Best techno club
Back in the late '60s and early '70s, when hippies roamed the earth, the club at 15 Lansdowne Street was called the Ark, then Boston Tea Party, and hosted Dylan, the Who, Led Zeppelin, and the Dead. You may recall the names Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager from Behind the Music; they turned the space into a sleek discothèque before heading south to open Studio 54 in New York. Today, Avalon reigns over the techno scene in Boston, and it's no surprise our readers select it as a winner in this category. Friday night's "Avaland," voted "America's #1 Club Night" at the Las Vegas Club Show Awards in 2003, hosts the top DJs from here and abroad, including Paul Van Dyk, Danny Howells, and Tiesto. With a capacity of more than 2000, you'll be bumping and thumping in one of the largest club spaces in the city.

Across the river, a new spot takes this category, and it's significantly less assuming than its Boston counterpart. You probably won't see the Enormous Room represented at the Las Vegas Club Awards - hell, the place doesn't even have a sign on the door - but what you will experience in this North African-themed lounge is the finest in the local DJ scene. Whereas Avalon has the best-known, the Enormous Room hosts the best in the electronic underground. Recline on Persian-rugged risers while you share a platter of couscous and skewered beef, and wait for the DJ to set up. The only signal you've arrived is an elephant on the door next to Central Kitchen. Elephants are enormous, right? Climb the stairs to a room that is not, in fact, that big; what's huge about the place is the music, and the fact that it's unlike any other spot in town.

Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street, Boston, (617) 262-2424, www.avalonboston.com; Enormous Room, 567 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 491-5550.