I always liked Niffer's when we visited.

A couple of other hole-in-the-wall places.
In Decatur, b.b. perrin's BBQ. This is more like a sports bar. Good pulled pork, good ribs. They have a sauce that's based on Dreamland's. Rib gumbo is pretty good, too.
Hickory Stick, on Alabama 20 in Decatur, has the kind of Q that doesn't need sauce. Awesome brunswick stew in season. Fried pies, though, don't come with Decatur area BBQ. Cream pies rule.
Just north of Warrior (which is north of B'ham), off the I-65 a couple of miles, Top Hot BBQ. A little of everything, good green beans, very very good Q, and be sure to get your fried pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Here are some BBQ places you NEVER hear mentioned: Hickory Stick in Decatur (only open for lunch and pickup until 5 p.m.). Whitt's in Decatur (and some other towns, too - to-go only, no dine-in). Top Hat in Warrior (with to-die-for fried pies).

Tuscaloosa has had several very good restaurants open in the past few years, but we never get a chance to try them. Seems like people forget Cypress Inn in Northport - it's wonderful. When we have time and they're open, we try to get to Nicks Filet House AKA Nick's in the Sticks.

BTW, had Archibald's barbecue this past football season and was disappointed. Didn't get ribs, it was the pulled pork. Next time, we'll just bring our own from North Alabama.

Ate there for the first time (although I was a U of Alabama student in the 1970s) in 2009 - fabulous. Awesome. Went back in May 2010 - abysmal. I figured it was a fluke. Every restaurant has its off days. Haven't had a chance to go back.
Ate at a Dreamland in Muscle Shoals that was horrible, and it closed up soon after. The one in Huntsville was good. The one in downtown Birmingham (Southside) was good. I'm suspicious of any that are not the original.

Cypress Inn in Northport.