Michaels Bromeliads is my favorite source for selection and prices. He will be leaving soon on a buying/speaking tour for 2 weeks. Contact link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Michaels Bromeliads

Gary, though I live on the other side of the country, I've found the best 'shoppable' bromeliads come from plant sales at local universities, botanical gardens and/or parks.

Here's a (Florida) local example: http://gardens.usf.edu/events/upcoming/

The real benefit of such events is finding a great mix of cheap, easy, or more specialized varieties.

I went from a naive would-be gardener who thought Bromeliads were just a mosquito resort to owning close to 100, nearly all of them purchased through plant sales.

Many plants sold by parks and gardens are mis-named so I shy away from those. Bromeliad society clubs can be a good source but don't build a large collection and buy one cheap plant that my infect the whole bunch. Buy from good growers who sell disease, pest free, correctly labeled plants.

It really depends on the event. When I visit (for example) The USF plant fair in Tampa, I run into 3-5 different vendors who specialize in Bromeliads and have their own websites and shops.

It can be an iffy proposition purchasing from some random gardener in a trade, and sites like Michaels are great when you know what you're looking for, but for a novice fan I don't think you can beat seeing, holding and asking questions about broms in person, which is why I suggested official plant sales and fairs as a great jumping on point.

People like Michaels can also save a newbie from buying plants that may not grow well in their conditions and save them money in the long run until they become more experienced growing broms. Michael makes himself available by phone most days Monday thru Friday to help customers.

Check out RainForest Flora in Torrance, CA. They mainly sell tillandsias but they also have bromeliads too. They have a web site and you can also go to youtube to watch a tour of their nursery/store.