West Baltimore in the early 2000's: a tourist's guide before visiting

The Wire by view count:

1. Key and Peele, 3.8 mm views (link)
2. Omar Coming' Supercut, 3.6 mm (link)
3. Shiiiiit Sheeeeeit Shit Sheeeit - Senator Clay Davis, 2.3 mm (link)
4. Omar Testifies Against Bird, 2.2 mm (link)
5. Avon and Marlo Meet, 1.5 mm (link)

Each of these is sublime, brilliant.  The Wire survives Youtube because of the amazing attention to detail.  Every scene I watch is constructed with care, full of subtle touches that I might never catch on a normal run-through of the episode.  

A current favorite - note that things tend to get very Leone-like when Mouzone shows up: 

• Brother Mouzone Confronts Avon (link)

The nice thing about coming late to something like this is that there is a lot of supportive secondary material.  In addition to the foundational texts (here and here) there are at least eight serious books about the series:

• The Wire and America's Dark Corners - 2015 (link)
• On The Wire - 2014 (link)
• The Wire and Philosophy - 2013 (link)
• Corners in the City of God:  Theology, Philosophy, and The Wire - 2013 (link)
• The Wire:  Race, Class, and Genre - 2012 (link)
• Tapping into TheWire:  The Real Urban Crisis - 2013 (link)
• The Wire:  Truth Be Told - 2010 (link)
• The Wire: Urban Decay and American Television - 2009 (link)

Some people say The Sopranos was a better show than The Wire, some prefer Breaking Bad.  But eight books, man. That's some Shakespeare shit right there.