Shopping
IN MONTREAL

Chabanel Street Just north of the Metropolitain between St-Laurent and du Parc is schmataland. Montreal still has a large textile industry, most of which is located in this district. Here you’ll find factory outlets that sell to the public directly, but only on Saturday mornings.

Eva B A great selection of leather and women’s clothing, much of which is made on-site. For the theatrically minded, they also rent costumes at reasonable rates. Costume shop visits require an appointment. 2013 St-Laurent (at Ontario), 849-8246

La Bohème A small shop, chock-a-block with vintage-wear for the whole family. Everything from footwear to headwear, including a fair selection of leather jackets. Cash only. 206 St-Viateur W.
Friperie St-Laurent Second-hand clothing boutique with great ‘40s ties and other treats. 3976 St-Laurent, 842-3893

Fripe-Prix Renaissance This smaller, lesser-known discount chain is actually cheaper than Village des Valeurs, with a $1–$10 price range tax included. At the branch on the Main, there’s the bonus of a used book, record and computer basement. Various locations including 7250 St-Laurent, (corner Jean-Talon), 276-3626

Le Château Warehouse All the stuff you saw in the regular outlets that didn’t sell. They slash the prices. 5255 Jean-Talon W., 341-5301

Lolita This friendly and boutique-y frip on the St-Viateur strip offers an extremely affordable selection of women’s fashion and accessories from a variety of eras; a decent jeans selection but also a wide array of dress-up gear ranging from kooky-fun to über-sophisticated. 274 St-Viateur W., 270-5858

Village des Valeurs An institution for Montrealers on a budget, there are five locations in the greater Montreal area and stock is not limited to clothing. Don’t just go to the store closest to downtown-it’ll be the most picked-over. 4906 Jean-Talon W. (metro Namur), 739-1962; 6779 Jean-Talon E. (metro Langelier to connecting Northbound bus), 254-0433; 2033 Pie-IX, 528-8604; 7427 Newman, 595-8101; 5630 Henri-Bourassa (corner Lacordaire), 327-7447

Duvet Ungava Good selection and prices for futons and duvets. 10 des Pins W., ground floor, 287-9276

Ikea Hard to get to without a car (if you’re going by bus it’s a good idea to call their switchboard for detailed directions before setting out). The usual do-it-yourself furniture fare at moderate prices awaits. 9191 Cavendish (off the Metropolitain), 738-2167

Salvation Army Used furniture and a wicked array of clothes and household goods at insanely low prices. Get everything you need, and the cash goes to a good cause. 1620 Notre Dame W, 935-7425; 4890 Jean-Talon W., 738-1796; 5762 Sherbrooke W., 488-8714

Academic and General Book Shop New and used books on a range of topics, and what they don’t have, they can order. 385 Sherbrooke W., 849-3833

Argo Eclectic collection of used books. 1915 Ste-Catherine W., 931-3442

Bella Shares a shop with Mojo (see CDs/Records), specializing in obscure fiction, comics, and other arty books. 3968 St-Laurent, 282-7730

Chapters Three huge floors of books, magazines and a Starbucks café. Occasional launches and signings. Open late. Downtown location is at 1171 Ste-Catherine W., 849-8825

Diamond Bookstore Second-hand, remaindered and rare stock. 5035 Sherbrooke W., 481-3000
Double Hook Canadian Books Canadian literature is this Westmount store’s specialty; occasionally also hosts readings. 1235a Greene, 932-5093

L’Échange Buy and sell books (mostly French) as well as music and comics. 713 Mont-Royal E., 523-6389 or 3694 St-Denis, 849-1913

Indigo As they say, it’s “books, music and café.” Second, smaller location at 395 Jean-Talon W. (metro Parc), 278-2673. The store at McGill-College & Ste-Catherine is roomy and open to 11pm nightly. 1500 McGill, 281-5549

Librairie Allemande German bookstore has everything from children’s novels to biographies. 3488A Côte-des-Neiges, 933-1919

Librairie Alternative Bookstore Collectively run bookstore offering books and magazines on alternative media, environment, animal rights, labour, anarchy, feminism, sexuality and queer literature. 2035 St-Laurent, 2nd fl., 844-3207

Librairie Astro Used books, comics and trading cards. 1844 Ste-Catherine W., 932-1139

Librairie Italiana Italian books, magazines, video rentals and records. 6792 St-Laurent, 277-2955

Librairie Las Americas Spanish books. 10 St-Norbert (off St-Laurent just below Sherbrooke), 844-5994

Librairie Michel Fortin Inc. Specializes in language books, but also serves as a general bookstore. 3714 St-Denis, 849-5719

Librairie du Moyen-Orient Specializes in books from the Arab world. 877 Décarie, 744-4886

Librairie Ulysse Excellent selection of travel books, guides and maps. 4176 St-Denis, 843-9447

McGill Bookstore A comprehensive selection with a cybercafé upstairs. Closed Sun. 3420 McTavish, 398-7444

Mélange Magique Metaphysical, holistic and occult books. They also carry incense and crystals. 1928 Ste-Catherine W., 938-1458

Nicholas Hoare Highbrow champions of bookstore feng shui. Also sell CDs. Ogilvy basement, 1307 Ste-Catherine W., 499-2005; 1366 Greene, 933-4201

