I live in Houston, TX so I have two local shops -- B&S Homebrewers Guild and Defalco's. However, I almost exclusively use Midwest Supplies and just have my orders shipped. I have not had great luck with the two local shops -- Defalcos was often out of stock with certain items and B&S just simply has a limited selection. If you live in Houston and want to brew "right now," then either one is ok. Defalcos has a more diverse selection, but B&S has a bit more clean and organized layout.
As for Midwest Supplies (Minneapolis, MN) I have always had very pleasant experiences. Their selection is diverse enough. Also, I end up paying less than the local shops for ingredient kits even with shipping because the WhiteLabs yeast upgrade is reasonably priced. The packaging is professional and the ingredients appear to be fresh.
I have used Austin Homebrew Supply in the past. I would say that AHS and Midwest are very similar, but I can get the extract kits from Midwest for about $5-$10 less than AHS so it is a no brainer for me.