Most of our Best Of awards take the previous year into consideration when picking a winner, but in the case of Lower Greenville's The Cavern, we think the year ahead is optimistic enough to earn this nod. After all, Lance Yocom has revitalized the cozy music venue by overtaking the booking as part of his Spune Productions company and organizing repairs and expansions to the sound system. As a result, Yocom has quickly made this a must-visit spot for rock lovers in town. Upstairs DJs Chris Penn (Good Records, The Polyphonic Spree), Josh Venable (102.1 The Edge's The Adventure Club) and DJ G (Hailey's '80s night) give music fans a reason to rock out during the middle of the week. But it's the downstairs area that is turning The Cavern into a must-visit weekend destination with local guitar champs like Record Hop, The Tah-Dahs and John LaMonica. If the Dallas music scene is born anew in 2006, here's hoping it's The Cavern's fault.

Readers' Pick
(TIE) Double Wide 3510 Commerce St. 214-887-6510 Gypsy Tea Room 2548 Elm St. 214-744-9779