Odyssey Buys and sells used and rare books, especially art, literature and history, plus used and classical and jazz records. 1439 Stanley, 844-4843

Paragraphe Good selection of new books, including a great children’s section; if it’s not in stock, they’ll order it for you. Attached to a Second Cup. 2220 McGill-College, 845-5811

Stage Theatre Bookshop Great selection of theatre, film, music, dance and visual arts books. 2123 Ste-Catherine W., 931-7466

S.W. Welch Used and rare books bought and sold; good prices offered for used books., but can be picky about what they take. 3878 St-Laurent, 848-9358

Vortex Mostly used books, but the owners take great care to make sure they’re in the best condition. A lot of rare and first-edition stock. Name your subject. 1855 Ste-Catherine W., 935-7869

The Word Buys and sells art, philosophy and literature books, and has all of last year’s McGill textbooks. There’s also a wall of classic must-reads for only a dollar, and a comprehensive supply of zines and literary mags. 469 Milton, 845-5640

Maison de la presse internationale A great selection of up-to-date newspapers and magazines from around the world. Found all over the city. 550 Ste-Catherine E., 1393 Ste-Catherine W., and 1645 Ste-Catherine W.

Medi@phile Independent newsstand with excellent selection of international newspapers and magazines, as well as gifts, greeting cards and cigars. Will do special orders. 1901 Ste-Catherine W., 939-3676

Metropolitan News Agency The place is tucked away, the shop is small and messy, but they have just about any newspaper and lots of foreign-language magazines. 1109 Cypress (south of Ste-Catherine between Peel and Stanley), 866-9227

Multimags Magazines and newspapers from all over the globe. All over Montreal including 1570 de Maisonneuve W., 5236 Queen-Mary, 352 Ste-Catherine W., 2085 Ste-Catherine W. and 3552 St-Laurent

Point Vert Strong on artsy mags, design & music. May have titles the others don’t. 4040 St-Laurent, 982-9195

BPM Muzik DJ store with variety of dance music. Techno, house, R&B, reggae on vinyl and CD. 1154 Ste-Catherine E., 527-5912

CD Plus Second-hand CDs. 5128 du Parc, 273-1088

CDément Mostly used, and some new rare stuff. Good prices. 388 Ste-Catherine W., 866-7616

Cheap Thrills New and used CDs, as well as used books. 2044 Metcalfe, 844-8988

Disquivel New and second-hand vinyl and CDs. Covers everything, especially electronic music. One listening post. 1587 St-Laurent, 842-1607

DNA, Science, Moog Audio Techno/drum & bass, hip hop and sound equipment. Three stores come together under one roof, making it the place to come to for all your urban music and the stuff that makes it loud. 28 des Pins E., 284-7434

Inbeat: Specializing in house and techno on vinyl. A great start for
club DJs. 3814 St-Laurent, 499-2063

L’Échange (see books)

HMV You’ll have to forge past the Top-40 display units at the front to get to the CDs, but the selection is good for all tastes. Many locations including 1020 Ste-Catherine W., 875-0765

L’Oblique A touchstone for francophone musicians and scenesters looking to upgrade their collection with new, used and rare discs. 4333 Rivard, 499-1323

Le Pick-Up Buys and sells everything from CDs and 45s to vintage magazines and posters. Big funk and soul selection. 262 Mont-Royal E., 849-9484

Marché du disque Cheap vinyl, and a great selection of CDs from soundtracks to rockabilly to exotica. 793 Mont-Royal E., 526-3575

Mars The store is like a spooky attic, but has some finds. Also posters, magazines etc. 460 Ste-Catherine W., 844-4329

Mojo Rare vinyl re-issues with emphasis on jazz. Also funk, pop, groovy soundtracks, and a used CD rack. 3968 St-Laurent, 282-7730

Noize A rich collection of new and used discs and vinyl, many musical genres. Two couches, two decks. 3697 St-Laurent., 985-9989

Phantasmagoria Alternative, classical and jazz specialist, has some hidden treasures. 4914 Sherbrooke W., 488-2004.

Pop Shop In the former location of Rayon Laser, this new store has CDs and vinyl. 3656 St-Laurent, 848-6300

Primitive Second-hand CDs, tapes and records. Great prices. 3828 St-Denis, 845-6017

Rotation Techno, house, deep house, drum & bass, breakbeat and a little hip hop. Vinyl and CDs. Four decks. 30 Prince Arthur W. (corner St-Laurent), 848-9562

Ricochet New garage, mod, punk, as well as collectibles and rare vinyl. 372 Ste-Catherine W. #105, 393-6410

Stomp Ska & garage rock, plus a selection of mod clothes. 78 Rachel E., 842-5887

Tabou International DJ Club The city’s HQ for club DJs: techno, house, jungle, rap, R&B, dance. 1021-A Ste-Catherine W., 288-5609

Underworld Music Hardcore, punk, ska specialist. 271 Ste-Catherine, 284-6418

Archambault The one stop for all the classical music you could ever want to have on paper. Instruments too, including pianos. 500 Ste-Catherine E., 849-6202

Italmelodie Inc. Sales, leasing, service, trade-ins and lessons. Large selection of instruments and sound systems. 274 Jean-Talon E., 273-3224

Steve’s Music Guitars, drums, keyboards, rock songbooks and rental sound equipment. 51 St-Antoine W., 878-2216

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