Best of Boston

A knack for luring the top names in the biz has elevated the Regattabar to its rank among the very best in the East. Far from the popular conception of a jazz club (sweaty, smoky), the venue is flush with tall windows and views of Harvard Square that play well with the non-soul-patched crowd. The talent—Grammy winner Irma Thomas and pianist Ahmad Jamal recently did stretches here—is enough to keep hard-core fans more than happy, too.