L.A. is a massive city, more spread out than any other in the country and it can be hard to know exactly where to go because it's so decentralized. I also think L.A. has so many different scenes that it's a bit unfair that it's only known for the pretentious "Hollywood crowd" scene. We're definitely not known for greatest nightlife in the world, we're not London or Barcelona, but there's no reason you can't have a blast out here.
Last weekend I went to an sleek little restuarant/bar/lounge in downtown L.A. that was spinning deep house music till late in the night. Next door to that was a hipster bar. A few blocks away is The Standard that's more posh and is known for it's incredible view overlooking the city. If you're looking for more of a white yuppie meat market scene, there's the Hermosa Beach peer and Orange County, if you want something kinda sophisticated with more of a South Beach Miami feel, check out the Viceroy Hotel scene in Santa Monica. If you want something less Hollywood pretentious check out the bars in Silver Lake or Abbot Kinny in Venice. If you go to Hollywood, people are there to see and be seen, bouncers like having people wait in long lines just to create a buzz and being selective about who they let in all that kind of sh*t, so come dressed to impress. Then there's just your regular dives and joints that ordinary mainstream people go to like in Old Town Pasadena or Santa Monica. If you're in Hollywood and looking to pick up, the scene at Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga is pretty good. Lots of hotties. There's all kinds of scenes here. It just depends on what your tastes are and what you're looking for, no different than any other city.
One thing that universally sucks about L.A. nightlife though is that everything closes at 2am. No getting around that fact. That REALLY sucks. There are some afterhours places out there but they won't be serving alcohol. Best to meet some chics at the club, and take them back to your hotel to continue the drinking.
East Hollywood is kinda trashy. I wouldn't say bad as in people getting gunned down in the streets, but it's seedy. West Hollywood is more upscale, but much more expensive too.
Good site to get an idea what's going on here:
http://losangeles.metromix.com/
