What makes a great Atlanta bar? Depends on what kind of Atlanta you want tonight. You can drink wine and split tapas in Inman Park, disappear into a Korean bar in East Atlanta Village, hear blues inside an Atlanta institution, sip something expensive somewhere bougie or head southwest and find a neighborhood bar where the crowd, music and drinks feel unmistakably Black Atlanta.

That's exactly why this list exists. We aren't ranking fifteen variations of the same $18 cocktail bar because somebody put a plant wall behind the bartender and called it an experience. We want Atlanta. That means dive bars, hood bars, wine bars, neighborhood institutions, sophisticated cocktail rooms, international concepts, grown Black social spots and places that don't fit neatly into any category other than “this is a damn good bar.”

And we're taking you around the city to find them. From Buckhead and Midtown to East Atlanta, Chamblee, Camp Creek, Southwest Atlanta and Stone Mountain, BlkTravel's picks are about experiencing Atlanta one drink and one neighborhood at a time. Some places are polished. Some have absolutely no interest in being polished. Both can be great.