Marge Studebaker, owner of Best Friends Club, cuts a rug with Amber Diva Daniels.

Readers’ choice: The Pour House, 209 W 5th St, FW

Staff choice: 7th Haven, 2308 W 7th St, FW

This year, we’re taking a hint from our readers and choosing their choice for best happy hour from last year. For us, what puts the happy in happy hour are darn good prices. At 7th Haven, from 4-8p.m., Monday through Friday, there are 75-cent wells; 75-cent Lone Star, Natural Light, and Miller High longnecks; and all other domestics are $1.75. Good drinks, cheap prices, enough said.

Readers’ choice: Pam Moore, Froggy’s Beach Club, 7301 West Fwy, FW

Staff choice: Dave Mitchell, The Pub, 3019 S University Dr, FW

Dave Mitchell lends a beer and an ear to TCU students.

Every college student needs a great bartender in his or her life, and TCU students are no exception. Any time the angst of tests, relationships, or growing up in general mucks up the mind, The Pub is where most college students go to kick back and forget about it all with a good, cold glass of beer. And thanks to Dave, The Pub’s owner and resident bartender, every patron, student or not, feels like The Pub is their bar. Whether high-fiving regulars or pouring out a cold one, Dave is the best in Fort Worth, and for that, we raise our glasses.

Readers’ choice: (tie) The Pour House, 209 W 5th St, FW; My Martini Wine & Bistro, 859 NE Green Oaks Blvd, Arl

Staff choice: Blade’s Chophouse, 600 Houston St, FW

This swanky ‘60s cabana-cum-downtown rendezvous pours some damn generous cocktails and from some truly professional staffers. Ordering a double really means a quadruple. (Mixers are served alongside for doctoring up.) So fair warning, lightweights. As for those in the business of drinking joints dry: Blade’s Chophouse is that ever-loving mother with open arms ... arms that smell like vodka and reasonably priced cigars ($7 to $10). And the staff? They’re like the Deltas from National Lampoon’s Animal House except well-mannered and with plenty of I.Q. Bartenders Brian Webb and Bill Ritzi never let the glasses go empty. And at insomniac hours, wine boy Paul Salazar shifts the Frank Sinatra dining-room tunes to his own music selection: wistful favorites from Color Me Badd, Bell Biv Devoe, and Mick Jagger, and they keep the steakhouse jumping as long as city ordinances allow.

Readers’ choice: Shamrock Pub, 2710 W 7th St, FW

Staff choice: Ye Olde Bull & Bush, 2300 Montgomery St, FW

Designer interior, models galore, plenty of beefcake walking around ... kidding. Not at Ye Olde Bull & Bush. Actually, rustic would be a compliment for this place, where door frames are empty, tables look like they’ve been rescued from your Aunt Millie’s garage, and someone forgot to order barstools. But somehow it works anyway. Always interesting chatter from an eclectic group at the stand-up bar, super-fresh beers and stout, two reasonable dartboards, and Irish music coming from the speakers. Great place.

Readers’ choice: The Pour House, 209 W 5th St, FW

Staff choice: 7th Haven, 2308 W 7th St, FW

A bar is a joint where you can wet your whistle, talk easily with strangers, listen to music, and maybe watch some sports. If that’s the bill, 7th Haven fits it. There’s no tap beer, but the place carries three dozen bottled beers and serves heavily poured drinks at the black-tiled bar, There are three well-placed non-intrusive televisions, a stand-up shuffleboard game, a couple of electronic poker games, foosball, a couch, some naugahyde booths for privacy, accommodating hours, and a CBGB sticker on a bar mirror: What more do you want?

Readers’ choice: Chrome Grill, 2408 E Belknap St, FW

Staff choice: Chrome Grill

Many bars and restaurants have figured outwhat the motorcyle crowd can do for business. Some are even starting motorcyle nights as part of their weekly promotions. One place that’s gotten into the game recently in a big way is the Chrome Grill on East Belknap Street near Sylvania Avenue. The place has been open only a few months, but draws some 500-600 bikers each Thursday night. This is a good joint with great burgers, pool tables, and big screen tvs for watching sports. Bands play Thursday through Saturday nights. But the best part is that the old Harley-Davidson crowd and the new custom chopper RUBs (rich urban bikers) get along and hang out together. Even if you don’t cruise in on two wheels or wear leather pants, you’ll like this place.

