World's Best Concert Venues

Most people will tell you that for their money, the world's best concert venue is the one where their obsession du jour is playing … it's not so much about the dressing as the salad. That said, buying concert tickets to see a good performer in a bad concert venue is sort of like listening to your favorite CD after it's been taped onto cassette, and put on a tinny alarm clock to wake you up. A completely different experience! So if you have a chance to go to any of the following concert venues, even if the feature might not be your favorite, take the opportunity. You'll almost certainly find that the atmosphere and acoustics push the experience far beyond your expectations.

Metropolitan Opera, New York

Just as historic as those in Vienna and France, the New York Met is now home to the world's finest concert pianists, violinists, operas and orchestras. There are LCD screens on the back of each chair, giving even poor seats an up-close-and-personal view.

Symphony Hall, Boston

The acoustics of this hall are part of the appeal -- it has a 1.9 second reverberation time, considered to be ideal for orchestral performances. There are more and more rock bands teaming up with orchestras nowadays, since the advent of Symphony and Metallica … and you can get concert tickets for a variety of acts at Symphony Hall.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles

Boston and New York have inclusions in the world's best list … LA couldn’t let them have all the limelight! This was completed only in 2003, and has a much more modern design than Symphony Hall or even the Met. It has a six-level subterranean parking garage, and is now home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Avery Fisher Hall, New York

Not quite as famous as Carnegie Hall, but then again, concert tickets here can actually be afforded by mere mortals! There have been numerous critics and redesigns at Avery Fisher Hall, but to their credit, the board never gives up in their quest for the perfect acoustic.