Variety Playhouse on Euclid Avenue is the Little Five Points 1940 movie palace turned music venue, with theater seats up top, a standing pit at the rail and bookings across rock, indie and Americana.
Tip: Mix of seated and dancing zones. Doors typically 19:00, show 20:00; tickets via AXS with sight lines best from the lower pit.
Address: 1099 Euclid Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
Smith's Olde Bar at Piedmont and Monroe has run live music since 1994 with a downstairs sports bar, an upstairs Atlanta Room stage, a covered patio and seven nights of local and touring acts.
Tip: Upstairs Atlanta Room is the main music room; downstairs is the cheaper bar with pool and food. Cover applies for ticketed shows only.
Eddie's Attic in Decatur has run the South's most respected listening room since 1991, launching Shawn Mullins, Sugarland and the Indigo Girls and keeping a Monday songwriter open mic on the calendar.
Tip: The listening room enforces quiet during sets; cocktail patio out front handles the talkers. Monday open mic at 18:00 sign-up.
Northside Tavern on Howell Mill is the West Midtown blues dive that has poured cheap beer since 1972, with live blues seven nights a week and a Wednesday Danny Mudcat Dudeck residency.
Tip: No cover Sunday through Thursday; weekend shows charge $10 at 21:30. Cash and card both work; the regulars own the back booth.
SkyLounge atop the Glenn Hotel in the Centennial Park District is the downtown rooftop with a covered indoor bar, an outdoor terrace and views over Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta skyline.
Tip: Cover applies after 19:00. Walk-up only, first-come seating. Weeknights are calmer; weekends pack at sunset.
9 Mile Station on the roof of Ponce City Market is the indoor-outdoor beer garden and cocktail bar with skyline views across Buckhead, Midtown and downtown from the highest open deck on the Eastside.
Tip: Weekend brunch from 11:00, kitchen runs to midnight Friday and Saturday. OpenTable for the dining room; the rooftop park entry is the easier walk-in.
Polaris is the 1967 rotating blue-dome lounge atop the Hyatt Regency that completes a full turn every 45 minutes, 312 feet above Peachtree Street with shared plates, cocktails and the original UFO silhouette.
Tip: Reserve via OpenTable for the dining room; the lounge takes walk-ins. The full rotation runs 45 minutes; sunset is the table to ask for.