This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

As the economy slides into recession and struggling retailers and restaurants begin to lose the good fight, its inevitable that some favorites will disappear. Among those leaving us in 2008 are retailers Linens 'n Things, Mervyns, Sharper Image, and Steve & Barry's.

I always liked Linens 'n Things for its reasonably priced, reasonably stylish offerings of such functional things as kitchenware and linens, not to mention the occasional useless but chuckleworthy items such as dancing Santas and big plastic barrels of pretzels. But I admit that I didn't shop at the New Jersey-based big-box retailer very often. After Linens 'n Things went private in 2006, the chain's expansion was offset by declining same-store sales, and the company operated at a loss. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2008, but in October said it would liquidate all remaining stores.

Being from the midwest, I've never shopped at a Mervyn's. It appears to have been a store with a bit of an identity crisis. It was acquired by Dayton Hudson in 1978. Beginning in the '80s, Mervyn's tried unsuccessfully to expand into Georgia and Florida. From 1996 to 2001, the name was changed to Mervyn's California to identify with its West Coast roots. Then in 2004 , Mervyn's was sold to private investors. Store closings became a regular occurence. In July 2008, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More store closings followed, and in October the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and began to liquidate its stores.