Best live music venues in London

London plays live every night of the week. The city stretches from sticky-floored grassroots rooms where new bands cut their teeth to grand concert halls and converted chapels with the acoustics to match. The venues worth knowing are the ones with a packed calendar, because a full bill is what keeps a scene moving and gives you a reason to turn up on a random Tuesday.

The venues below are ordered by how active they are, counted from the live music events each has coming up. It is a measure of activity, not a ranking of sound systems or sightlines, so the rooms near the top are simply the ones with the most gigs you can go to in person.