Best Karaoke in New York: Arlene's Grocery

Arlene's Grocery

95 Stanton St., New York, NY 10002

(212) 995-1652

Today, most of the city's hip karaoke joints offer a single, not all that social, option. You rent a room, usually for about 10 bucks per hour per person, and you and your friends pile inside, order drinks or BYO, and sing your hearts out in front of the small crowd. With the right people—and the right selection of '90s pop and mid-'80s cheese metal on the jukebox—it can be pretty fun. But it also gets expensive, and there's nothing quite like embarrassing yourself in front of dozens of strangers by yelling an off-key "Motorin'. What's your price for flight?" you know? Enter Rock and Roll Karaoke at Arlene's Grocery, where every Monday at 10, you not only get the chance to release your inner Kelly Keagy, but you also get to do it in front of a live band of—compared to you—quite competent musicians. Best of all, it's totally free, and great local rockers like Philly transplants Penrose will even open for you. Not bad, right? 95 Stanton Street, 212-358-1633, arlenesgrocery.net/karaoke (10002)

Source: The Village Voice