Michel Cluizel - This renowned French artisanal chocolatier uses pesticide-free cacao and is one of the very few to ban the use of the additive soy lecithin in all his products. His only store outside Paris is at the legendary ABC Carpet & Home store in NYC.

Pierre Marcolini - Known for pralines. Along with Wittamer, Le Chocolatier Manon and Mary Chocolatier, some of Belgium's best.

Debauve & Gallais - Still makes Napoleon's favorite croquemandes and truffles favored by Marcel Proust.

Richart - Stunning French artisanal chocolates with 80 different inventive fillings.

John & Kira's - Believers in using fresh, local produce. Known for their mint chocolates.

BT McElrath - A Midwestern stand-out. Their passion fruit truffle won the Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal Award for the Outstanding Confectionery Good of 2007.

Chuao Chocolatier - Pronounced chew-wow. Highly regarded San Diego chocolatier.

Jacques Torres - Food Network celeb chef has his own waterfront chocolate factory in Brooklyn.

Charles Chocolates - California artisanal chocolatier uses organic cream and butter. The packaging is simple and modern -- not your grandma's box of chocolates.

Knipschildt - Danish-born, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Fritz Knipschildt was rated one of the world's three top chocolatiers by Gourmet Magazine.

Candinas - Widely acclaimed, well-priced hard-shell truffles handmade in Wisconsin, but their online store lacks any helpful descriptions.

Knipschildt - Danish-born, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Fritz Knipschildt was rated one of the world's three top chocolatiers by Gourmet Magazine. Makes classic 71% dark chocolate truffles, as well as flavored varieties.

Chocolate Garden - These handrolled, soft shell truffles have been featured on the Food Network's Food Finds.

Fran's Chocolates - Truffles made in Seattle by one of our country's very first artisanal chocolatiers.

Vosges Haut Chocolat - Katrina Markoff is well-known for her ultra-exotic truffle flavors such as Quandong fruit, Australian wattleseed and sweet indian curry.

Bridgewater Chocolate - Classic dark and flavored truffle collections.

Gearharts Chocolates - An excellent Charlottesville, VA chocolatier. Offers custom assortments - you choose the flavors and quantities of each.

Richard Donnelly Chocolates - Pricey, but very, very elegant chocolates from Santa Cruz, California. Allows for some custom options -- dark/milk, alcohol/no alcohol, spicy/no spicy, nuts/no nuts.

Chuao Chocolatier - Pronounced chew-wow. Highly regarded San Diego chocolatier. Customize your own box.

John & Kira's - Choose up to 4 flavors in their "As You Like It" box. They also carry one flavor boxes.

Christopher Elbow - Visually stunning chocolates from Kansas City.

Christopher Norman Chocolates - His "hand-painted" collections look like they belong in a gallery.

Norman Love - Hand-painted confections from a former Ritz-Carlton executive pastry chef in Florida.

Bridgewater Chocolate - It's located in an unassuming shop in a Connecticut strip mall, but it makes some of the country's best chocolates. This company has taken a pass on the current trend towards gimmicky flavors, and instead offers traditional fillings - caramel, nuts, peanut butter, toffee, coconut -- plus plain, old-fashioned chocolate truffles.

Sweet on Vermont - Classic, back-to-basics chocolates. Her peanut butter pigouts are like super-premium Reese's. Moonlight in Vermont bars were featured on the Rachael Ray Show (Jan 08).

Enstrom's - Grand Junction, CO company famous for their almond toffee, which Sunset Magazine calls "peerlessly crisp." Made with sweet butter, sugar, and toasted almonds and enrobed in Guittard chocolate. Also makes classic nuts & chews chocolate assortments.

MarieBelle - This NYC store carries funky, girlishly fun designs silkscreened on chocolates made by Jacques Torres.

Vosges Haut Chocolat - Chicago's Katrina Markoff is well-known for her ultra-exotic flavors such as Quandong fruit, Australian wattleseed and sweet indian curry.

Jin Patisserie - Modern chocolates from Kristy Choo's zen-chic cafe in Venice Beach, California. She uses Asian-inspired flavors like yuzu, chrysanthemum, lemongrass and tea.

Chocolate Box Cafe - This LA-based cafe sells extremely giftable chocolates imported from Belgium and packaged in boxes designed by the same company that makes Bulgaris' boxes. The store has won raves from Sunset Magazine for its "beautiful, velvety-centered chocolate ganaches and its sleek fruit- and nut-topped wafers."

NOKA - Super pricey. This Dallas-based boutique specializes in single-origin dark chocolate truffles and chocolates sourced from Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad and Côte d'Ivoire. Packaged in your choice of sleek stainless steel or cool, textured, matte-black paper boxes.