The Best Tattoo Shops in the USA

Tattoo shops are getting their hold on more tightly on the earth day by day. That is because of people’s growing enthusiasm to ink their bodies. Tattoos as a form of decorative and symbolic body modification did not appear on the scene in a flash. The history of tattoos runs back to the Neolithic period, practiced across the globe by many cultures including the United States, Europe and Asia. The history of tattoo culture has been evidenced by ancient art, mummified preserved skin, and the archaeological record.

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Tattoo Shops for a Perfect Tattoo

A frozen man found in an Alpine glacier, belonging to the Bronze Age had 57 tattoos on his body. Tattoos are made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Today, in most tattoo shops, artists create customized and templated designs using several tattooing processes. These techniques include hand-tapped traditional tattoos as well as modern tattoo machines.

Origin of Tattoos in America and Modern Tattoo Shops

In ancient times, European traders and explorers had noticed and recorded that Native Americans had a tattoo. Some of the inspired Europeans got themselves tattoos from these Americans. The art of tattooing became a common practice among American sailors (sailor tattoos) during the American Revolution. Tattoos serve the purposes of decoration and symbolism. In other words, they serve as marks of status, decorations for bravery, symbols of spiritual or religious devotion, protection or punishments. Today, people can get themselves a tattoo easily by dropping by tattoo shops. The common reasons for choosing to have a tattoo may be artistic, memorial, religious or spiritual reasons.

People use tattoos as a form of symbol to communicate that they belong to a particular subculture or group. However, there are exceptional cases where tattoos are used for identification, permanent make-up, and functional and medical purposes.

Tattoo shops in the USA

Tattoos play a vital role in modern western fashion since the 1970s. Unlike the earlier times when tattooing was unaccepted in many parts of the world, today this fashion is commonly found among both men and women belonging to every class in society. No matter how far the tattoo history dated back, some parts of the United States declared having tattoos to be illegal in the 20th century. Even in New York City, tattoos weren’t legalized until 1997. The last state to legalize tattooing was Oklahoma when they did legalize tattooing as of 1st November 2006.

With the rapid acceptance of tattoo culture, the number of tattoo shops around the world has multiplied. People from all walks of life, and all levels of society choose to ink their bodies either as an American traditional tattoo or as a personal tribute. Here we have made a list of the best tattoo shops around the USA for your information.

How to Find the Tattoo Shops that Suit You

Similar to any other product or service in the market, we have to do some research before we select a tattoo shop. There are good and bad tattoo shops. However, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. That is why things need careful inspection and deliberate comparison. In differentiating between two tattoo shops, what you need to consider is listed here.

The tattoo artist

Tattoo artist plays an important role in making your dream tattoo a reality. Most of the reputed tattoo shops, employ experienced and skilled tattoo artists. They are adept at delivering their service with fine artistic expertise and good public relations practices. Further, the tattoo artist is someone who excels in his work over time. Therefore, it is important to see how many years of experience he has, the styles he is adept at and his adaptability to modern methods.

The type of tattoos

With a long-term history around the world, tattooing has developed as an art. In some instances, tattooing goes hand in hand with fashion. These varieties of fashion in different countries are nourished by tattoos specific to their own cultures. That is why the type of tattoo is also important in deciding on a suitable tattoo shop.

Availability of designs

Going for tattoo shops with a wide range of design choices is a plus point. Tattooing can be permanent or temporary. Often, a tattoo is visible to others unless you do not wish to have it hidden. Therefore, an eye-catching tattoo is what you expect to have from tattoo shops. So, try to go to a shop with multiple choices.

Customer reviews

Nowadays, social media and Google play their role everywhere. You can browse information on your selected tattoo shop on google before you physically go there or contact them via phone. The customer reviews will assist you in making a proper decision in choosing the most ideal shop among the number of tattoo shops available.

Quality of work

As mentioned earlier, you can decide the quality of work by referring to customer comments and reviews. There you may find the pros and cons of each service. Considering the everlasting nature of a tattoo and that second chances are limited, it is essential to consider the best tattoo shops when you are ready to get yourself a tattoo.

Service history and the origin of the tattoo shop

The longer the history, the deep the reputation that a tattoo shop has. Because their long-term existence hints that they have been successful in surviving in the field without leaving the journey halfway. In the US, you will find several tattoo shops started in the 1930s and 1940s.

Technology used

The tattooing industry has developed from hand designs to modern technology-based machines. Today, it is important that tattoo shops are equipped with machines that make easy the tattooing task.

