If you have the freedom to plan your Nashville trip around live music (which you should), build it around a Ryman show. It’s not only in the physical center of things but also the metaphorical center—of country music, and of live music as a whole. Once the home of the “Grand Ole Opry” radio broadcast, the venue, built as a house of worship in the late 1800s, introduced the world to legends like Hank Williams and Patsy Cline and today plays host to everyone who’s anyone including Jack White, Neil Young, and Yo-Yo Ma. There’s good reason for that: Its acoustics are said to be better than Carnegie Hall’s. Tip: It’s no coincidence that the Ryman and Robert’s share an alley because they also share in-the-know patrons who hit Robert’s before and/or after a show at the Mother Church.