If you are reading this on the Houston Press Web site, you automatically understand the value of the Internet to deliver information. It's important if you have a business to do your best to get information about your business to people online and communicate yourself clearly.

I have worked in Web site development for more than a dozen years in Houston and have occasionally given my opinion of sites both good and bad.. Today, it's time to focus on live music.

Admittedly, it was kinda slim pickings. Most of the sites I found have substantial flaws, including the ones on this list. On the whole, live venue websites in Houston need a lot of work...a LOT.

Before I get into the list, a few notes. First, I excluded places that were not independently owned (House of Blues, for example) because they often are just extensions of their corporate web sites or places that are predominantly restaurants (Armadillo Palace) because the sites were mainly about food.

Finally, I omitted the big places like Toyota Center and the Woodlands Pavilion because the comparison just didn't seem fair.

The individual ratings are out of a possible ten. And I didn't grade these against the rest of the Web; none would've scored highly. Rather, I graded these based on what exists in Houston for live venue Web site -- in essence, on a curve.

Lastly, for the love of God, Scout Bar, please turn that damn auto-play advertisement on your site off... at the very least, don't have it repeat over and over!