Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

Say what you will about Microsoft’s HQ and Carrie Brownstein, but Palmers is objectively the best thing to come from Redmond. (OK, and maybe the direct current defibrillator.) At this dive, there are two guarantees: you will step on something sticky, and you will have the time of your life. Karaoke happens seven nights a week next to a huge, energetic dance floor, which means folks four whiskey gingers-deep will be grooving to your Bee Gees cover instead of mindlessly staring at you. It also means that the DJ will play actual dance tunes between karaoke songs. And there’s simply no greater thrill than jumping up and down to “Sandstorm” on full blast after someone butchers “Creep” so badly it hurts your teeth.

If you’re trying to plan a wild karaoke event, book a private room at Rock Box. It’s a rager of a bar where you’ll find flashing neon lights and cutesy cocktails like the Hello Kitty—which tastes like drinking Malibu from the bottle after shoving a fistful of shredded coconut in your mouth. The only caveat here is that it’s extremely difficult to book a room on short notice. If you’re still set on coming here on a Saturday, the main bar area has first-come, first-served karaoke as well. Show up at 3pm for some day partying and you won’t have to wait to sing.

For a Saturday night karaoke experience that’s just as fun as it is low-key, Red Onion in Madison Park is a winner. The wait to sing at this dive isn’t tremendously long, there’s a good balance of enthusiastic onlookers and people who don’t give a sh*t what you sound like, and you can snack on warm cashews from the nut bar between tunes. As a bonus, DJ Sammy also makes everyone feel equally talented, with every single performance followed by a resounding “Nailed it!” even if you screwed up all four key changes in “Love On Top.”

This great LGBTQ+ dive bar is right next to Hula Hula, and checks off two key components for an ideal karaoke night—it’s never too crowded and serves very strong well drinks. It’s also where we’ve witnessed someone singing the best rendition of My Chemical Romance's “Welcome To The Black Parade” we’ve ever heard. If you were ever in a collegiate a cappella group and think you’ve got a golden voice, be warned: the competition here is no joke. Also take note that if you ask for something non-alcoholic—you might receive a confused glance and a tallboy of White Claw.

It’s easy to breeze past Enkore since its only evidence of existence is a sticker slapped on the building above the entrance. Up the stairs at this second-story University District karaoke spot is an abundance of soju, private rooms that are easy to book online, and a fun off-campus-housing vibe that feels thoroughly appropriate for its proximity to UW. Are the machines decades old and difficult to operate? Yes. Will someone spill plum wine on your Blundstones? Yes. Will it be one of the greatest nights of your year? Also yes.

Maybe you’re a professional wedding singer and you need to rehearse some Earth, Wind, and Fire before a gig. Or, maybe you have another karaoke night coming up and want to build your confidence. In either case, Wednesday night karaoke at Little Red Hen in Green Lake is the perfect spot for singing without fear of embarrassment because nobody pays attention to what’s happening on stage. However, since this country-themed bar has line dancing lessons right before karaoke, don’t be surprised if people do the two-step while you perform “Gangster’s Paradise” without inhibition.

You don’t want to test out your Johnny Cash repertoire in a room full of onlookers and their watery vodka sodas, but you don’t want to perform in an empty bar, either. Hattie’s Hat in Ballard is the happy medium. This Ballard diner’s Thursday karaoke nights are energetic enough for a crowd to cheer you on, but not so packed that it’d be humiliating to croak a note in “Ring Of Fire.” You could also simply sit there to eat a chicken-fried steak with no intention of participating in musical activities at all. Speaking of chicken-fried steak, we’d say to come back for weekend brunch, but it’s not great, so you can safely skip that.

We’re not sure where the idea to open a diner with an adjoining karaoke bar came from, but there’s something amazing about watching someone sing LMNT's "Juliet" while you eat a tuna melt. Karaoke happens on the weekends at the Shanghai Room, the red-tinted neighboring bar to North Star Diner. Just note that food is only served until 9pm, but the karaoke bar closes at 1am, so there's plenty of time for your vocal chords to recover from that chocolate milkshake.

If you are a college student or just want to listen to young people sing Spice Girls jams while you throw back some jello shots, Finn MacCool’s is the UW Irish pub for you. Their karaoke happens on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and they'll occasionally host a contest that’s not scored by how well you sing, but how loud other people applaud after you hit the last note with a decibel reader and everything. Just be aware that if some random person shows up with an entire sorority and sings “Let It Go” from Frozen, they're probably going to win, no matter how well you hit that high note in "Alone" by Heart. You know the one.