The Fillmore, San Francisco This hundred-year-old ballroom became perhaps the single most storied rock venue when promoter Bill Graham steered all the leading lights of the Summer of Love scene to its stage, including the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Big Brother, Moby Grape, and Steve Miller, to name just a few. Seemingly every significant band ever to hit the road since has dropped by, including the first Led Zeppelin tour. The Smashing Pumpkins reopened the place after post-earthquake renovations in 1994, and it's still going strong.

The Apollo, New York City Harlem's legendary hall helped launch such seminal acts as Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Stevie Wonder, and, of course, James Brown. But it doesn't live on past glories: recent shows have featured the Gorillaz, Morrissey, Spritualized and Jay-Z.

Red Rocks, Denver This outdoor amphitheater is nestled among spectacular sandstone monoliths in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about 15 miles west of Denver. The spot has hosted concerts for a hundred years now, though the location gained its iconic status among rock fans when the live video of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," recorded here, became the biggest phenomenon of the then-still-young band's career.

9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. It's always nice to know that, a few blocks from the shady dealings on Capitol Hill, this club-which helped launch Minor Threat, Fugazi and Bad Brains-is always pumping with honest rock. But don't let its hardcore roots give you the wrong idea-this is the definitive indie venue for the whole region.

First Avenue, Minneapolis In the dark days of the 1980s, when there was virtually no such thing as an independent music scene in America, Minneapolis helped save the day, giving birth to Husker Du, the Replacements, and Soul Asylum, among others. Husker and the Replacements, regulars at this venue, in turn managed to buoy SST records, allowing the label to bridge the gap between Black Flag and Dinosaur Jr. Oh, some guy named Prince also launched his career here, later immortalizing his residency in a little movie called Purple Rain -- the concert scenes of which were in fact filmed in the real First Avenue.

Stubbs, Austin Where else can you listen to Interpol, Sonic Youth or Ghostland Observatory and chow down on authentic barbeque platters, complete with sliced bread, pickles and hot peppers? This place is the very essence of Austin, one of America's most unique music towns.