Honestly, I like local coffee places much more than all of the above as well. But the thing I appreciate about Starbucks is that 1) they are all at the same level of cleanliness and relative comfort no matter which Bucks you end up at and 2) the crowd in them is usually there for the same reasons.

I tend to always work with headphones in so the noise isn't an issue.

I guess if I found a comfortable McD's with wifi I might have to try it out for a session :-)