Like Davy Crockett and the besieged band of rebels holed up at the Alamo, the local swing contingent refuses to wave the proverbial white flag and ditch the retro craze that's been replaced by Latin dance fever. Just as neo-swing bands have seen their sales and popularity dwindle, so too has the local movement of clubs and clubgoers that once led an active Valley scene dedicated to the style. Not surprisingly, the last holdout is the Bash on Ash, a repeat winner in this category, and one of the few nightspots still clinging to its faith in big-band booty-shakers with its weekly Thursday night swing set.

But these dancers are a determined bunch of cats and kittens. Even if the whole world is against this dying fad (and it seems that way), they're gonna go down swingin'!

Readers' Choice: The Bash on Ash

Through police-instigated turmoil and the rave scene's unfortunate media-hyped drug hysteria associations, Swell has soldiered on for the past seven years selling the records that are spun at parties and the gear that the kids sport, throwing raves (including Musik, an annual event that's arguably the year's best consistently), and releasing cassettes, vinyl and CDs by local luminaries like the Bombshelter DJs and RC Lair.

Owner Russ Ramirez has a stellar cast of techno intelligentsia doing the shop's purchasing, including house master Pete Salaz and DJ Radar. The stock is consistently of-the-moment, a daunting task in the electro scene, which largely revolves around 12-inch vinyl singles. If you're into the BPM scene (that's "beats per minute" to all the rave-challenged) beyond just Ecstasy and Blow-Pops, you already know Swell.

For those arguing that rock 'n' roll is truly the devil's music, they might just have the evidence they need in the form of local combo Grave Danger. It's not the band's sound -- which isn't really satanic rock, but actually a kind of surf-tinged rockabilly. Nor is it the songs -- usually sprite instrumentals or cartoonish tales of drunken and homicidal mayhem. It's just that whenever this trio hits the stage, the audience -- composed of normally upstanding citizens and community members -- follows the band down a road of booze-fueled hedonism, excess and good old-fashioned destructive fun.

Revived after a lengthy absence this past year, Grave Danger has been earning praise, popularity and costly repair bills for a series of performances that have seen band members passing out, diving into crowds, destroying stages and shaving their heads onstage. Taking their cues from well-imbibed showstoppers (Janis Joplin, George Jones, Foster Brooks), a Grave Danger concert makes folks forget God, good manners and city ordinances, leaving most venues drowning in a post-show ocean of blood, sweat and broken bottles. Forget the old bit about a rock 'n' roll heaven. If there's a rock 'n' roll hell, Grave Danger's gonna be the house band.

Power 92.3 has been bringing hip-hop to Phoenix since long before OutKast had every yuppie in town singing "Hey Ya!" at the company picnic -- and good thing. This stop on the dial puts formula-driven stations on the front street with rambunctious personalities and programming actually worth listening to. Our favorite is the "3:30 Dirty Dirty" where listeners get to "put someone on blast" over the airwaves. Pissed off at that ho gettin' all up on your man? Call in a blast and enjoy mocking her over the airwaves. Public humiliation is only part of what makes Power 92.3 so good -- what really makes it our pick is, of course, the music. Every weekday afternoon from noon to 1, DJ Mikee Mike kicks it old skool with the best hip-hop from the '90s, and the two-hour drive at 5 actually has a live DJ on the turntables mixing it up.

Power 92.3 has what other Valley radio stations lack: a soul. Readers' Choice: KKFR-FM Power 92.3

As an independent business, Stinkweeds sets the right example. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, the store's new and used merchandise is well-defined: everything that's under the radar, from indie rock and punk to alt-country and electronica. Shoppers don't come here for the latest Top 40 hits, because they already know what to expect. And sometimes that means music by bands they've never heard of but trust to be good -- that's how carefully and tastefully edited the merch is. Offering edgy picks on the listening stations, shelves of underground magazines and hard-to-find DVDs, tickets to upcoming concerts, and occasional in-store performances by local and national bands, Stinkweeds is a hub of unpretentious cool. With a second location that just opened at Central and Camelback, this funky shop is heading in the right direction. Readers' Choice: Zia Record Exchange

Although Phoenix now stands as one of the major markets for traditional country, many old-school country fans have become alienated by the city's other C&W radio outlets. Both come off a little too slick and commercialized compared to the off-the-beaten-path playlist favored by Wickenburg's high-powered KSWG. Calling itself Arizona's "Real Country" station, KSWG features a mix of old artists rubbing elbows with up-and-comers like Gretchen Wilson, Jeff Bates and Rhonda Vincent -- anyone fits, "as long as they sound Ôreal,'" according to the station's mission statement -- not to mention Kip Pollay's weekly fishing reports. So far, so real. Readers' Choice: KMLE-FM 108

Still the Valley's only classical music station, KBAQ differs little from the longhair outlets found in other major U.S. cities -- it's public-supported (and hence, subject to periodic pledge-week begging), run out of an educational station based at a university, and gets much of its programming courtesy of National Public Radio. Still, dependable "K-Bach" offers a tasty mix of specialty programming, including live symphony simulcasts at dusk and eerily perfect wake-up music in the early hours. And while the classical format probably makes the least demands on a programmer to stay current, KBAQ does an admirable job of staying on the cutting edge of ancient music, mixing moldy oldies by Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky with odd takes on Brahms by the French choral ensemble Accentus and Chinese chants by current Grammy darlings Chanticleer. Readers' Choice: KBAQ-FM 89.5

The Valley's own master of shock rock has been mining his shtick for so long now -- 35 years and counting -- it's easy to take his contributions for granted. (Who else would we have to blame for Marilyn Manson?) And Cooper's recent ventures, from the establishment of his downtown Alice Cooper'stown nightclub to his stint as the 7 p.m. to midnight man on classic-rock stalwart KDKB, seem purposely driven by his desire not to be overlooked in his own hometown. Yet it's still a kick to hear the dark humorist rant about everything from his run-ins with early Ozzy to making Miss Piggy's Christmas card list as he mixes his latest comeback attempts with rock standards on the station that helped make him a billion-dollar baby back in the day. Following Steve Van Zandt's lead, Alice's show is now syndicated in 16 cities and growing. But he's still our little rock legend -- now more than ever, in fact -- and we love him to death. Readers' Choice: Howard Stern

High ceilings, original artwork hanging on the brick walls, choice beers on tap, good lighting and sound for a stage that's visible from all over the room -- is this club really in downtown Phoenix? Believe it. The Brickhouse attracts a young, good-looking mob of music lovers with its casual, urban atmosphere as much as with its concerts. Strangely enough, it's still somewhat of a best-kept secret in the Valley because people automatically think of Tempe as the place to see bands. We predict that that'll soon change, though, as the place continues to book the best national names in indie hip-hop, alt-rock, punk and ska.

Hands down, this monthly experimental electronica night at Modified Arts cranks out the weirdest, most original sounds around. As you step through the doorway, the loud blast of breaks, digital beats and samples coming from inside will make you feel like the world's turned sci-fi.

Depending on who's fiddling with the laptop on stage, the music that emerges from the complex layers of noise could be brutally thrashy, intriguingly soft and ethereal, or outright danceable -- but it's often all of that in one single song. Mesmerizing? Yes. Listener-friendly? Not exactly. Thru the Wires digs pretty deep to stay underground.