Readers’ choice: The Pour House, 209 W 5th St, FW

Staff choice: Electric Cowboy, 8740 Hwy 80 W, FW

Westside cops get a call every Thursday and Friday night from this old-fashioned watering hole. You just gotta wonder what all the fighting’s about. Stem cell research? Welfare? Bush versus Kerry? Makes us think that if these steroid-overdosed types only gave in to their homosexual tendencies, they’d spend a lot less time ice-packing their foreheads and apologizing to judges and a lot more time letting police officers do real work.

Readers’ choice: Club Vivid, 900 Houston St, FW

Staff choice: Best Friends Club, 2620 E Lancaster Av, FW

Amber and Marge could be swaying to a country tune at the Best Friends Club.

It hasn’t been a great year for the gay club business. Two clubs that had been around awhile — 651 and Magnolia Station — closed, leaving only about five such establishments in all of Tarrant County. Ah, but among the rubble climbed a new star. Best Friends, at East Lancaster Avenue and Beach Street, has arrived as the city’s top gay club. The place has a country-western feel to it, with DJs spinning the country tunes on weekends. It’s clean and fancy on the inside, with pool tables and a comfortable bar area and a big dance floor. Out back is a fashionable patio with a great view of downtown. The only problem is that Best Friends had been primarily lesbian, but now has added gay men to the mix with the closing of the other clubs. On some nights, the women just want to watch sports and the men just want to dance. Sounds kind of like the same things the hetero bars have to deal with.

Staff choice: Best Friends Club, 2620 E Lancaster Av, FW

Hoping for a secret lounge harboring about 500 sensuous lipstick lesbians in black lingerie? Uh, you better hit the video store. Turns out that Best Friends Club, while totally friendly to all shapes, sizes, and persuasions, mostly caters to the less delicate clientele — except, of course, for when they do their drag shows. It’s socially conscious, too. On weekends, AIDS activists and other charity foundations serve up barbecue out back. Drinks, dancing, brisket — ah, what more could a girl ask for?

Readers’ choice: New Orleans Nights, 7101 Calmont Av, FW

Staff choice: New Orleans Nights

The atmosphere at New Orleans Nights is pure Cowtown, with spectators joining in the fun by singing along to the country-and-western hits while the ladies onstage display their skills. The cover charge is low, leaving more cash for drinks and, um, other amenities. The vibe is relaxed, and Nights is pretty classy, as far as strip joints go, so feel free to bring the girlfriend/wife along — the Weekly observed a number of ladies hitting it off with the dancers and quite enjoying themselves as their significant others watched, mesmerized.

Readers’ choice: The Penalty Box, 7120 S Freeway, FW

Staff choice: Fox & Hound English Pub & Grill, 604 Main St, FW

Everybody shows baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and big-time college sports. So we go to the tie-breaker — soccer. The English pub carries Fox Sports World, which gives local fans the chance to see the U.S. national teams and high-profile European matches (albeit sometimes on a tape delay) without paying exorbitant prices for cable packages. This in addition to the usual sports in a big, friendly venue conveniently located in downtown Fort Worth.

Readers’ choice: The Library Bar, 611 Houston St, FW

Staff choice: Railhead Smokehouse, 2900 Montgomery St, FW

Not too often can you find a joint where jointly chewing on brisket and drooling over hot bods is socially acceptable — unless you live in Fort Worth. There are plenty of barbecue “bars” in town, but the Railhead Smokehouse beats them all. The meals are an essential, and the crowd is irresistible: middle-aged dentists fully clad in motorcycle gear; bored housewives suited up in Rockies two sizes too small; the past and future ruling classes of Fort Worth standing up at the bar or wiping sauce from their chins. If none of this tempts you, just show for the $1.70 schooners at happy hour.

Reader’s choice: (Tie) The Library Bar, 611 Houston St, FW; The Pour House, 209 W 5th St, FW

Staff choice: Bronx Zoo, 700 Carroll ST, FW

Let’s see: $2 domestic draft pints all day and night; $1 domestic pints from 4p.m.-5p.m.; $5 domestic pitchers all day and night Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Plus, the bartenders buy-back now and again. Then there are the wells (OK, it’s not beer but they’re cheap), that run $.50 from 4p.m.-5p.m.; $1.00 from 5p.m.-6p.m. and $2 from 6p.m.-7p.m. Toss in the fact that they serve enough beer that the kegs are fresh and that they remember to clean the beer lines regularly, and you not only have the cheapest beer in town, you have some of the best.