Finding the best Tattoo shops

The Best Tattoo Shops for Best Tattoos

Tattoo Shop	Location	Prominent Artists	Specialized Areas
Art Collector	Los Angeles, California	Viktoria Nik Lucas	Floral, black and grey designs Realistic portraits turned to surreal with interventions of lines, geometric shapes and splashes of colour
Ultra-Violence	Anchorage, Alaska	Jake Scrivner	Unique white tattoos give the feeling that they are rising from the body in lighter skin while making a lovely contrast with darker skin. Black ink work to detailed dots
Trader Bob’s Tattoo Shop Since 1930	St. Louis, Missouri		Long-term history and reputation
Black Heart Tattoo Since 2004	San Francisco, California	Artists have a collective experience of 150 years	Experience over the years and updated knowledge on new trends and old art
Hot Stuff Tattoo Since 2009	Asheville, North Carolina	Danny Reed	outdoor images, especially of aquatic creatures
Lost Art Tattoo	Salt Lake City, Utah
Allegory Tattoo is	Alabama	Ulyss Blair and Eva Jean	Mostly appointment-based except for random walk-ins
Urban Art Tattoo	Phoenix, Arizona	14 artists	Bold Traditional, to new school Graffiti
Black Cobra	Little Rock, Arkansas		black and grey, traditional or new school tattoos, cartoons and photo-realism, cover-ups as well as reworks beautifully unique tattoo, all the tattoos are full of colour and creativity
Black and Blue	San Francisco, California	10 artists	This is a female-owned, gender-inclusive tattoo studio
Pens & Needles Custom Tattoo Company	Colourado Springs,	Kristina Wright	Offers very welcoming and professional service to the clients with their amazing ability to produce quality tattoos
Three Roses Studio	Fairfield, Connecticut		Traditional Irezumi Japanese tattoos with mythical beasts, flowers and leaves that are inspirations to many
Poppycock Tattoo 45 years’ experience	Wilmington, Delaware	Eric Hendrickson	wide range of styles to choose and ideal for the tattoo fans with diverse selections
Till The End Tattoo	Miami, Florida	Katherine Flores	Appointment based tattoo studio
City of Ink	Atlanta, Georgia	Miya Bailey	Good at bold colour and realistic shading styles
Skin Deep Tattoo Since 1979	Waikiki Honolulu, Hawaii	dedicated and skilled artists	Reputed for colourful designs and custom artwork These artists are specialised in realism and black and grey linework
Integrity Body Arts	Pocatello, Idaho	friendly staff Benjamin Bowlin	This is known as the Southeast Idaho’s best tattoo studio. Even for the ink virgins, the place will be an ideal place They use a gumball machine with more than 100 classic, pre-drawn designs thereby offering numerous choices to the client.
Tattoo Factory	Chicago, Illinois	Fantastic staff	Adept at portrait to water colour or wildlife tattoos. The ‘Drink N’ Ink’ café at the Tattoo Factory serve as an ideal place for people to wait and spend their time until their friends get their tattoos done
Firefly Tattoo Collective	Indianapolis, Indiana		Appointment-only studio
Skin Kitchen Tattoo Since 1996	Des Moines, Iowa	has featured many nationally recognized and award-winning artists	Resident artist Jack working here is famous for freehand photorealistic black and grey styles. And Westley is an expert in colour designs and new school tattoos.
Addictions in Ink	Wichita, Kansas	friendly studio with artists who specialize in all styles; expert crew	A wide variety is offered at Addictions in Ink including ack and grey, tribal, fine line, traditional, old school, new school, realism and portraits
Asylum Tattoo	Latonia, Kentucky	Martin Hatton’s	photorealism styles
Electric Ladyland 17 years ago	New Orleans, Louisiana		Custom, black, fancy, traditional, they do it all
North Coast Tattoo Company	Scarborough, Maine	solid team of four resident artists	Offers a welcoming atmosphere with fine Line Art and Vintage Illustrations to Neo-Traditional art
Have Fun Be Lucky	Baltimore, Maryland		Specialty found here is that all the artists have vegan pigments and stencils available upon request. Furthermore, they are ready to pay attention to what vision you have in mind and create lively tattoos matching your requests.
Regeneration Tattoo	Boston, Massachusetts		An award-winning tattoo shop with independency and keep their own schedules
Big Top Tattoo	Detroit, Michigan		This tattoo shop takes walk-in consultations as well as take walk-in tattoos as per the permission of their schedules. Bringing print outs of your ideas is important if you wish to have a customized tattoo because the Big Top Tattoo shop does not contain a computer in store.
Leviticus Tattoo and Body Piercing	Minneapolis, Minnesota	9 fulltime artists	Each piece of tattoo is hand drawn. By the nine full time artists. They maintain an eclectic schedule of guest artists. Interestingly, they keep Saturdays free for walk-ins
Squench’s Tattoo & Body Piercing	Jackson, Mississippi		This tattoo shop is reputed for the artists’ amazing skill and remains as one of the best tattoo shops in the country
Trader Bob’s Tattoo Shop Since 1930	St. Louis, Missouri	consistently amazing team of artists and	Good at flash work, with pieces on the walls from artists throughout the decades Artists are reputed for their professional care in delivering a quality service.
Bound By Glory Tattoo	Missoula, Montana	, it’s clear that the team here take real pride in their work. The vibe in the shop is warm and welcoming, which makes all the difference.	This is one of the tattoo shops famous for Japanese and custom tattoos.
Liquid Courage Tattoos	Omaha, Nebraska	The team are all highly talented, with their own styles.	Up to this date, this tattoo shops is the first and all-custom tattoo studio in Omaha. Artists are specialized in classic American and Japanese tattoos as well as creative and colourful tattoo designs.
Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co	Las Vegas, Nevada	12 artists here will create something exceptional for you	This is one of the legendary tattoo shops founded by Carey Hart in 2004. Interestingly this tattoo shop and has featured in A&E’s hit television series Inked. These artists with exceptional creativity offers you realism work that you have never seen before.

Just to clarify, each of these tattoo shops has its unique quality either with their service or availability of designs. Some of these tattoo shops provide multiple choices with quality service while some of the others serve you best with a fine mingling with modern technology. Having thousands of choices, you can compare the tattoo shops we list here and choose the best place to tattoo yourself.

Tattoo Shops You Need to Visit

So now you have some light on how to choose the ideal place to get a tattoo among the various tattoo shops available here and there. So share with us your experience in the comments section and read our article 20 Popular Hand Tattoo Ideas and FAQ.