Tucson’s Best Shopping

Best Items Made by Tucson Artists [1]: The entire inventory at Bohemia [1] is made by Tucson artists and artisans (or at least Arizona-based artists), and it is astonishing in its variety, playfulness, and quality.

Best Native American Arts [2]: Bahti Indian Arts [2], the oldest Native American arts shop in Tucson, sells some of the finest examples of Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo textiles, kachinas, jewelry, basketry, pottery, paintings, and sculptures in the region.

Best Bookstore [3]: Book lovers can’t miss Bookmans [3], a popular Southern Arizona chain with an amazing inventory and used books at less than half the original price.

Best Music Store [4]: The East Speedway Boulevard location of Zia Record Exchange [4] is stocked full with an eclectic mixture of brand-new and gently used CDS, often for prices similar to, if not below, the big national chains.

Best Thrift Store [5]: “Vintage clothing for New Bohemians” is how the founder of The Buffalo Exchange [5] describes her first store, a popular Tucson original that spawned a nationwide chain.

Best Shopping District [6]: With over 100 mostly locally owned stores, restaurants, boutiques, bars, clubs, and coffee houses, the tree-lined 4th Avenue [6] district downtown is the perfect place to shop, eat, and drink the day away.

Best Upscale Shopping [7]: Tucson’s answer to the famous high-end shopping mecca of Scottsdale, La Encantada [7] is an elegant outdoor mall in the foothills, offering all the most posh chains and a few local boutiques as well.

Best Antiques [8]: Prepare to spend hours in the Speedway Antiques District [8], where the best of the handful of antiques shops is Copper Country Antiques, a huge antiques warehouse with Western- and Southwestern-themed treasures and much, much more.

Best Place to Buy Folk Art [9]: Tubac [9], Arizona’s first settlement, is now an artists colony and shopping village with more than 100 shops and galleries, many of them selling Mexican and South American imports.

Best Gifts from the Desert [10]: Take a piece of the Sonoran Desert home with you from Native Seeds/SEARCH [10], where you’ll find unique items from and about the desert, including videos, books, crafts, and heirloom seeds.