Readers’ choice: Joe T. Garcia’s, 2201 N Commerce St, FW

Staff choice: Dos Gringos, 1015 University Dr, FW

Mike Thomas dishes up the ’ritas at Dos Gringos.

For us, a margarita is the quintessential Friday-night drink. Well, it’s the quintessential every- night drink, and at Dos Gringos, the margaritas are so good, having one every day would be all right with us. The frozen margaritas stay frozen and have enough booze to leave you feelin’ happy. Two sizes — the 10 oz. for $3.95 or the 18 oz. for $5.50 — are just right for drowning your problems with the salt, the lime, and a bit of the juice of the worm.

Readers’ choice: (tie) My Martini Wine & Bistro, 859 NE Green Oaks Blvd, and Jango’s, 2715 N Collins St, both Arl

Staff choice: Lucille’s Stateside Bistro, 4700 Camp Bowie Blvd, FW

Lucille’s bartender makes an old-fashioned martini dang near as good as this writer does at home. ‘Course you can get this classic cocktail in just about any flavor these days — but don’t be fooled. The only martini worthy of the name is the original: a couple of jiggers of good gin, a whiff of vermouth, stirred together with ice, strained into a chilled martini glass, with a couple of olives added to nibble on while you try to carry on a sophisticated conversation as your tongue thickens. This was the one made famous by the Thin Man who — take note — never drank and drove, but always took a cab. How he solved those murders as tipsy as he was is another mystery.

Reader’s choice: The Flying Saucer, several locations

Staff choice: The Flying Saucer

Can’t say much for the sometimes-thoughtless promotions (we haven’t forgotten the commemorative 9/11 beer glass), but you can’t beat the seleccion de suds here. Decent food and music, a nice beer garden, and a good variety of seating options — couches, tables, barstools, and the beer garden benches — make it a fun, lively place for knocking back a few brewskis and knackwurst.

Reader’s choice: Froggy’s Beach Club, 7301 West Fwy, FW

Staff choice:Club Vivid, 900 Houston St, FW

A mishmash of decorative styles, a modernist flight of fancy, an assault on the aesthetic senses — these are all terms that come to mind when considering the décor at Club Vivid. From the cartoon-like neon heart sign above the stairs to the rouge and ebony animal-print sofas, this place feels like a pop art version of Van Gogh’s Night Cafe at Arles with its spellbindingly bright red wall and bright yellow floors. Soft Georgia O’Keeffe pastels grace its barreled ceiling, and everything from the decadent crimson loveseats and tangerine armchairs of the first level to the submarine grey and underwater feel of the lower level makes you forget all about boundaries — as a great bar décor should do — and remember that tonight, anything is possible.

Reader’s choice: The Penalty Box, 7120 S Freeway, FW

Readers’ choice: The Penalty Box, 7120 S Freeway, FW

Staff choice: J.J. Dakota’s Billiards, 9112 Camp Bowie Blvd, FW

All right, so it’s a two-prize winner, but J.J. Dakota’s Billiards deserves it. Sixteen pool tables, four foosball tables, air hockey, a full-sized stand-up shuffleboard, three electronic and two regulation dartboards with cheap but sharp house darts, as well as half a dozen video games including a Ms. Pac-Man for you old-timers. Toss in cheap bottled beer at happy hour and fresh tap suds, and some of you monkeys won’t ever want to leave.

Readers’ choice: Froggy’s Beach Club, 7301 West Fwy, FW

Staff choice: 8.0, 111 3rd St, FW

The outdoor patio here has a nice urban feel — tables and trees among the tall buildings — and it can seat more seats than most of the clubs in town. On nice evenings, it adds some needed energy to the downtown scene, as the music wafts out even for folks who are only driving by. The crowd changes, depending on whether there’s live music and what kind. On most nights, it’s yuppie-ville to the max, with folks in $150 fisherman sandals, matching Tommy Bahama golf wear, and mini-skirts on folks who aren’t so mini. But ‘round closing time, if you’re having trouble hooking up, request some Van Morrison from the cover band and keep eyes and ears open. Believe it or not, “Brown-Eyed Girl” never sounded better.

