Before Microsoft, grunge, double-tall lattes, Amazon.com, soaring downtown condominium towers, fusion cuisine and a second floating bridge, Seattle was a dreary little blip on America’s radar, best known for airplanes, clinical depression, acres of clams and rain — lots and lots of rain. But really, if you want to trace Seattle's cultural arc, just follow the progression from Rainier beer to microbrews to fine wine to today's downtown mash-up where they all coexist. And the publication that's done the smartest, street-to-suite chronicling of this spectacular metamorphosis: Seattle Weekly.

Founded in 1976 by an arts-starved East Coast transplant named David Brewster, the award-winning Seattle Weekly has taken on as many faces as the city it covers through the course of time. But one thing has remained constant: stellar, engaging journalism that exposes municipal malfeasance just as often as it celebrates the wizards behind our civic curtain. Pair that with top-shelf music and arts coverage — as well as Seattle's only medical marijuana column, "Toke Signals" — and it's no wonder Rainier drinkers and oenophiles alike have made picking up Seattle Weekly a priority every week for over 30 years.