9. The Drama Book Shop

Marked only by a small tin sign hanging from the storefront, The Drama Bookshop on W. 40th Street in the Garment District is worth a visit, even if you’re not an aspiring thespian or filmmaker. Clean and full of light, this store bears little resemblance to, say, the tables stacked high with bootleg screenplays run by scruffy, odiferous guys in broke-down creeper vans that lurk just outside of Tisch and Union Square. It’s clearly designed to be an artist’s resource–the shop’s merchandise includes books like Backstage’s Call Sheet (formerly called the Ross Report) and publications like  Theatrical Index and New York City Casting Directors. The shop even sits on top of a performance space called the Arthur Seelen Theatre, where the staff hosts events and plays multiple times a week. Plus, any place that sells something as random and kick-ass as an Oscar Wilde action figure is good in our book.