Best hip-hop club

Lansdowne Street is a clubgoer's mecca. The row of clubs lining the legendary Lansdowne specialize in those breeds of techno, house, and electronic music that you can feel in your chest. It's music that makes you move. Axis, a little sibling to big brother Avalon, presents more than just typical techno fare. According to Phoenix readers, this club is one of the best spots in the city to hear hip-hop. Hosting local and national acts, as well as getting some of the area's best DJs to spin everything from old school to trip-hop, this Kenmore Square institution is a hip-hop haven.

Across the river in Cambridge, the Middle East wears multiple musical hats. Top hats, baseball caps, knit hats. Punk, pop, rock, hip-hop. Regardless of the hat, the Middle East's propensity is for indie music of all kinds, and Phoenix readers repeatedly pick this Central Square club as the best venue to catch underground, independent hip-hop acts. Scrolling through the Middle East schedule , you see names like Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, DJ Fakts One, Porn Theater Ushers, OVM, and 7L & Esoteric, among others. In December the Central Square club hosts the fifth annual Boston Hip-Hop Festival.

Axis, 13 Lansdowne Street, Boston, (617) 262-2437; Middle East, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 864-EAST.