38.) Arlene's Grocery

Arlene's Grocery (on 95 Stanton St.), otherwise known as the coolest bodega in the Lower East Side, is not actually a grocery store, but a pretty rad rock n' roll joint. And to the regular Arlene's Grocery patron, only two things matter: Monday night at 10 pm, and Friday night at midnight, which are the two times a week when they put on their awesome karaoke show.

Now, I realize that the words “awesome” and “karaoke” don't often appear in the same sentence together (and rightfully so). The difference between Arlene's karaoke and the other guys is their house band, with a repertoire of hundreds of classic and modern rock songs under their belts. It's one thing to sing something like, say, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” on a tinny, synthesized karaoke setup, and another thing entirely to have that loud, dirty rock and roll goodness coming out from behind you from a real-life honest-to-goodness rock and roll band.

There is no judging at karaoke night in Arlene's, and if your singing ability (not to mention your ability to remember lyrics) is a little less than stellar, the band will help you out as you go along. If you're really good, you get a “holy shit!” from the audience, although lately they've been kind of giving everyone courtesy holy shits, for better or worse. If you ever find yourself at Arlene's karaoke, don't decide not to try it because you think you won't do well. I guarantee you there will be at least five other people who go up and sound like absolute garbage, and have a blast doing it (for example, anyone who decides to sing “Love Shack,” ever). Finally, a word of warning: you can be drunk on stage, but don't ever be drunk and stupid, or the band and emcee will show you no mercy.

And if singing really isn't your thing, it can be surprisingly fun to watch as well. You might catch some of the regulars while you're there, like this one guy who always sings “Dazed and Confused” with his hands in his pockets. Like, literally every time.

Written By Garrett McMahon