Where is the best place to get a pet bird?

I would look up a local breeder for a particular bird that you want to get. We traveled a couple hours away to get our Eclectus parrot from a good breeder. There are some reputable exotic pet stores that get good birds from breeders as well. You can call an avian veterinarian and ask them to recommend a good breeder or retail store that sells healthy birds in your area. I wouldn't buy a bird from a big chain pet store, though we used to get our parakeets from Woolworths when we just started out in the "bird world" almost 30 years ago!