Last year the Triple Rock took this category on the basis of its accessible versatility—a place where you could catch a pre-show drink and meal next door to kill some time before crossing over to the perfectly sized music room to get a dose of some high-wattage jams. That still holds this year, but there's another important factor to keep in mind when bestowing top honors on the now-venerable Triple Rock: It's cheap. Not "cheap" as in busted-ass, second-rate, or shoddy—in its seven-plus years of existence, the music room has earned a deeply embedded veneer of gnarled, lived-in rock 'n' roll energy without having to feel compelled to burn your shoes afterward. We mean "cheap" as in inexpensive. Catching even the most buzzed-about touring international indie acts will typically set you back less than $15 a ticket, a full night of local band music will run you a fiver (if that), and it's always free to check out popular institutions like Thursday night's Ellie Blades-hosted Blingo, the Weekly Triple Double's Tuesday-night drinks-and-DJs throwdown, or a live taping of the monthly comedic pop-culture podcast Kermit's Corner.