Guess I may as well add my bit. For coffee shops Grey Area is just a storefront and has no atmosphere but has absolute top quality stuff. I don't hang out in coffeeshops or smoke much anymore so I usually just pick some up there to have around the house. When friends come visit and want to chill at a coffee shop I usually take them to Barney's Uptown on Haarlemmerstraat, it has a cool atmosphere.
Depends on when you are going but if it's later on in the year hostels should be a bit cheaper, summer is tourist season and prices are raised accordingly.
If you want a place to watch football there's loads of Irish pubs and things on Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein generally full of a lot of tourists but you'll mostly pay €5.50+ for a pint. I usually go to a place called Gouden Florijn, it's on Rozengracht and beer is cheaper, it's a small place but usually not too crowded and they'll put any match on you want. Only annoying thing, for non-smokers, is that they allow smoking inside (not weed).
Lessee, going out, musicwise umm Bitterzoet and Sugar Factory are the decent hip hop clubs, for DJs/house music Club Up/De Kring and Trouw are good, the latter is a huge warehouse style place the former smaller and more intimate. For live rock go to Heeren van Aemstel, The Last Waterhole or Bourbon Street.
For places to just go have a beer, Weber and Lux (they are right next to each other and share ownership i think) are a pretty good mix of yuppies and students, always lots of attractive women in those. De Huyschkaemer and Cuban Cigars have a similar thing. If you're into whisky I can highly recommend L&B, it's one of the best on the planet, they have more than 1000 different whiskies and the bartenders tend to know their stuff. If the weather's nice there is also a brewery on the east side of the city with a really nice beer garden called Brouwerij 't IJ They make a very good pilsner.
There's loads more to mention but I can't think of it all right now, if you have any questions just ask me.
