Atlanta is one of America's great music cities, but experiencing that culture means going deeper than checking who happens to be performing at State Farm Arena this weekend. We want the rooms where the music is part of the experience. The intimate spot where the singer is close enough to make eye contact. The grown R&B room where dinner turns into a show. The blues bar that's been doing this longer than half the neighborhood around it. The jazz club where people actually came to listen. The places where Atlanta musicians, singers and bands still get on a stage and do what this city has always done.

For Black travelers, that story matters even more. Atlanta's relationship with Black music didn't begin with trap, and it doesn't end with hip-hop. Gospel, blues, jazz, soul, funk and R&B are all part of the city's musical DNA. BlkTravel's picks celebrate that range. Expect everything from grown and sophisticated to neighborhood and gritty, with venues like Perfect Note sitting comfortably in the same conversation as Atlanta's longstanding music institutions. We're ranking the experience, not the size of the stage. If the music is the reason you're leaving the hotel tonight, start here.