128 GOODS & SERVICES titles for a Game Boy Micro.) Game on. BEST PLACE TO RENT A MOVIE SUPERSTAR VIDEO 4703 W. OLIVE AVE., GLENDALE 623-842-3993 FACEBOOK.COM/SUPERSTARVIDEOAZ Video killed the radio star, then Netflix killed the movie rental store. Or so you may have thought. Since 1980, Superstar Video has been thriving in Glendale and is still holding strong as the Valley’s last remaining movie rental store. Skip the doomscrolling, algo- rithm-led selections and ever-rising monthly subscription fees and relive the glory days of making choices on your own. You can browse over 50,000 DVDs and Blu-rays, from cult classics to new blockbusters, and they even have an adults-only section. Plan an old-school movie marathon and enjoy a nostalgic night of cinema, for absurdly cheap. On Monday nights, a rental will run you just 99 cents, a figure that would’ve been a bargain even in the ’80s. i i i BEST SELECTION OF PHYSICAL MEDIA ZIA RECORDS 3201 S. MILL AVE, TEMPE 480-829-1967 6135 N. 35TH AVE. 602-241-0313 AND OTHER VALLEY LOCATIONS ZIARECORDS.COM Zia began as a small independent record store in 1980. Forty-six years later, the oper- ation has grown into the Valley’s finest one- stop shop for physical media. In a world where consumers have grown weary of music and movie streaming subscriptions, Zia is a great place to browse for movies and music you can actually own. Vinyl and CDs, of which there are plenty, sound better than your Spotify subscription and look better, to boot. Zia’s selection of DVDs and Blu-rays is impressive but not overwhelming; the stores have aisles and aisles of movies, many of them low-budget cult flicks and harder- to-find independent films. We love that we can grab “Donnie Darko” as well as new big-budget releases like “Disclosure Day.” And if you’re just getting back into physical media as an antidote to subscription fatigue, you can also find VCRs, DVD players, turn- tables and stereos. Play your favorites like an analog kid. i i i BEST HORROR SHOP HORROR MONGER COLLECTIBLES 1455 S. STAPLEY DRIVE, #26, MESA 480-306-6798 HORRORMONGER.COM Horror fans, rejoice. The perfect spot to shop for all things scary, spooky and Halloween- themed is in Mesa and open seven days a week. Locally owned by a self-proclaimed horror fanatic, Horror Monger Collectibles is less a shop than a haunted treasure chest with morbid greeting cards, horror apparel, figurines and collectibles, skate decks and of course, a wide selection of horror movies on VHS (for those that remember what that is), DVD and Blu-ray. Looking for something signed by your favorite monster or final girl? They’ve got signed posters, too, and host regular signings and events that bring horror stars and creators to the East Valley. For anyone who laughed their way through “Hereditary,” Horror Monger is a must-visit stop. i i i BEST RECORD STORE STINKWEEDS RECORDS 12 W. CAMELBACK ROAD 602-248-9461 STINKWEEDS.COM The brainchild of future Local First Arizona founder Kimber Lanning has slung vinyl and CDs to Arizonans of all ages since 1987, either at the store’s original location at Dobson and Guadalupe roads in Mesa or their current digs off of Camelback Road. Looking for that brand-new record released by Washed Out? Hoping to find a classic from Marvin Gaye? Stinkweeds’ collection of new and used items have you covered. Staffers are also happy to order one-offs if your musical tastes don’t mesh with the selection of records, cassettes and CDs that they have in stock, which means you can shop without having to fear that TV On The Radio record will sink your budget. i i i BEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS MILANO MUSIC 38 W. MAIN ST., MESA 480-827-1111 MILANOMUSIC.COM Park for Milano Music in the back, and when you walk through the hall into Arizona’s most complete music store, you’ll see signed photos of Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson, Steve Gadd and Jimmy Eat World. A few more steps in, and you’re in an amusement park. The huge store is hands-down the place to buy or rent beginner instruments because, as we know, kids change their minds. What are you looking for? Doesn’t matter — they have it. Milano has practically everything any type of musician on any level would want or need, putting big chain stores to shame. Several of its staffers have been working here for many years, which is exactly what you want in a musical instru- ment store. Check out the goods. Get inspired. Keep practicing with whatever you bought, and maybe someday, you’ll make it onto Milano’s wall of fame. i i i BEST SHEET MUSIC CENTRAL MUSIC 5038 N. CENTRAL AVE. 602-274-6532 CENTRALMUSICDIRECT.COM The store has held its spot on Central Avenue long enough — since the 1950s — that grown adults wander in just to check if Central Music still looks the way they remember from childhood piano lessons. It does. Co-manager Roy Hamasaki has worked the counter for much of that time, greeting returning customers like old friends — because plenty of them are. He has seen the store’s stock and musical trends evolve through the years while building a sprawling catalog that goes past classical and pop into genuinely obscure terri- tory. Beyond the printed sheet music that has largely vanished elsewhere, you’ll find method books for oud, didgeridoo, concertina and other instruments most stores wouldn’t stock a single title for. And whatever other musical needs you might have — instruments, cables, strings — you’re likely to find it. Central Music’s retro feel holds strong, driven by a stubborn belief that its mission and its unique role in Phoenix are both critical. i i i BEST ANTIQUE MALL CALL IT NEW/CALL IT ANTIQUE 2049 W. BROADWAY ROAD, MESA 480-464-1234 CALLITNEWCALLITANTIQUE.COM How much time have you got? We challenge any treasure hunter to enter the vastness of Call it New/Call it Antique. And then we’ll send a search party when you get lost in the 43,000-square-foot mega mall. (For compar- ison, the main playing area of a football field is 48,000 square feet.) Call It New boasts 450 dealer spaces, and as we turn corner after corner, we discover yet another section of fascinating antique or retro items: Coca-Cola memorabilia, vintage gas station signs, South- western decor and about a million other things. Don’t go in with expectations, and be delighted by the sheer randomness of a stuffed raccoon in a plexiglass frame, an Iron Maiden shirt, a 4-foot-tall Darth Vader. Are you the one with stuff to unload? The store buys things on consignment, so you can part with your prized ephemera. Explore to your heart’s desire and remember that, like Disney- land, it takes more than one visit to see it all. i i i BEST THRIFT SHOP WHITE DOVE THRIFT SHOPPE 2711 E. INDIAN SCHOOL ROAD 602-957-1204 1255 W. GUADALUPE ROAD, MESA 480-491-1361 AND OTHER VALLEY LOCATIONS WHITEDOVETHRIFT.ORG Many thrifters have a beef with the big daddy chain of stores that rhymes with “Woodbill.” Enter White Dove, with calm instead of chaos and prices that don’t rival or surpass brand-new merchandise. These clean, well-organized shops are more like boutiques and not a hot mess of dusty, used crap that languished at a garage sale. Clothing and knickknacks are displayed attractively and are in above-average or better condition. Shelves reveal gently used kitchen implements, brand-new skeins of yarn and $2 picture frames in mint condi- tion. One trip yielded a like-new Yamaha