Clothes
Minnesota is one of the few US states where clothing is tax-free. The Mall of America and other malls listed above offer a wide selection of clothes. Other places to check out clothes include:
Shopping districts
Nicollet Mall
Pedestrian street, downtown minneapolis
Uptown
Area, centered on hennepin avenue and lake street, south of downtown minneapolis and extending east to the lake/lyndale avant-garde theatre district.
Grand Avenue
(http://www.grandave.com), west of downtown saint paul between two of the liberal arts colleges that sprinkle the region. parking on grand can be difficult during peak times; try summit avenue, one block north.
Record stores
Roadrunner Records
4304 nicollet ave s, 612 822 0613, (http://www.landspeedrecor...). has a great selection of independent lp's, cd's and dvd's. known for their international music section. punk and alt-country genres don't suffer. a great independent record store with lots of local and independently produced product.
Electric Fetus
2000 4th ave. s, on the corner of franklin ave and 4th ave, near 35w, (http://www.efetus.com/mer...). possibly the most complete selection of cd's in town across all genres. hold on tight to your wallet when you walk in here. if there's an obscure cd you've been looking for, this place is likely to have it. listening stations are posted throughout the store enticing all who enter to try out some new music. it's the place you would go if you had unlimited resources for buying new music. be prepared to pay full price, although new releases are frequently on sale. buy four cd's and get a discount. tickets for local venues are on sale here too.
Cheapo
1300 west lake street, +1 612 827-8238, (http://www.cheapodiscs.com). a huge location in the uptown area. specializing in all areas of music as well as dvds and vinyl records. if you are looking for something that's hard to find, it's a good bet that they will have it. if not, they can order it for you. they also have a large collection of used cds with huge inventories coming in everyday. smaller locations are in columbia heights 5151 central avenue northeast and st. paul 80 snelling avenue. the st. paul location off of snelling ave has recently remodeled it's interior adding a coffee shop.
Treehouse Records
2557 lyndale ave s northeast corner of 26th and lyndale, ☎ +1 612 872-7400. a somewhat small but cozy record shop. new and used cds and vinyl. selection isn't large but leans towards the non-mainstream; you can find stuff here that isn't easily found at other twin cites record stores.
Extreme Noise Records
407 west lake st, (http://extremenoise.com/). specializes in all punk and subgenres therein. a cooperative run for over ten years by local punks. amazing selection of punk 'zines, cd's, lp's and 7-inches. the place in town for finding hard-to-find punk records, trading punk records, finding other punks, seeking out that basement show, etc. don't let the punk rock moniker scare the less-than punk away. if you want to see what a truly independent local scene can produce and meet some of the most earnest members of said scene, you must check out extreme noise.
mall of america
Mall of America, 60 East Broadway, Bloomington, 952 883-8800. Largest indoor shopping complex in the United States. A dizzying shopping experience. It has hundreds of stores, a LEGO play area, an indoor theme park, and a large aquarium. There is an IKEA next door. You can get there by Light Rail or bus.
smaller shopping centers
The Twin Cities has many shopping centers, the list gently spoofed by radio humorist Garrison Keillor in his list of imaginary malls ending in "-dale":
Brookdale, Brooklyn Center.
Rosedale, Roseville.
Ridgedale, Minnetonka.
Southdale, Edina, [http://southdale.com/go/history.cfm Considered the first modern shopping mall, is the first fully-enclosed shopping mall