We begin with a hat tip to some our Best Ballot Stuffers, who congregate perenially in this section of the Best of Buffalo polling.

Of course, there’s a distinction to be made between ballot-stuffing and mounting a campaign. Plenty of our finalists in this section handed out ballots to customers and urged them to vote. That’s fair enough. It is likewise fair to send out emails to all your friends and customers with a link to the Artvoice Web site. We like that people want to win our Best of Buffalo awards; it’s flattering. But sometimes the lust for recognition leads to perfidy. The telltales are the same every year: dozens of xeroxed ballots, for example, filled out with the same pen, in the same handwriting, mailed on the same day. Often the ballot stuffers will fill out just enough categories—roughly 25 percent of the ballot must be complete, or we throw it out—to make the ballot count. In this electronic age we can often uncover online ballot stuffers, as well; it’s trickier, but our tech guys are aces.

To give an idea of how much ballot-stuffing we’re talking about: More than 1,000 ballots were disqualified. The majority of these invalid ballots were chucked because they were obvious frauds.

Rotten Jack’s Creep Shack was among the more ambitious of our ballot stuffers this year, having tried to creep into the winner’s circle in the Best Gift Shop, Best Men’s Clothing, Best Women’s Clothing and Best Web Site categories. Perhaps they stretched themselves too thin; they didn’t send in enough votes to win in any one of those categories. And once we pulled the fraudulent ballots, they didn’t even place.

RedHouse Tattoo also mounted a furious ballot-stuffing campaign. Curiously enough, they need not have bothered: We pulled stacks of clearly bogus ballots for RedHouse out of the mix—a hundred at least—and they still finished as a finalist for Best Tattoo.

Have a little faith in yourselves next year, RedHouse. Let the people speak. They like you…they really, really like you.

As for the rest of this section, our readers’ responses begged the same question as every one of Artvoice’s special issues: Who needs to go to the mall? We are a region rich with small, energetic and creative businesses. We make special mention of two that are likely to be displaced by the proposed Elmwood Village Hotel at the corner of Elmwood and Forest. Don Apparel placed in the voting for Best Antique Store and Best Thrift Shop. Mondo Video, owned and operated by Artvoice film editor M. Faust, placed in the voting for Best Video Store. Whatever one’s position on the hotel, the city can ill afford to lose businesses like these, which thrive on high pedestrian traffic, proximity to college students and, frankly, cheap rent. Let’s hope both shops find new homes that offer all those conditions.

Best Antiques Store

Stock Exchange

Horsefeathers Architectural

Gothic City Collector’s Cove

Don Apparel

Coo Coo U

Antique World

Best Bookstore

Talking Leaves

Second Reader Book Shop

Rust Belt Books

Oracle Junction

Old Editions Book Shop and Café

Best Convenience Store

Wilson Farms @ Elmwood/Auburn

We Never Close

Lexington Co-op

Holly Farms on Allen Street

Dash’s Market

Allentown Trading Post

Best Day Spa

Village Spa

Falling Waters

Excuria Salon & Day Spa

Elite Salon & Day Spa

Capello Salon & Day Spa

Attilio’s Salon & Spa

Best Florist

Wildflowers & Co.

Mother Nature Plant Emporium

Michael’s Florist & Gifts

Maureen’s Buffalo Wholesale Flower Market

Graser’s Florist

Floristry

Brighton-Eggert Florist

Everything Elmwood

Best Gift Shop

Spoiled Rotten

Positively Main Street

Neo

Everything Elmwood

Eminent Design

Best Hair Salon

Studio 806

Salon Rouge

New Age Salon

Kenneth James

Envus

Elite Salon & Day Spa

Chez Ann

Capello Salon & Day Spa

Amy-n-Aimee

Best Head Shop

Terrapin Station

Skunk Tail Glass

Pavilion International

Desert Reflections

Decades

Best Liquor Store

Spirits of Allentown

Premier Group: Prime Wines

Hodge Wine & Liquor

Gates Circle Liquor & Wines

Frontier Liquor

Best Pedicure/Manicure

Studio 806

Signature Salon

Salon Bandelian

Papillon Salon

Modern Salon

Excuria Salon & Day Spa

Elite Salon & Day Spa

Chez Ann Salon

Capello Salon & Day Spa

Best Men’s Shop

Urban Clothing & Snowboard

Ultimate Men’s Shop

Riverside Men’s Shop

Napoli’s

Aldo’s Uomo

Lexington Co-op

Best Natural Food Store

Wegmans Food Markets

Washington Market

Lexington Real Foods Community Co-op

Globe Market

Feel-Rite Fresh Markets

Best Pet Store

Steve’s Wonderful World of Pets

Sonny’s Doggie Bakery

Elmwood Pet Supplies

Animal Outfitters

Best Piercings

HOD Custom Tattoo

Hardcore Tattoo Studios

Express Yourself Tatooing

Cowpök

American Skin Art

Best Produce

Wegmans Food Markets

Niagara County Produce

Lexington Real Foods Community Co-op

Guercio & Sons

Dash’s Market

Bidwell Farmers Market

Best Record Store

Sit & Spin

Record Theatre

Record Baron

New World Record

Home of the Hits

Best Sex Shop

Xsentuals

Second Skin

Pandora’s Boxxx

Kimberly’s Intimate Apparel

2424 Hamburg Turnpike

Shoebiz

Best Shoe Store

Tony Walker

Shoe Fly

Shoe Biz

Hook’s Shoe Store

Fleet Feet Sports

Best Sports/Outdoor Gear Shop

Urban Clothing & Snowboard

Shickluna Bike & Fitness

Phatman

Handlebars Cycle Co.

Campus Wheelworks

Buffalo Fleece and Outerwear

Best Tanning Salon

Total Tan

Tantalize Tan/ City Tropic Tanning Salon

Tanning Bed

Sun Capsule Plus

Allen Tan

Best Tattoo

RedHouse Tattoo

Cowpök

HOD Custom Tattoo

American Skin Art by Dead Ed

Blue Moon Tattoo

Strange Brew

Nickel City Tattoo

Best Thrift Shop

Salvation Army

Junior League Shop

Goodwill Industries

Don Apparel

Amvets

Best Women’s Clothing

Urban Clothing & Snowboard

Presence Unique Clothing & Jewelry

Half & Half Trading Company

Downtown Clothing Exchange

Allen Street Dress Shop

Best Video Store

Mondo Video

DVD Dot

Buffalo and Erie County Public Library