Best jazz club
"Melting pot" might be the most accurate way to describe Wally's, the diminutive bar that often steals this category in our readers' poll, and that's not just because of its scorching jazz and blues. In an unofficially segregated city, Wally's is one of the only places where you'll share the bar, or a tiny table, or your elbow room, with students, Roxbury old-timers, South End swanksters, jazz fiends, first dates, black, white, young, and old - all for the music that starts at nine every single night of the year, and always without a cover at the door. Joseph Walcott founded the place back in 1947, and was the first African-American to own a jazz club in all of New England. The prescription for success hasn't changed much over the years: the place brings together aspiring jazz talent - especially students from nearby Berklee and the New England Conservatory - to heat up the space every night, with blues on Mondays, swing on Tuesdays, and Latin jazz on Thursdays. For its music and its mix, Wally's is a rarity, one well worth experiencing.

Across the river in Inman Square, Ryles is another club that rules our readers' poll year after year. Beyond hosting national performers such as Arturo Sandoval, McCoy Tyner, Nestor Torres, and Yoron Israel, as well as local acts such as Leah Callahan's subversive cabaret, Ryles serves up 40 beers and a mean pulled-pork sandwich in a space that's sophisticated without being snobby, elegant without being exclusive. The Sunday jazz brunch attracts people from around the city, and Ryles Dance Hall on the second floor sizzles as people tango, salsa, and merengue. Latin rhythms rage hot and hard, and all get swept off their feet.

Wally's, 427 Mass Ave, Boston, (617) 424-1408, www.wallyscafe.com; Ryles, 212 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, (617) 876-9330, www.rylesjazz.com.