Readers’ choice: Shamrock Pub, 2710 W 7th St, FW

Readers’ choice: Helm at Froggy’s Beach Club, 7301 West Fwy, FW

Readers’ choice: J&J’s Blues Bar, 937 Woodward St, FW

Staff choice: J&J’s Blues Bar

While Fort Worth’s rock scene is mightily impressive, its blues scene could use a little help. The top dog remains J&J’s Blues Bar. And while other local blues places don’t charge cover and have a more down-home clientele, J&J’s does get the best performers the Metroplex has to offer and has the best sound quality. We just ought to be thankful that owner Jim Schusler hasn’t let the success go to his head.

Readers’ choice: Black Dog Tavern, 903 Throckmorton St, FW

Readers’ choice: Ridglea Theater, 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd, FW

Staff choice:The Wreck Room, 3208 W 7th St, FW

Though we don’t agree with the Wreck Room’s burgeoning partiality toward out-of-town bands, we can’t argue with the product — great sound, great vibe, and great music. Look at what the past year has wrought: shows by The February Chorus, Sorta, Calhoun, Stan Ridgeway, Collin Herring, Merkin, Yeti, and Garuda’s last show. Even on nights when there isn’t any live music, the place still rocks. It’s one of the only joints in town where you can, within reason, wear anything you want, say anything you want, do anything you want, and not feel out of place or like a complete jackass. Try that at Michael’s.

Readers’ choice: The Saenz Center, 700 NW 30th St, FW

Readers’ choice: Billy Bob’s Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, FW

Staff choice:The White Elephant Saloon, 106 E Exchange Av, FW

When you think “Best of,” quality naturally comes to mind. But in a town priding itself on an embarrassment of C&W venues, quantity’s important too, and the White Elephant Saloon has live music you can scuffle your boots to every single night. That certainly gives the place the edge, but what goes on inside the Elephant is equally impressive. Over the past year, Billy Joe Shaver and Rusty Weir have crooned their honkytonk classics within the Stockyards establishment’s hat-covered walls.

Readers’ choice: The Moon Bar, 2911 W Berry St, FW

Staff choice: Acoustic Mafia nights at the Aardvark, 2905 W Berry St, FW

There’s a reason why this monthly showcase of unplugged virtuosity uses the word “mafia.” It’s a revolving, invitation-only “family” of singers and songwriters who, on great nights (and there were plenty over the past year), whacked Aardvark audiences with tunesmanship. When you’ve got folks like Tim Locke, John Price, Collin Herring, and the dearly departed (though not dead) Lauren Fine strumming and crooning on the same bill, there’s no need to strong-arm Fort Worth listeners into your club.

Readers’ choice: The Pig Bar & Grill, 210 E 8th St, FW

Readers’ choice: Hyena’s (two locations)

Readers’ choice: Latin Express

Staff choice: Bonehammer

Last year, we moaned about the lack of creative band names in the Fort Worth area, citing the example of Blues Hammer from Ghost World as an inspired choice. This year a Fort Worth band took our suggestion and ran with it. This year the coveted “Best Band Name” award goes to Bonehammer. Knowing that the suffix -Hammer always lends street credibility to musicians (see: MC Hammer), Bonehammer pulls no onomastic punches. Harder Beat magazine described a Bonehammer live show as “great kick ya in the ass rock ‘n’ roll,” urging readers to “get hammered with Bonehammer.” While the Weekly cannot comment on Bonehammer’s musical skill, we will say that their logo, a skull-and-crosshammers motif, is edgy and controversial.

Staff choice: The February Chorus, at the Wreck Room

Even the night’s headliners, Tim Locke’s Calhoun, had a hard time following what turned out to be the most transportive, transcendent, sonically rich musical experience to transpire on a local stage this year. The area near the Wreck Room stage was darker than usual, making for a perfect setting for The February Chorus’ brooding, desperate mood rock. (The puppet movie Dark Crystal, in an ironic twist, played on the screen behind the band and on the band throughout the set.) The first song, the seemingly infinite “On a Train,” encapsulated the entire show. Mixing the haunting atmospherics of Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” with Pink Floyd’s partiality to minor chord progressions and Summer of Love nostalgia, “On a Train” is a lonely February night spent flying through black pine trees, gray snow, and silver water, all the way to a liquid moon. On this night, The February Chorus was the best band in Fort Worth — and in all of Texas.

