Always pumping out the latest dark DnB or dubstep, I love coming to this place to while away a…read morepost-payday lunchtime or two. There's so much to take in, the staff really care about the music they sell and it's well worth coming in weekly to have a listen to the latest releases. There's a good range of posters advertising the upcoming dance events in Bath and Bristol, too, and they'll always stick a poster up if you're organising something yourself. They have a fair selection of second hand CD, if you're still caught up in the nostalgic age of music buying, so I can't recommend this place enough, especially for local DJs looking for something new to, er, drop.

WHSmith in Bath is one of the most unusual outlets, as far as the exterior of the building is…read moreconcerned. It is not a traditional blue - it's green. And for this reason it is easy to miss it the first time round. It is also easy to mistake for the trendy black Waterstones. At the same time it is one of the best placed outlets. You can do everything in one go: get the latest fashion mag from the Smith and cross the road to buy the new dress and a few bangles at Monsoon and Accessorize, respectively. Or you can buy your dress and bangles first, nip into Carphone Warehouse for a quick glance, and then go to Smith to buy a novel, a crossword book, or the latest fashion mag. The main disadvantage of this store is the cashier area. At a glance it appears to be a brilliant idea: four tills planted on a half-spheric counter. The doors that are used both as exit and entrance (as it happens in most shops) are located at both ends of the counter. The disadvantage is that the whole area gets terribly crowded, and people have to wriggle around the stands and each other. Not the most pleasant preoccupation for one of Britain's holiday hotspots. And the stock apparently causes occasional grievance to customers. Most of the time they cannot find a leading local newspaper. However, when I was there a guy with American accent was desperately searching for a copy of The Economist. He didn't find it, and it leaves one to wonder if he posted on his blog about this peculiar fact...

Not a place to ever pay full price for anything, they do have frequent offers. Good bookshop…read moreupstairs with a Costa Coffee, not always easy to find a member of staff to order books athat aren't on the shelf. Good selection of chart DVDs and other popular box sets, I like the art and craft sections (both children's and adults) upstairs and get lots of presents throughout the year. Downstairs is more of a jumble sale, no space to look at the cards or stationery, so I tend to avoid getting anything. The newspapers are right by the door, so you can buy these without having to go into the scrum of the rest of the downstairs. Always take the escalator to the first floor for the same reason!

This is great little shop, selling fair-trade South American gifts, jewellery, music and artwork…read more It's a great place to come if you're looking for something a little more unusual as a birthday or Christmas present and don't know where to start. I've bought various friends and relatives quite a few different bits from here over the years, from earrings, to trinkets, to musical instruments - so it's a pretty good bet, regardless of whom you're buying for. Upstairs there's the art and furniture section, which is filled with a range of paintings, sculptures, mirrors and wall-art. There are some really interesting pieces to be found, mostly a bit out of my price range, but it's definitely worth checking out - even if you're not buying.