Spending this Valentine's Day happily single? Maybe you should treat yourself to a self-love aid at one of our city's finest adult toy emporia. Or perhaps you are happily coupled but you're getting to that point where vanilla lovemaking on clean sheets just isn't cutting it anymore. These stores are here to help with that if your therapist hasn't recommended one of them already.

Auto Erotica
Auto Erotica isn't just a handy place to pick up a dildo or some lube, it's a gay porn history lesson, with a treasure trove of vintage magazines and VHS tapes (kids, ask your parents) that are sure to take you down a rainbow-paved memory lane. It's also a good place to resell vintage items — ugh, no, not the butt plug you've had since college, I mean old muscle photos, wank mags, and DVDs, which owner Patrick Batt will reportedly buy for very fair prices. — Eve Batey
4077 A 18th Street (upstairs) between Castro and Hartford Streets

Chaps
Should it come as a shock that the adult-toy market in SF is pretty well dominated by the gays and centered largely in the Castro? The neighborhood definitely has the biggest concentration of toys and leather/rubber/neoprene goods outside of SoMa, and Chaps on 18th Street is a good place to start if you're in the market for one of the above. They feature a fair selection of dildos, cockrings, and fetishwear, and you'll just have to forgive the clerk if he seems a little fatigued — 18th Street after dark is a parade of drunks who don't necessarily buy things. — Jay Barmann
4057 18th Street between Castro and Noe

Does Your Mother Know?
My favorite store name in all of SF, Does Your Mother Know? (does she?) used to be more of a card and gift shop and it pivoted a few years back to a full on sex toy store with a few cards in back. They've got all kinds of fancy glass and steel toys, butt plugs in obscenely advanced models, lube, handcuffs, whips, and expensive electronic contraptions and stimulators of all kinds — catering to both gay and straight clients alike. — Jay Barmann
4141 18th Street near Collingwood

Good Vibrations
Asked by a stranger how they keep their love aflame, an elderly couple in the movie Annie Hall has a ready answer: "We use a large vibrating egg." Too bad Woody Allen is terrible. Anyway, you'll find plenty of items — if not exactly that one — to keep the passion going, spark it in the first place, or just practice a little amour-propre at Good Vibes, who still set the standard for quality, sex-positivity, and safety with their eight locations. Joani Blank's first of those was opened in the Mission in 1977 with the goal of being friendly, well-lit, and non-creepy, and Good Vibes, as its known, has lots of those. Educators above all with a staff sexologist, they've also got an Antique Vibrator Museum at their Polk Street location, a blast from the past when such items were sold with vague but suggestive descriptions in mail order catalogs. — Caleb Pershan
603 Valencia Street between 17th Street and Clarion Alley; 1620 Polk Street at Sacramento

Folsom Gulch
Sure, Folsom Gulch has a pretty decent selection of the usual vibrators, cockrings, etc, but it's also proud to be one of the city's "best cruising spots" for gentlemen seeking same, offering all-day passes to their possibly sticky gay video arcade slash hookup joint. This makes it the ideal venue for the multitasker, as smart folks know that being able to combine an errand like lube shopping with a hand job is one of the most prized habits of highly efficient people. — Eve Batey
947 Folsom Street between Sixth and Falmouth Streets

Leather Etc.
Let me begin by saying this this is NOT the place to take your vegan BDSM loving sweetheart, as the store is way more "leather" than "etc." Since 1991, they've been manufacturing and selling "top quality fetish apparel and bondage toys," including restraints, cuffs, and harnesses, fetish garb for men and women, and more crops and bits than you'll find anywhere that isn't a stable. It's also a great source for medical fetish items, collars, and more practical items like wrist wallets (you gotta put your cash and ID somewhere). And let's be clear: This isn't the place to pick up a wacky bachelorette party gift or that "marital aid" you saw on Dr. Oz (though I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige if you stumbled in), this is where you go when you're ready to head through the sexual looking glass. See you on the other side! — Eve Batey
1201 Folsom Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets

Mr. S Leather [LINK VERY NSFW]
This is the premiere fetish emporium, possibly on the whole West Coast, and they've got a major mail order business to prove it. A trip to Mr. S for the uninitiated is a window into a world of sexual variety you likely did not know existed, and it's a pilgrimage many gay San Franciscans make in the weeks before Folsom Street Fair. There's an entire room of harnesses and the staff is expert at fitting them. There's a whole section of counter display devoted to chastity devices for men — with locks and keys — and another section with high-end electrical stimulus devices that the staff will happily demo for you, on you or on themselves. There's a whole section of the store devoted to puppy play, with dog masks and a wide selection of butt plugs with tails. And the dildos — dear god, the dildos. If you ever wanted to attempt to put something inside yourself that might belong to an alien-animal 20 times the size of the average human, suffice it to say they have that here. — Jay Barmann
385 8th Street near Harrison

Pink Bunny
Popular for its chic atmosphere and vast lingerie selection, this destination has much more in store, from premium beauty products, lubes, and toys for women, men, and couples. Shop their elegant, relaxed atmosphere for the items you crave — vibrating cockrings, kegal beads, whips, clamps and ticklers. It's worth a visit merely to consult with proprietress Serene Martinez, known as quite the aficionado. Conveniently located in Cow Hollow on your way from the Equinox gym to Project Juice. —Caleb Pershan
1172 Union Street between Octavia and Gough Streets

Rock Hard
As the name would suggest, this place is pretty gay-oriented and located in the heart of the Castro. They have a decently large selection of dildos, lube, and basic fetish items at comparatively reasonable prices according to its Yelp fans, as well as plenty of porn and some leather gear. And this is one of the stalwart shops of this 'hood, and popular with the subreddit PopperPigs, if that's any indication. —Jay Barmann
518 Castro Street

Wicked Grounds
If you were looking for the perfect cozy cafe to order a latte and read your copy of The Ethical Slut, you've found it at Wicked Grounds. San Francisco's first and only kink cafe and boutique hosts a variety of classes and workshops for getting your freak on and also peddles all the books and gear, mostly "hand-crafted by local artisans in the community." For a taste, check out their online store. Noted for its welcoming atmosphere, good food, and friendly, just a lil flirty staff, if this place ever closes the kink community will riot, and with whips and chains at the ready, that would be concerning. —Caleb Pershan
298 8th Street between Tehama and Clementina Streets

Photo: Yelp