How can NEWBURY COMICS not be your favorite? Founded in Boston, the independent music and pop-culture retailer is still owned and operated by its founders, who have yet to succumb to conglomerate peer pressures. The merchandise has expanded well beyond music — think goth bobblehead dolls and cartoon action-figure sets (they’re not dolls!) — but the massive selection of music is still the real drawing power here. New and used CDs abound, with Top-40 crap just as accessible as tunes from that band that one guy had in the 1980s.

NEWBURY COMICS | 332 Newbury Street, Boston | 617.236.4930 | and other locations in Boston, Cambridge, and Braintree | newburycomics.com