How do you find/pick a tattoo artist?

I’ve been looking to get a tattoo (or a couple, eventually) done and have been wondering how to go about finding and picking a tattoo artist. I’ve looked at a few sites online and some guys/gals seem really good but its all original art and I kind of want something small and simple for my first one and I already know what I want to get. If I bring a print out of it, does it matter who does it? I’ve got it drawn up in photoshop so what should I do here?

Also, I live in NYC so its almost as if there are too many choices. I’ve had friends who regret some of the tattoos they’ve gotten, not cause of the tattoo, but cause of the quality of job they got. I don’t really wanna deal with that.

What should I look for to pick a quality artist?