Brown's Diner on Blair Boulevard in Nashville is the trolley car pouring cheap beer with cheeseburgers since 1927, the city's oldest diner and dive in one room.
Tip: Cash and card both work. Cheeseburger and a tall PBR runs under $15; jukebox is the soundtrack, no cover any night.
Address: 2102 Blair Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212
Pearl Diver on Gallatin Avenue in East Nashville is the tiki bar with sea-foam booths, palm wallpaper and a cabana patio, tropical drinks until 02:00 weekends.
Tip: Walk-in only, no reservations. Fri-Sat open until 02:00; the patio cabana booths are the first to fill on summer weekends.
Honky Tonk Central at 4th and Broadway in Nashville is the three-floor honky-tonk that holds 840 dancing bodies under live country bands every night.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 03:00 daily, 10:00 open on Friday and Saturday. No cover, kitchen runs until 22:00.
AJ's Good Time Bar on Lower Broadway in Nashville is Alan Jackson's three-floor honky-tonk, with country bands on each level and a rooftop overlooking the strip.
Tip: Live music starts at 10:00 daily and runs until last call at 03:00. The rooftop opens later and is the easier dance floor on Saturdays.
Whiskey Bent Saloon on Lower Broadway in Nashville pairs country dance bands with a deep bourbon list, two stages running back-to-back acts all night.
Tip: No cover and free entry until close. Bourbon flights are the move; cash and card both work at the saloon-style front bar.
Tin Roof on Demonbreun Hill in Nashville opened in 2002 next to Music Row, with a live music stage, a DJ-led Green Room dance floor and four bars under one roof.
Tip: No cover any night. The Green Room DJs spin until 03:00 Thursday through Saturday; weeknight live bands start at 21:00.
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Lower Broadway in Nashville is the purple honky-tonk that fed the Ryman backstage since 1960, with live country on three stages daily.
Tip: Open 09:30 to 03:00 every day with no cover. The upstairs stage is the easier walk-up; tip the band a few dollars per song.