Toys
Toy Joy
2900 guadalupe 29th & guadalupe, (http://www.toyjoy.com). awesome selection of novelty, themed, and era-reminiscent toys, candy, and stationary.
Hogwild
100-a east north loop. vintage toys.
Terratoys
2438 w. anderson lane newly re-located, (http://www.terratoys.com). wide variety of toys and excellent selection of children's books.
Clothing
Parts & Labor
1604 s. congress. lots of unique items clothes, earrings, purses, etc. made by local artists.
Secret Oktober
1905 south 1st st., suite b. goth, punk, and alternative clothing new/resale shop. doubles as a local venue ticket sales outlet. (http://www.secret-oktober.com)
Buffalo Exchange
2904 guadalupe.
Flashback
1805 south 1st st.
Blue Velvet
217 w. north loop.
Blackmail
1202 s. congress. all black clothing and various accessories.
Lucy in Disguise
1506 south congress. eclectic clothing and costumery for children and adults.
Malls
The Domain
And the shops at arbor walk at braker and mopac. the domain hosts neiman marcus, tiffany's and macy's.
Prime Outlets San Marcos
(http://www.primeoutlets.c...) and adjacent tanger factory outlets (http://www.tangeroutlet.c...) combine for over 200 stores and is worth the trip south from austin.
Round Rock Premium Outlets
Opened in august, 2006 and features upscale outlet shopping in an outdoor courtyard style center. just north of rm 1431 at i-35 in north round rock. 125 stores. ikea home furnishings is nearby. (http://www.premiumoutlets...).
Antiques
There are several antique stores on South Congress.
Aqua
1415 s. congress.
Music
Cheapo Discs
(http://www.cheapotexas.com/). like the name says, austin's home for cheap used cds.
Waterloo Records
Sixth & lamar, (http://www.waterloorecord...). known around town for having local artists play in-store. wide selection of music, everything from blues to electronica to country. has a wall dedicated to local musicians, great if you need a real country fix, not that sugary syrup they play on the radio.
End of an Ear
(http://www.endofanear.com/). experimental music, jazz, other "left of the dial" music. regular in-store performances, usually on weekends.
Books
BookWoman
5501 n. lamar, (http://www.ebookwoman.com/). independent feminist bookstore also specializing in lgbtq texts.
Half-Price Books
(http://www.halfpricebooks.com/). five locations around town. this texas-based chain's stores offer exceptional value for your dollar, and have an extremely diverse selection. a peek in these stores will show you what austinites are really reading.
Bookpeople
Sixth & lamar, (http://www.bookpeople.com/). across the street from waterloo records, this locally owned bookstore has two stories of books with lots of quiet corners to sit down for a read. largest independent bookstore in texas. great selection of books on texas history and architecture.
Groceries
MT Supermarket
North lamar blvd. and braker lane. 68,000 square foot vietnamese and chinese grocery supermarket, part of the 180,000 square foot chinatown center.
Fiesta Mart
3909 n. interstate 35. mexican groceries, strong selection of other international fare.
Randalls
The second largest supermarket chain in town after h-e-b, owned by safeway has a few locations open 24 hours.
Asahi Imports
6105 burnet road. japanese grocery store.
Barton Creek Farmers Market
*, 2901 s capital of texas hwy. austin's largest and most acclaimed farmers market located in the barton creek mall parking lot, meets 9:00-1:00 pm every saturday
Hong Kong
8557 research blvd. chinese groceries.
HEB
One of the largest private not publicly traded corporations in america, has many supermarkets around town. they have great selection. most markets have specialty, organic, and ethnic foods. many are open 24 hours. their newest large-scale supermarkets include everything from furniture to electronics to books to eggs.
Austin is home of the original and the world headquarters of Whole Foods. Their flagship store is located downtown at W. 6th St. and Lamar, in the same building as their brand-new corporate headquarters. They have several other stores around town as well. The flagship store is a destination in and of itself.
Austin is also home to the original Central Market, near Lamar and 38th St., and a second location at Lamar and Westgate, down south. Both have live music in their dining areas on weekends.
Both Whole Foods and Central Market have a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, wines, beer, cheese, free-range meats, and seafood. The Whole Foods flagship store downtown and the 38th St. Central Market locations have a varied selection of gelato. The "mothership" Whole Foods as locals call it is the largest in its chain, boasting six mini-restaurants with dishes prepared to order seafood, vegetarian, BBQ, Italian, Asian, and pizza. Spirits live music at night, a ice rink on top during the winter months and much, much more.
Wheatsville Food Co-op (http://wheatsville.coop/i...) 3101 Guadalupe, Austin TX 78705, Open Daily 9AM-11PM. Wheatsville is now a thriving cooperative grocery and has been around for over 30 years. Their focus on food issues guaranteed an excellent selection of ethically produced products including organics, vegetarian, vegan, free range meats and eggs, fair trade, household items, bulk foods and a full service deli. The store is a much smaller than the large supermarkets and provides a much more personal grocery experience. "King of the Hill" made fun of the earnestness of the place with by having Hank eat "faux fu" a more ethical form of tofu from the place.
Austin also features a large variety of ethnic grocery stores, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and, of course, Mexican.
Austin is very proud of its local stores (http://www.escapesomewher...). Great places to shop are South Congress SoCo, The Drag, Guadalupe, from 17th to 38th, along the West side of the UT campus and South First. North Loop (http://www.ibuyaustin.com...) also has a few fun and funky shops, but you'll probably have to ask a local or several how to get there.