An Apple store opened near me recently, at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland. Before that, I had to drive over the river and into Virginia to get to their Tysons Corner store. I did that once. Just once.
The best thing about Apple stores for me is that they have all of the software I'm looking for. If you have a Mac already, go there for software. If you don't, go there for an iPod. Check the laptops too.