports Rousseau (5916 Papineau, (514) 274-4429)
3. Mountain Equipment Co-op (8989 de l’Acadie,
(514) 788-5878)
4. Play It Again Sports (various locations)
5. Evangelista Sports (6821 St-Laurent,
(514) 277-5951)

1. Spa Diva (1455 Peel, (514) 985-9859)
2. Ovarium (400 Beaubien E., (514) 271-7515)
3. Tonic (3613 St-Laurent, (514) 499-9494)
4. Spa Savanna (4032 Notre-Dame W.,
(514) 931-6544)
5. Spa St. James (2190 Crescent,
(514) 844-4590)

BEST SPA #1: Spa Diva

1. Moksha Yoga (3863 St-Laurent, (514) 288-3863)
2. Bikram Yoga (721 Walker, (514) 989-7642)
3. Yoga Bliss (3545 Côte-des-Neiges,
(514) 932-7971)
4. Happy Tree Yoga (4010 Ste-Catherine W. #200, (514) 846-9642)
5. Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (5178 St-Laurent, (514) 279-3545)

Montrealers like their yoga hot. The winner of this first time category, Moksha Yoga, offers classes in rooms between 38–41 degrees, which simultaneously makes you sweat and keeps your muscles limber while you force yourself into a downward dog. And for those who don’t like to sweat, Yoga Bliss (#3) takes a more mellow approach and even offers a meditation session to help with your inner peace.

Best Florist

1. Fleuriste Pourquoi Pas (3629 St-Laurent, (514) 844-3233)
2. Florateria (90 des Pins W., (514) 288-4548)
3. Westmount Florist (360 Victoria, (514) 488-9121)
4. Zen (1039 Mont Royal E., (514) 529-5365)
5. Bernard’s Flower Shoppe (1089 Bernard W., (514) 279-8596)

1. Rachelle-Béry (various locations)
2. Tau (4238 St-Denis, (514) 843-4420)
3. Le Frigo Vert (2130 Mackay, (514) 848-7586)
4. Frenco (3985 St-Laurent, (514) 285-1319)
5. Bio Terre (201 St-Viateur W., (514) 278-3377)

1. Monastiraki (5478 St-Laurent, (514) 278-4879)
2. Village des Valeurs (various locations)
3. Kitsch n’ Swell (3620 St-Laurent, (514) 842-0160)
4. Tango Martini (4500 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 937-6034)
5. Salvation Army (various locations)

Monastiraki, Billy Mavreas’s baby, wins again. See the comic by Rick Trembles for a glimpse into the best kitsch store in the city.

1. Cats Montreal (1830 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 939-2287)
2. Animal Health Clinic (5601 Sherbrooke W.,
369-9119)
3. Pillet Animal Clinic (910 Ogilvy,
(514) 273-4921)
4. Chaton Sante Clinique Vétérinaire (1052
Bernard, (514) 276-4668)
5. Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital (6090
Sherbrooke W, (514) 486-5258)

1. Sexe Cité (1821 Ste-Catherine W.,
(514) 937-3678)
2. Seduction (5220 Metropolitain E.,
(514) 593-1169)
3. Joy Toyz (4200 St-Laurent, 514-845-8697)
4. Boutique Erotique Romance (723 Mont-Royal E.,
(514) 522-6969)
5. Priape (1311 Ste-Catherine E., (514) 521-8451)

1. High Times (various locations)
2. Je L’ai (RIP)
3. Psychonaut (154 Prince-Arthur E.,
(514) 844-8998)
4. Boutique Rock (5522 Sherbrooke W.,
(514) 481-6227)
5. Le Rock (17 Ste-Catherine E., (514) 842-9559)

1. Mr. Muffler (9190 Maurice-Duplessis,
(514) 881-0711
2. Gordon’s Goodyear (2125 Cavendish,
(514) 481-7771)
3. Shell (1265 Lambert Closse,
(514) 933-6556)
4. Chez Auto Sam (15 Beaubien E.,
(514) 279-0004)
5. Your own