As all serious surfers know, the last place you want to buy a surfboard is at a surf shop. They're basically overpriced window dressings aimed at making customers think they're buying into the surfing lifestyle when they're really interested in shopping for clothes, which is what makes up the bulk of sales revenue at any so-called "surf shop." Which is why we're going with Swell.com as our favorite this year. The company, based in San Clemente, has been around since 1999. Now, of course, Swell.com is not a surf shop per se—though they do have a headquarters you can visit—and if you want to shop, you'll have to do it online. The good news: not having to pay salaries to gum-chewing, disgruntled skateboarders means you can buy their wares for a lot less than what you find in an actual store.