5 Shopping Chicago

Why it made the list: The famous stretch of North Michigan Avenue, the flagships, the department stores, the vertical malls, and the best holiday window displays and lights in the city. It's the grand, do-it-once shopping avenue, running from the river up to the Drake, with Oak Street's luxury boutiques just off the top.

Why it made the list: 'State Street, that great street', the historic downtown shopping spine, anchored by the landmark former Marshall Field's (now Macy's) with its Tiffany-mosaic ceiling and iconic clocks. It's more mainstream than the Mag Mile but steeped in history, and central to everything in the Loop.

Why it made the list: The city's best independent shopping, vintage and consignment, indie designers, record stores and design shops strung along Milwaukee, North and Damen avenues. It's where you find the things you won't see at home, in the coolest walkable neighborhood in Chicago.

Why it made the list: The city's buzziest district, converted warehouses along Fulton Market and Randolph Street housing design shops, home stores and galleries between the celebrated restaurants. On weekends, the Randolph Street Market brings vintage, antiques and makers to the neighborhood.

Why it made the list: The all-independent option, a single walkable stretch of Clark Street on the far North Side, historically Swedish and now proudly local, lined with independent bookshops, boutiques, home stores and bakeries, and not a chain in sight. The antidote to the Mag Mile.