It depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a cheap drink, though, you'll be happy anywhere you go. The City Bar on College Avenue is a step above most. Set in an old bank lobby, it has soaring high ceilings and a beautiful wooden bar, as well as some of the best bartenders in town. They also offer occasional live music.
Pretty much everyone's favorite nice place is The Globe on the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin, where you can have a glass of wine, excellent Scotch, or some of the world's best beer (no Bud or Miller here) while relaxing at a table or in a sofa by the window. The atmosphere is much more sophisticated (for lack of a better word) than most places in Athens. A good dive bar on College Ave. is Lunch Paper, where you'll have cheap drinks and listen to everything from Tony Bennett to Motorhead. My favorite dive in town is Manhattan - it's not easy to find. From the front of the Morton Theater (a great place to visit in its own right) on Washington Street, look left across the street. You'll notice a Schlitz sign with tiny type at the bottom that says 'Manhattan.' Locals frequent the place - very few visitors ever show up, and it's well off the beaten path of the bigger bars. You can buy cans of cheap beer for about a buck. For a mixed gay-straight crowd, try Boneshaker's on Hancock Street. Probably the best dancing in town, too.