I have ordered from both Cigar International and Thompson and been very pleased with both. I agree, if you mail order, keep it from a reputable company, and put them in a humidor for a couple of days before you smoke them. During shipping/processing/etc. they can sometimes get a bit dry and hard (hot and fast smoke).
I am not familiar with smoke shops in the Racine (or southern Milwaukee) area, but if you ever make it to the west suburbs, I can tell you where to go. Take it easy and have fun!

P