SHOPPING & SERVICES BEST COMPUTER REPAIR What’d You Break? 218 Reservation Road, Marina (831) 883-2349 If Josh Galutira, owner and repairman at What’d You Break?, had Snap Circuits, a kit for kids to build electronic circuits, in his hands, the thing would be built in a flash. Galutira can fix any device that is not too far gone. The self-taught service man fixes gadgets large and small, from cellphones to televisions. He’s so handy that readers have voted him best in this category for the third time. BEST BOOKSTORE - USED Lighthouse Books 600 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey (831) 375-4208 Bookstores are one thing; used bookstores are quite another adventure. One goes to a bookstore to get something particular; one goes to a used bookstore as one goes into a casino, being ready to risk something—gain and leave triumphant, or lose faith in one’s own luck, only to return another day. Lighthouse Books is the local destination for greedy, cheap or simply adventurous readers. The large shop is properly crammed, the books are squeezed on the shelves, which are full of treasures. BEST BOOKSTORE - NEW Bookworks 667 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove (831) 372-2242, bookworkspg.com No wonder The Bookworks in Pacific Grove is voted the favorite Monterey County bookstore. Its secret is not only the long tradition—since 1980—of selling good books, from new arrivals in fiction, through books from and about Monterey County, to a well-supplied children’s section. There is a cafe at the front of the shop where people can read, sure. But they can also sip coffee while playing Solitaire, or perhaps be more sociable. The coffee space and bookselling space are connected by a corridor, mellow music makes reading, browsing and writing more pleasurable, and it is all housed in an old-fashioned P.G. house. If you are not a big reader, here you can also find a gift for someone special, a new calendar, a birthday card or a new set of puzzles for yourself. BEST PLACE TO BUY ARTS/ CRAFTS SUPPLIES Michael’s 121 General Stilwell Drive, Marina, (831) 384-0562 Harden Ranch Shopping Center, 1690 N. Main St., Salinas, (831) 296-3301 michaels.com Managing and building an empire isn’t an easy feat, especially if you’re playing Stellaris or Europa Universalis IV. There are many decisions players must make, from choosing the time period to deciding what to build or how to do it, so a plan is necessary to succeed. The same is needed when going to Michael’s. It’s best to have a project in mind, a shopping list, and stick to just the necessary aisles. Otherwise, shoppers risk bringing home more than they bargained for—which in this case is not really a bad thing. The store is a craft wonderland, from yarn to canvases, different types of paint, paper and more. BEST STORE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Wise Music 1430 S. Main St., Salinas (831) 424-7885 All things strings, wind, brass and drums, new and used instruments, pro DJ sound systems, repairs, lessons, music books, not to mention Tama drums and Korg amplifiers and keyboards. Ever want to just go to a store and look at all kinds of instruments? There is also a very accomplished in-store luthier Frank (45-plus years of experience) for those major repairs. So is this vote any surprise? It’s kind of like having both Boardwalk and Park Place in a game of Monopoly. BEST PLACE TO BUY VINYL Pop & Hiss 215 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove popandhiss.net If you place a bottle on a vinyl turntable, does it still count as playing spin the bottle? You can’t really kiss someone if the bottle never stops though— then again, you shouldn’t treat vinyl like that, either. Even though records 58 BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2025 montereycountynow.com/bestof 1-6 4.6” x 3.2378” Hooray! Thanks to your votes, we’ve been voted BEST VINTAGE CLOTHING STORE in Monterey County again in 2025! Your donations turned clothing & household goods into more than $9,000,000 since 1989 - towards food, housing, & scholarships! Your support makes all the difference! yellowbrickroadbenefitshop.org ’25 1-6 4.6” x 3.2378” Thanks For Voting Us Best Book Shop 2025! 667 Lighthouse Ave Pacific Grove, CA Books+Coffee ’25
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