City: Kansas City, MO

Category: Media

Telephone: (816) 561-6061

Address: 1701 Main St.

Description: This free weekly with an 80,000 circulation is the city’s most recognized alternative tabloid. The editor boasts that the paper is dedicated to “hard-hitting journalism, smart criticism, lively features, and good old-fashioned muckraking,” but the real reason folks pick it up is to see what band is playing at Knuckleheads or what food critic Charles Ferruzza thinks of the new restaurant in town. Its calendar offers the area’s most complete coverage of live music, dance, and theater (including some in Lawrence, Kansas, a college town about half an hour away). Even the ads are pretty entertaining; here’s where to find outlets for any vice from martinis to water pipes, sexy lingerie to sex partners.The annual Best of Kansas City issue—usually in mid-October—has the typical “best brunch” categories along with a few fresh options such as best guilty pleasure. Just thinking about those answers gives us goosebumps. The paper’s online incarnation provides a repeat of the printed page with added links to other sites, Web-exclusive features, essays, and blogs that will make you blush. The writing style is not for the timid.