The Best Things to Do in Phoenix, by the Record
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Baking Supplies · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Baking Supplies · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Comic Book Store · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Comic Book Shop · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Used Everything · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Used Bookstore · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Antique Mall · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Antiques Mall · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Rage Room · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rage Room · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Men’s Clothing · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Men’s Clothing · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Skate Shop · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Skate Shop · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Boutique · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Shop for Gifts · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Adult Shop · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Adult Shop · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Buy Something You Don’t Actually Need · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Bodega · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Indigenous-Made Goods · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Indigenous-Made Goods · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Rave Gear · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rave Gear · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Aquarium · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Aquarium · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Store for Horror Buffs · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place for Horror Buffs · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Midsize Music Venue · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Midsize Music Venue · Best of Phoenix
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Tens of thousands of used books spread across the fairgrounds floor once a year, priced so low it feels like a clerical error. The VNSA Used Book Sale is Phoenix's annual bibliophile free-for-all, run by volunteers and drawing serious collectors alongside people who just need something for the pool. Bring a tote, bring cash, and arrive with a loose plan, because the sheer square footage has a way of dissolving any sense of time or restraint.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Book Sale · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Book Sale · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Vintage T-Shirts · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Vintage T-Shirts · Best of Phoenix
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A foam tube "noodle forest," a pretend grocery store where kids can shop and restock, a tricycle track with a car wash: this children's museum in a beautifully restored old downtown schoolhouse keeps small visitors busy enough that they forget to argue. The oak floors date to the original building, so parents get architecture while their kids get chaos. Plan a few hours; one level is never enough.
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The Stormrider drops you roughly 70 feet into the water, which is one way to spend a Tuesday in Mesa. Golfland Sunsplash is a full-scale water and amusement park with a wave pool holding 450,000 gallons, a raft ride that starts nearly seven stories up, a lazy river, a toddler pool, miniature golf, and an arcade big enough to lose an hour in. Bring the whole chaotic family; the park has something for every age group and nerve tolerance.
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The lounge here is comfortable enough that you could forget there are lanes out back, which is either a design triumph or a problem depending on how serious you are about bowling. This Sunnyslope alley has been independently owned forever, and the bar leans into the Big Lebowski energy hard enough that ordering a White Russian feels basically mandatory. Plush seating, warm lighting, geometric walls, and plenty of beer on tap round it out.
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The floor bar sits right next to the stage so you never have to choose between a drink and the show. This mid-size live music venue on Mill Avenue holds around a thousand people, which is somehow both big enough to book national touring acts and intimate enough that there isn't a bad spot in the house. A Perfect Circle, Social Distortion, and the Black Keys have all played here, and local showcases keep the calendar full between the headliners.
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Stinkweeds has been a fixture on Camelback forever, the kind of independent record shop where the staff actually knows what's in the bins. The focus leans toward indie labels, which means a healthy selection of local acts and obscure up-and-comers alongside the expected classics and new reissues. Vinyl, CDs, and the occasional find you weren't looking for all coexist here, which is the whole point of going in person instead of just opening an app.
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A wood-clad 600-seat auditorium anchors this performing and visual arts center on the edge of Tempe Town Lake, with a black box studio theater, a gallery that spills into the lobby, and an outdoor amphitheater for when Arizona evenings cooperate. The Tempe Symphony Orchestra, Childsplay, and several other resident companies call it home, so there's almost always something on. Public art installations are scattered throughout, in case you arrive early and need somewhere to look thoughtful.
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Forty-four pool tables is a lot of commitment to a cue, and Bull Shooters makes good on all of it. This spacious north Phoenix pool hall and sports bar runs 7 and 9-foot tables alongside poker, darts, karaoke, and 34 taps pouring everything from beer to cider. Staff take the felt seriously, so keep your pint on a coaster or expect a word about it. The kind of place where regulars have a favorite table and know exactly which one it is.
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A giant disco ball hangs over the record bins at this wine bar, coffee shop, and record store hybrid near Roosevelt Row, which tells you most of what you need to know. Come in the morning for espresso, stay through the afternoon with your laptop, then let someone else split a bottle with you by evening when the DJs take over. The barista and the bartender are the same person, which keeps the whole operation refreshingly unsnobbish.
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Le Girls Cabaret sits on the Tempe-Phoenix border, pulling in a crowd from ASU, Sky Harbor, and the surrounding neighborhoods with equal democratic ease. It's a full-service strip club, heavy on neon and velvet, where the performers have a runway-model quality about them that the room seems well aware of. Phoenix New Times named it the city's top strip club in 2023, which tracks.
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