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Arizona legislators (and governor!), take note. We're got a living, breathing example of just how much good a little bit of public money can do for students. Housed in a beautiful new center in the Burton Barr Central Library, designed by the library's original architect, Will Bruder, College Depot houses two full-time college counselors, 25 computers, a conference room, and a series of workshops on every college entrance exam imaginable. It's everything that you need (short of cold, hard cash and bedding) to get yourself to college — whether you speak Spanish or English and are 16 or 60. Oh, and it's free. Deborah Dillon, director of education programs, came up with the idea and spent three years raising $1 million to fund it. She got a $550,000 grant from the city of Phoenix; the rest came from various charitable organizations. Talk about a power player. With a central location in the library — already an after-school hub, with a teen center — College Depot has the chance to become a major force of change for low-income and Latino students in the Valley. This is a place to come use the Internet when you don't have a computer at home, or get help deciphering the bureaucratic blather on a financial aid application when your parents don't speak English. (Or, for that matter, when they do.) It's a program we hope others will study closely.

Best Supplies for an Earth Mama

Healthy Baby Happy Earth

If you're a mom who's serious about her eco-conscious rep, the recycling bin and the Prius aren't going to cut it. To really reduce your carbon footprint, head to Healthy Baby Happy Earth for all the environmentally friendly infant goodies you can possibly desire. The boutique stocks organic baby clothes colored using safe dyes, washable cloth diapers, and bottles that won't leach those dreadful BPA chemicals into baby's tummy-wummy. Earth-conscious mamas can even rent a breast pump here — which sounds a little creepy, but we're assured they're sterilized and safe. To top it all off, Healthy Baby Happy Earth is located in a 100-year-old historic home, making it recycled from the outside in.

Best Secondhand Clothes for Kids

Kid to Kid

Those in the know are aware — painfully, at times — that kids outgrow their clothes at a far faster rate than they wear them out. We're talking about clothes, but also about toys, books, and furniture. So what to do with all the leftovers (other than give them to Goodwill, stash them in the garage, pile them up outside for bulk-trash pickup, or — eek! — have another baby and call 'em hand-me-downs)? Another option: This well-stocked, easy-to-navigate north Phoenix store is a winner for both people itching to get rid of some things (and maybe make a bit of money while doing so) and those who need this or that, and at an eminently fair price. No garbage here. Kid to Kid is a godsend for parents on a budget who are nevertheless seeking first-rate merchandise for their little ones — and have their own treasure troves to pass along.

Best Vintage Boy Toys

Smilin' Jack's Pedal Cars

Remember pedal cars, those miniature metal machines that were foot-powered and looked exactly like Dad's classic Thunderbird? Take a trip back to the good old days at Smilin' Jack's and you'll find plenty of the real thing — vintage-style pedal cars with chrome accents and fins as well as its modern cousin, Big Wheels. Jack's also carries a large stock of autographed baseballs and other sports memorabilia, rare Hot Wheels miniatures, classic red wagons and vintage model cars from as early as the 1940s. The best part about Smilin' Jack's? The social norm that said these goodies are strictly for dudes has broken down since their heyday, so dangerous girls can get in on neighborhood pedal car drag races instead of trying to put Barbie's head in an Easy-Bake oven.

Best Vintage Girl Toys

Auntie Em's Miniatures

The shelves of today's toy stores are stocked with plastic cell phones and dolls that make a Van Buren Street hooker look elegant. That's why we adore Auntie Em's, where old-fashioned dollhouses and fully clothed dolls reign supreme. The feminine yin to Smilin' Jack's Pedal Cars' yang, Auntie Em's carries everything a girl needs to build and decorate her own miniature world, from teensy tables and beds to accessories such as a sleeping cat and a white picket fence to make her dream home complete. Every summer, the shop hosts a series of Dollhouse Camps where little princesses can build custom five-room bungalows for about a hundred bucks. All she'll need afterwards is tiny designer furniture, a matchbox-size sports car, and a miniature husband to pay for it all.

