Best for history buffs

Specialty: American traditional

Why we love it: All great museums leave a lasting impression on your mind, but this may be the only one that also marks your skin for eternity. Daredevil, a shop and tattoo-history museum, just celebrated its 20th year. “We opened when tattooing was legalized in New York City,” says co-owner Michelle Myles. The walls are covered with artwork by tattoo innovators such as Samuel O’Reilly and Sailor Jerry, alongside antique tattoo machines and old-time sideshow banners from the early days of a taboo industry—and the museum is free to the public. Myles, co-owner Brad Fink, Diego Mannino (who drew this issue’s cover) and the other talented Daredevil artists genuflect before this rich tradition and then carry it into tomorrow.

Other than the ink, go: To see Thomas Edison’s patent on a device that is essentially identical to today’s tattoo machines.