The Official GOAT List: Ranking the Greatest Defunct Stores of All Time
GoatWars fans rank Sears the greatest of all time among Defunct Stores, with a 68.6% Goatscore.
Chasing the crown: #2 Blockbuster (68.2%), #3 Kmart (58.4%).
This one gets personal fast.
Greatest Defunct Stores of All Time isn’t about technicalities. It’s about the version of these stores that actually mattered—the one you remember. The one that’s gone.
Blockbuster vs Tower Records? That’s movies vs music. Toys “R” Us vs FAO Schwarz? Chaos vs magic. Sears vs Kmart? Dependable vs scrappy. Every matchup forces you to decide what you cared about more: price, experience, discovery, or just the feeling of being there.
And here’s the problem—there’s no clean winner. Your “best” store depends on how you grew up.
Scroll the rankings. Jump into a matchup. Pick your side.
You’re going to disagree with the results anyway.
All Time ranks by all-time win rate across every head-to-head battle. Latest ranks by latest fan sentiment, updated as new battles are voted on.
GOAT List FAQs
Who is the greatest of all time among Defunct Stores?
GoatWars fans rank Sears the greatest of all time among Defunct Stores, with a 68.6% Goatscore.
How is the GOAT List calculated?
The GOAT List ranks every contender in Defunct Stores by Goatscore: the percentage of head-to-head GoatWars battles they have won, as voted by fans.
How many votes is this ranking based on?
This GOAT List is based on 1,673 fan votes in head-to-head battles, as of May 12, 2026.
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