America's Best Music Venues

Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colo. // Photo courtesy of Red Rocks Amphitheater

From jazz dives to concert halls, we rate the top 10 U.S. places to hear all kinds of tunes.

By Amanda Petrusich for MSN City Guides

Most music fans are teeming with venue war stories: Ask and you’ll hear about uncomfortable theaters with ear-crushing sound and overpriced drinks, or clubs with shoddy lineups, ill-conceived spaces, and toxic bathrooms. When it’s presented properly, live music can be transcendent. Here are 10 music venues that get it right.

Red Rocks Amphitheater
Morrison, Colo.

Nestled deep in Colorado’s Red Rocks Park, the Red Rocks Amphitheater—a 9,450-seat theater flanked by three colossal slabs of red sandstone—offers concert-goers spectacular natural acoustics and stunning views of an endless Colorado sky. Although the site has been utilized as a performance space for over a hundred years, the theater itself was built by New Deal workers in 1941 under the supervision of Denver architect Burnham Hoyt. In its 67-year run, Red Rocks has hosted everyone from the Beatles to U2, and has been showered with accolades from awed fans and grateful musicians

Exterior of Smalls Jazz Club in New York // Photo courtesy of Nick Mann/Smalls Jazz Club

Smalls
New York

Smalls is one of New York City’s most beloved jazz dives. At almost any time of night, bebop, big band, and swing fiends can be spotted scurrying through the club’s West 10^th Street entrance, descending a rickety old staircase, and scanning Smalls’ tiny basement space for an empty chair. Smalls was BYOB up until it changed owners in 2007, but the new management has maintained the club’s comparably modest covers (entrance is $20 at the start of the night and free—with a one drink minimum—after 1:30 a.m., which isn’t such a bad deal, considering the music usually goes until 4) and stellar lineups.

CONTINUED: Emo's in Austin, Texas

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America's Best Music Venues

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