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Goods and Services The day on which the final tallies were counted was a good one for Massive Impersonal Chain Store, USA. Be it known, however, that the race between Streetlight Records and Tower Records for "Best Place to Buy Music" was very close--the most-watched race in the whole survey, to tell the truth. Tower won, but Streetlight earned our undying admiration for its sheer heart and stamina. Sadly, the "New Bookstore" category wasn't nearly so interesting, with Barnes & Noble, Borders and Crown dominating most rudely. We were intrigued to see that Amazon.com got some votes. Here's a little bit of information: Trader Joe's is a wonderful store, a fine place to buy sun-dried tomatoes and other gourmet-ish foods at inexpensive prices. It is not a "Health Food Store" in the organic sense of that phrase. But TJ's took second place in that category anyway. In other developments we saw that you, readers, are despairing over the disappearance of the independent neighborhood video store. "They still have those?" appeared more than once on our surveys. And you scared us a little by registering several marks for "Your soul" as "Best Thing to Sell on eBay." People, that's no laughing matter. Best Shoe Store First Place Nordstrom Multiple locations Second Place Payless Multiple locations Third Place Steve Madden 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara * 408.261.8723 Best Independent Women's Clothing Shop First Place Crossroads 1959 W. San Carlos, SJ * 408.292.6100 Second Place Underground 515 S. Bascom Ave., SJ * 408.280.5548 Third Place Hers 322 N. Santa Cruz Ave., LG * 408.354.3274 Best Independent Men's Clothing Shop First Place Crossroads 1959 W. San Carlos, SJ * 408.292.6100 Second Place Underground 515 S. Bascom Ave., SJ * 408.280.5548 Third Place Eli Thomas 830 Town & Country Village, SJ * 408.247.1024 Best Vintage Clothing Shop First Place Moon Zooom 1630 W. San Carlos, SJ * 408.287.5876 Second Place Underground 515 S. Bascom Ave., SJ * 408.280.5548 Third Place Park Place 1318 Lincoln Ave., SJ * 408.294.9893 Best Lingerie Shop First Place Victoria's Secret Multiple locations Second Place Frederick's of Hollywood Multiple locations Third Place Cupid's Corner 408 Blossom Hill Rd., SJ * 408.226.5683 Best Place To Buy Music First Place Tower Records Multiple locations Second Place Streetlight 980 S. Bascom Ave., SJ * 408.292.1404 Third Place Rasputin 1820 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell * 408.371.8008 Best Books--New First Place Barnes & Noble Multiple locations Second Place Borders Multiple locations Third Place Crown Multiple locations Best Books--Used First Place Recycle Books 1066 The Alameda, SJ * 408.286.6275 Second Place Curious 23 E. Main St., LG * 408.354.5560 Third Place Know Knew Books 415 California Ave., PA * 650.326.9355 Best Independent Video Store First Place Bradley Video 501 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell * 408.379.4999 Second Place Scott's Video 1795 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara * 408.248.6882 Third Place American Video 5041 Almaden Expwy., SJ * 408.558.9545 Best Hair Salon First Place Faux 378 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell * 408.378.3289 Second Place Nirvana 224 N. Santa Cruz Ave., LG * 408.354.7979 Third Place Nimbus 2363 Broadway, Redwood City * 650.365.7568 Best Place To Buy Produce First Place farmers markets Various locations Second Place Cosentino's S. Bascom & Union Ave., Campbell * 408.377.6661 Third Place Whole Foods Multiple locations Best Health Food Store First Place Whole Foods Multiple locations Second Place Trader Joe's Multiple locations Third Place Sunflower 2230 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell * 408.371.7800 Best Hardware Store First Place OSH Multiple locations Second Place Home Depot Multiple locations Third Place ACE Multiple locations Best Nursery First Place Woolworth Garden Center Multiple locations Second Place Yamigami's 1361 S. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino * 408.252.3347 Third Place Almaden 5725 Winfield Blvd., SJ * 408.226.4313 Best Housewares First Place Crate & Barrel Multiple locations Second Place Williams-Sonoma Multiple locations Second Place Domus 40 N. Santa Cruz Ave., LG * 408.354.6630 Third Place Sur La Table 23 University Ave., LG * 408.395.6496 Best Florist First Place Citti's Multiple locations First Place Blossom Floral 386 S. First, SJ * 408.293.5232 Second Place Bunches 14 N. Santa Cruz Ave., LG * 408.395.5451 Third Place Bloomers 14107 Winchester Blvd., LG * 408.378.0371 Best Online Commerce Site First Place Amazon.com Second Place eBay.com Third Place Buy.com Best Thing To Sell On eBay First Place music Second Place memorabilia Third Place Beanie Babies Best Use Of The Internet First Place email Second Place research Third Place pornography [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]