Readers’ choice: Scott Copeland

Staff choice: Tony Diaz, Goodwin

There are so many multi-talented, multi-purpose, multi-amazing, multi-magnanimous musicians in town that choosing just one is damn-near impossible. There’s former Spoonfed Tribe guitarist/singer Daniel Katsuk, who plays music for hospital patients. There’s Horses frontman Jordan Richardson, who plays in about 10 different bands while producing local c.d.’s at First Street Audio. There’s also last year’s winner, Dave Karnes, who rocks out with King Friday when he’s not flying the jazz flag over the Fort. But this is a “best of” issue, and we gotta choose ... somebody. So we’re gonna go with the guy without whose hard work and dedication to the scene this town would not be nearly as special — or as fun. Goodwin frontman Tony Diaz can hardly contain himself when he begins talking about the unification of Fort Worth musos. He not only attends nearly every worth-a-shit gig in town when not playing his ass off across the region and works as a co-host of 88.7-FM/KTCU’s “The Good Show,” but he puts his money where his mouth is. For the third annual “Experience the Art of Music” fund-raiser this winter, Diaz replaces the ever-touring John Price as booking agent. Expect big, big things.

Readers’ choice: John Price

Staff choice: Flickerstick

Flickerstick. ‘Nuff said. No, seriously, this is a band to which “hung over” equals “morning.” How they’re able to tour, play kick-ass shows night after night, and record beautiful alt-rock while doing their party thing is plainly baffling. Be on the look-out this October for their first full-length since forever, Tarantula, on Dallas-based Idol Records.

Readers’ choice: KOE

Staff choice: Collin Herring

By “unsigned,” of course, we mean “to a bona fide record label.” And by “best,” we mean, “about equal to a lot of other ‘best’ acts.” Goodwin, Engine of the Ocean, Tim Locke, Titan Moon, The Chemistry Set. Cruise the globe, and you likely won’t find more talent in a city this size. Cruise the Metroplex, and you likely won’t find any unsigned artist as talented as Herring. The twentysomething alt-country singer-songwriter conjures up that high lonesome vibe specific to Texas’ all-time greats better than any other local artist working in the C&W idiom. Too smart for commercial radio, too young and catchy for honkytonks, Herring is in a constant battle with the fact that his greatest blessing — his uniqueness — is also his biggest curse. No matter. If he’s still unsigned around this time next year, we’ll just give him this award again.

Readers’ choice: Scott Copeland

Staff choice: Daniel Katsuk, A-Hummin’ Acoustical Acupuncture

Lots of folks think of Daniel Katsuk as merely “that hippie who used to be in Spoonfed Tribe,” when most don’t realize that the A-Hummin’ Acoustical Acupuncture frontman is one of the most talented singers/instrumentalists/improvisationists in town, in the whole Metroplex, probably in the state. His technical chops are probably so overlooked because he makes playing and singing look and sound so damn easy. Next time you see him holding down his regular Monday night Wreck Room gig, however, do us a favor and concentrate on his form. Your jaw will drop.

Readers’ choice: Black Dog Tavern, 903 Throckmorton St, FW

Staff choice: Tuesday nights at the White Elephant Saloon, 106 E Exchange Av, FW

Open-mic nights are socialist. Musicians sign a sheet, wait their turn, go in order. Everyone performs the same number of songs. All is fair. Except to the audience, which is slipping roofies into their own drinks after hearing three or four hacks in a row. White Elephant open-mic host Brad Hines is thankfully totalitarian. No sign-up sheets. No rules. No whining (if an artist complains that “so-and-so got to play five songs and I only got one,” you can bet that Brad won’t be moved to tears). He dictates who plays, and when, and for how long, based on the artists’ strengths and weaknesses. It’s called maintaining momentum and flow — hello! And watch for Amanda the bartender putting a beer to her eye. That crying-in-my-beer signal is the equivalent of “get the hook and drag this one off the stage.”