My hubby likes Harbor Freight also. For me.. Kohls, Dollar Tree, Half Price books, Five Below, and Thrift stores.
Probably, my actual favorite store ever would be Lowes. I just LOVE that store ! It has a wonderful garden center, and they always have some scruffy looking plants in there that are on closeout because they desperately need to be re-homed (and of course I want to re-home them). They also have all kinds of yard and gardening toys......err, tools....... that I love to browse through and look at. Weed eaters, rototillers, and all kinds of nifty little hand tools, you name it, Lowes has it ! My second favorite is a place called Old Time Pottery. It is clear across town from us, so I never go there anymore for fear the old clunker is going to break down with me far away from home. But when I did go there, it was at least 1-2 hours looking at everything. They are a mixture of gardening and patio stuff, home decorating (lamps, throw rugs, bedding, towels), hobby store, lots of artificial flowers, and all kinds of kitchen and household equipment. And the prices are more like a liquidation store than an expensive hobby or household store, plus there is always a closeout section where things are up to 70% off. It is just my kind of place !
No question about it for me it's thrift stores. Some close by some not so close. I am always looking for useful items for the home and seldom do I ever leave empty handed.
You must live a charmed life. I have never been in a Joann's or Michael, without having to browse. Either the staff are never around or when I can track one down, she/he takes forever to find the item I want, and don't seem to know where it is anymore than I do. I really only go to either store to browse....for specific items it's the internet.