Best karaoke

Rock N' Twang Live Band Karaoke

Washington, DC  | Wednesdays

Best for channeling the rock star within

It's 8:29 p.m. on a Wednesday, and there's a line of people in Hill Country's entryway itching to be let downstairs for Rock 'n Twang Karaoke. At 8:30, the floodgates open. Tables get snatched up and stragglers vie for a spot at the bar, waiting for the HariKaraoke band to come on.

Yes, that's right. This isn't your average karaoke. This is live-band karaoke, where singers are backed by real, live music.

Don't be too intimidated. There's a range of abilities and more than 180 songs to choose from, from Beyonce booty shakers to twangier tunes from Johnny Cash and Jimmy Buffett. The band members, by turns supportive and entertaining, sing backup harmonies and play screaming guitar solos. The lyrics are on the page in front of you, and the mike stand has a beer holder so you can bring your liquid encouragement onstage. The crowd is always more than happy to help you hit those high notes.

If you're lucky enough to get a table, you may still want to order from the bar as sometimes servers are stretched thin with crowds of up to 200 people. Happy-hour specials end at 7 p.m. but start back up at 10, with $2 PBRs and $5 margaritas and rail drinks and shots. There's also finger lickin' bar and dinner menus for feasting between songs, featuring mac 'n' cheese, a barbecue beef sandwich, wings and more.

Muzette Karaoke Studios and Korean Restaurant

Washington, DC

Best for a private party

Want to belt out the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" or Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" without subjecting yourself to the scrutiny of strangers? At Muzette, a Korean restaurant and subterranean karaoke hot spot in the middle of Adams Morgan, patrons rent their own room.

"Norebangs," Korean-style karaoke venues with private rooms, are great for birthday parties, office parties, pregame and postgame gatherings. Muzette has a number of small, medium and large rooms that fit up to 15 people. If you get hungry or thirsty while singing, press the button on the wall and a server will take your order. The Korean food is authentic; the specialty cocktails, such as "Katy Perry's Whipped Cream Bikini," are on the sweet side.

Room rates run from $40 to $80 per hour on weekends. If you're looking to conserve your cash, prices drop to $25 to $45 for happy hour every day before 8 p.m. It's a good idea to reserve a room ahead of time, especially on weekend nights. Book the room for more time than you think you'll need; chances are, you're going to be singing your heart out until the bitter end.

Banana Cafe Karaoke Nights

Washington, DC  | Begins 8/19

Best for just being yourself

It's Sunday night, but you're not quite ready for the weekend to end. Why not head to Banana Cafe, where the margaritas are plentiful, the karaoke crowd is friendly and there are more than enough chances to sing whatever strikes your fancy?

The bar has a small group of regulars, including DJ EJ Bangura, who had been frequenting the event long before he became the night's DJ a couple of weeks ago. The atmosphere is by no means cliquish. The crowd varies in age, and song choices range from the Rolling Stones to Metallica to Destiny's Child. The informal setup -- with little separation between the karaoke machine and the bar and tables -- means plenty of audience interaction. Happy hour runs all night, with $3 house margaritas, domestic beers and rail drinks. People will cheer singers on, give some enthusiastic fist pumps and maybe even get up and dance.

In other words, this is not the place to take yourself seriously.

"At other karaoke bars, everyone is trying to be a superstar," says Noel Baker, a professional poker player and karaoke enthusiast who comes to Banana Cafe whenever he's in Washington on a Sunday night. "But that's not what karaoke's about. It's much less pretentious here."

Kostume Karaoke

Washington, DC  | Wednesdays

Best for unleashing your inner goofball

For most people, singing in front of strangers requires a certain threshold for humiliation. But if karaoke grants a permission slip for people to make fools of themselves, Kostume Karaoke supplies another layer (or two) of self-mockery. Not only can you regale beer drinkers with an off-key rendition of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana," but you can do it while sporting a pirate shirt and fairy wings paired with a pink wig under a miniature sombrero.

The ridiculousness takes place weekly on Wednesdays at alternating venues: along H Street at Little Miss Whiskey's and at U Street's divey Solly's, which transforms the back corner of the bar's second level into a stage. On a recent evening at Solly's, people hung out by the bar, seemingly unaware of the absurdity across the room where revelers in bright feather boas crowded the performers, pumping fists and singing Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

Costumes are required for performers, and attendees can either bring their own or choose from the vast selection of clothes, props, masks and hats on hand. It might sound a little daunting for karaoke newbies, yet there's something to be said for wearing a mask while attempting those high notes.

Cafe Muse

Annandale, VA

Best for a very, very late night

Karaoke is not the best way to start your night. The urge to sing in public comes later, after dinner and a few glasses of wine. That makes Annandale's Cafe Muse the perfect late night destination; its Korean-style norebang rooms are open until 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

One of the area's oldest and best-known karaoke destinations, Cafe Muse boasts of offering more than 60,000 songs in multiple languages; the selections of Korean and Japanese songs -- K-pop and J-pop -- are especially strong, and Filipino, Thai and Chinese are among the other choices.

Rooms are outfitted with couches, video monitors and large screens that show odd scenes of sailboats or the countryside while you're singing. A small kitchen serves sushi and bibimbap at all hours, and the beer selection doesn't get more exotic than Heineken or Sapporo.

Prices vary based on the time, the day and the size of the room you need: A group of six can expect to pay hourly rates of $30 every day before 8 p.m., $40 on weeknights after 8 p.m. and $50 on Fridays and Saturdays. But when you feel the need to belt out Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" or a favorite TVXQ song before heading home, you'll think it's money well spent.

Stained Glass Pub Karaoke

Silver Spring, MD  | Wednesdays

Best for a casual weeknight in the 'burbs

If you're working late and feel like blowing off steam on your way home to Maryland, you may want to stop at Silver Spring's Stained Glass Pub, just two blocks from the Glenmont Metro.

The kitchen stays open until 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday nights, so you can grab a pizza or a half-price burger in case you skipped dinner. The karaoke is in the dining room, and a separate bar caters to those who just want to hang out. It can be a study in contrasts when someone is singing System of a Down's "Chop Suey" while the bar is simultaneously blasting Usher's "My Way," but the sound doesn't carry too far across the two rooms.

The night attracts a group of regulars whose musical tastes are all over the map, so you'll feel comfortable singing basically anything. And, like Cheers, everyone pretty much knows your name, or at least they'll learn it before the night is out.