Best Vintage Clothing

Retro Ranch

This funky store is stocked with a whole lot more than your typical coterie of furniture, barware, and velvet Elvis paintings. The owner's eagle eye has scored an eclectic selection of clothing so enticing it would make Carrie Bradshaw — and Sarah Jessica Parker — jealous. Cheery '50s skirts, prom dresses, '70s skiing sweaters, and straw handbags are waiting to be snapped up. Label-lovers and luxury hounds know which racks stock the fancy stuff, with finds that regularly include cashmere coats, mink stoles, and Lilly Pulitzer dresses. We love the recession pricing, like a men's Yves Saint Laurent velvet blazer for under $50, or sparkling rhinestone earrings for a mere $15. And for $20, who doesn't need another 1940s black leather handbag? Yup, that's pretty fabulous.

Best Vintage Jeans

Blue Jean Buyer

The Blue Jean Buyer is a magical place. You can walk in and pick out any pair of jeans, boots, belt and T-shirt, and you're about as close to being Keith Richards as you're going to get without having a few blood transfusions. With an astounding collection of vintage Levi's, T-shirts, cowboy boots, and jewelry for both guys and girls, it's impossible not to get lost in this tiny shop. With trade-ins accepted and already affordable prices, we can't help feeling lucky. Steve Vizzerra's quaint little boutique would certainly hold its own in Silver Lake or Williamsburg, but we get to keep his shop and its timeless rock 'n' roll cool all to ourselves.

Best Clothing Exchange

Sunset Clothing Xchange

It's a shopper's dream come true to hit a hot streak in a store. When you find so much that you actually have to put things back to keep the total ticket down, you experience the glory of pure consumerism . . . and you're beautiful. This happens to us every single time we walk through the doors at Sunset Clothing Xchange in Tempe. It's uncanny. The selective store offers only the best vintage finds as well as contemporary brands like Paige, Bebe, Rock & Republic, French Connection, Betsey Johnson, and People's Liberation (just to name a few). The racks are clean and well organized, and there's not a busted zipper in the place. With ridiculously reasonable pricing, we often wonder how the place keeps their doors open. As long as they are, we'll be walking through them.

Best Retro Cocktailwear

Hollywood Regency

We finally wrangled an invitation to Lewis and John's annual snooty-boots cocktail soiree, only to discover that its hosts insist on "formal vintage eveningwear" in order to get through the door. We made a beeline for Hollywood Regency, because we knew that the proprietress, Heidi Owens, had a few years back turned her love of old-timey fashion — not to mention the entire back room of her kicky vintage furniture shop — into a really swell homage to dinner jackets and formals. And they're all for sale! We swooped in and found a velvet-lined, brocade smoking jacket and a pair of cufflinks shaped like little penguins, and tarted up our ensemble with a silk hand-painted necktie from the '40s. While we were there, we also scooped up a couple of pairs of plaid shorts and a bowling shirt with the name "Chet" embroidered on the pocket, because we can't ever resist Hollywood Regency's cool duds and amazing low prices.

Best High-End Antiques

Antique Trove

There's a booth among the many at Antique Trove that carries nothing but big, beautiful pieces from the south of France. We go there sometimes just to ogle the Napoleon armoire and the glass-and-mahogany wet bar. Don't get us wrong; sometimes we go to Antique Trove to actually buy stuff, like the little French Deco side table with a built-in humidor that's part of our bedroom suite now, and the glass-topped dining table with hand-carved rosette chairs that we got for a steal during one of Trove's frequent sales. We love a bargain, and we're often surprised by how pricey Antique Trove's high-end stuff isn't. The folks at this colossal antiques mall also sell stuff that isn't so fancy (not long ago, we bought a set of Lennon Sisters paper dolls for a friend whose home is filled with such things), but it's a huge space full of finer old furniture pieces and it never lets us down.

Best Of Phoenix®

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